Military Strategy and International Relations, Minor
The Minor in Military Strategy and International Relations
Audrey Kurth Cronin, Director, and Trustees Professor of Security and Technology
acronin@andrew.cmu.edu, Posner Hall 385A
Emily Half, Deputy Director for Academic Affairs
ehalf@andrew.cmu.edu, Posner Hall 391
Overview
Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST), the minor in Military Strategy and International Relations offers Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) undergraduates a course of study focusing on military strategy and the current national security landscape, including how cybersecurity and artificial intelligence influence national security decision making, and the full range of strategic challenges facing future American leaders.
While the minor is open to all CMU undergraduates, it is particularly appropriate for CMU students embarking on the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program as well as those interested in pursuing defense-related careers. CMU typically has several dozen ROTC students annually, spread throughout the university, along with many others who are interested in defense and strategy issues. Many students major in STEM fields, where they learn valuable technical skills but are exposed to little of the wider strategic context facing military leaders and decision-makers, or to the political and institutional frameworks in which they operate. This minor is designed to complement other disciplines and fill that gap.
In short, the Military Strategy and International Relations minor offers future military and defense leaders insight into the national and international strategic challenges they will navigate in the future.
The Military Strategy and International Relations minor teaches future leaders how diplomacy, information, economics, development, and defense intersect. It engages students in the whys and hows of national strategy, military planning, and the future of warfare. In addition, the minor emphasizes the political, legal, and institutional systems that shape military affairs, with core courses on the topics of civil-military relations, military strategy, governance, diplomacy, and policy decision-making. Finally, the minor stresses the use of cutting-edge analytical and social science methods to prepare students for advanced training, study, and government or military service in national and international security.
Curriculum
Students may double count a maximum of two courses (18 units) with another major or minor. Unlimited double counting is permitted with general education requirements.
Minor in Military Strategy and International Relations63 units
Core Courses27 units
Students must take the following core courses (27 units):
| Military Strategy | ||
| 84-328 | Military Strategy and Doctrine | 9 |
| Governance | ||
| 84-319 | Civil-Military Relations | 9 |
| Diplomacy (select one) | ||
| 84-280 | Popcorn and Politics: American Foreign Policy at the Movies | 12 |
| 84-325 | Contemporary American Foreign Policy | 9 |
| 84-362 | Diplomacy and Statecraft | 9 |
Electives36 units
Students must complete a total of 36 units (typically four courses) from the following list of courses. At least 18 units (typically two course) must be taken from the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST) and have an 84-number.
| Electives | ||
| 84-104 | Decision Processes in American Political Institutions | 9 |
| 84-120 | Introduction to US Constitutional Law | 9 |
| 84-200 | Security War Game Simulation | 3 |
| 84-226 | International Relations | 9 |
| 84-274 | An Introduction to Technology and War | 9 |
| 84-275 | Comparative Politics | 9 |
| 84-280 | Popcorn and Politics: American Foreign Policy at the Movies * | 12 |
| 84-303 | International Human Rights | 6 |
| 84-304 | Analysis of Current US National Security Priorities | 6 |
| 84-309 | American Political Divides and Great Debates | 9 |
| 84-312 | Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa | 6 |
| 84-318 | Politics of Developing Nations | 9 |
| 84-322 | Nonviolent Conflict and Revolution | 9 |
| 84-323 | War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East | 9 |
| 84-324 | The Future of Democracy | 9 |
| 84-325 | Contemporary American Foreign Policy * | 9 |
| 84-329 | Asian Strategies | 6 |
| 84-330 | Race for the Future: US-China Tech Competition | 6 |
| 84-331 | Technology, Law, and Democracy | 6 |
| 84-333 | Law of US Democracy | 9 |
| 84-341 | Transnational Criminal Networks & International Security | 6 |
| 84-343 | Offensive Cyber: Law & Policy | 6 |
| 84-345 | Hackers, the Law, & Policy Responses | 6 |
| 84-347 | Congress & National Security | 9 |
| 84-349 | Digital Diplomacy: Cybersecurity Challenges and Global Governance | 9 |
| 84-350 | A Strategist's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence | 9 |
| 84-353 | US-China Strategic Stability | 6 |
| 84-362 | Diplomacy and Statecraft * | 9 |
| 84-363 | Click. Hack. Rule: Understanding the Power & Peril of Cyber Conflict | 9 |
| 84-365 | The Politics of Fake News and Misinformation | 9 |
| 84-366 | The 21st-Century Presidency: Expanding Powers, New Challenges | 9 |
| 84-367 | The Politics of Antisemitism | 9 |
| 84-368 | Technology Ethics | 9 |
| 84-370 | Nuclear Security & Arms Control | 9 |
| 84-371 | International Governance of Artificial Intelligence | 9 |
| 84-373 | International Law | 9 |
| 84-380 | US Grand Strategy | 9 |
| 84-383 | National Cyber Policy & Strategy | 6 |
| 84-386 | The Privatization of Force | 9 |
| 84-387 | Remote Systems and the Cyber Domain in Conflict | 9 |
| 84-389 | Terrorism and Insurgency | 9 |
| 84-393 | The US Congress: Legislative Progress or Paralysis? | 9 |
| 84-405 | The Future of Warfare | 9 |
| 17-200 | Ethics and Policy Issues in Computing | 9 |
| 32-201 | Leadership & Management | 9 |
| 32-310 | Evolution Of Warfare | 9 |
| 32-402 | Leadership and Ethics | 9 |
| 79-257 | Germany and the Second World War | 9 |
| 79-268 | World War I: The Twentieth Century's First Catastrophe | 9 |
| 79-302 | Killer Robots? The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Drones and A.I. in War | 9 |
| 80-136 | Social Structure, Public Policy & Ethics | 9 |
- *
If not used as a core course, course may count as an elective.