The Center’s goal is to maintain and strengthen national benchmarks of excellence in area studies and studies of development policy and practice, while promoting the synergy that results from our unique combination of the two. Programs are centered on an interdisciplinary curriculum that combines the traditional foundations of the social sciences and the humanities with strategic linkages to the natural sciences and all of Ohio University’s professional colleges. In support of the curriculum, programs emphasize utilization of new information technologies, the acquisition of professional skills, the development of language competency, and the cultivationof abilities that lead to good professional practice. Upon graduation students receive a Master of Arts degree awarded by the Center for International Studies.