Alumni

 

In recent years, MA graduates of the International History Department have gone into:

• Journalism: daily and monthly publications, as well as radio
• The UN System: UNHCR, UN Volunteers, UNITAR, the International Social Security Association among others
• NGOs
• National Administrations and Public Service
• Foreign Service
• Consulting
• Politics
• Private sector enterprises
• PhDs at the Institute
• PhDs at other universities

 

PhD graduates of the International History Department have transitioned into the same fields as Masters graduates, as well as:

• Academia
• Research in several disciplines
• Presidencies of academic institutions

 

Here is what our alums have to say about studying International History at HEID:

My graduate thesis examined the impact of the Cold War on Congo’s independence in 1960 and in particular on how Great Power relations played out in the UN peacekeeping response, ONUC. I didn’t think at the time that ten years later I would have worked in partnership with four UN peacekeeping mission across Africa, from Sierra Leone to Sudan and South Sudan. Security Council Resolution 1372 and the SOFA between UNMISS and the Government of South Sudan provide the framework for my current work are the reference documents that guide our daily operations. Since the first peacekeeping mission in 1948, we have seen an evolution of both the conflicts that provoke international response and the framework and design of the peacekeeping mandate. Very few areas of international law are evolving as rapidly, with the concurrent challenges, opportunities and dangers that this implies. HEI provided a very particular context in which we examined this evolution with the tools of both historian and jurist. It is a framework I apply in my work, in the design of our post-conflict media and in the editorial scope of our public service programming. At HEI, proximity to the global community of international organizations had a profound impact on my career path. While at HEI I interned with UNHCR, an engagement that led to a successful collaboration between the International History and Politics department of HEI, UNHCR and GIAN. Following graduation, I completed successful mandates for UNHRC, UNOG and WIPO- all connections I made while in Geneva. The multi-disciplinary framework that was part of my experience at HEI underpins my efforts now to develop models of post conflict media that will be able to sustain through the long process of transition to democratic, engaged societies. Since the launch of our first media in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, Fondation Hirondelle has developed the know-how for the rapid creation of independent media in highly fragile environments. These media now face the challenge of sustaining over the long haul in places like DRC, CAR and South Sudan where it will be decades before a local economy can fully support public service broadcasting.

Anne Bennett (USA)

Fondation Hirondelle, Sudan and South Sudan

 

The Graduate Institute's Career Services and Alumni networks are valuable resources to students and graduates of the Department of International History at any stage in their professional lives.