Previous Programs

The American University of Paris is constantly reviewing and updating its programs to ensure it equips its students with the most relevant and comprehensive degrees to meet the challenges of our times. Please find a list of degrees which are no longer offered or have been modified to meet these challenges.

Master of Arts in Global Communications, Visual and Material Culture Track (VMC)

Master of Arts in Global Communications, Visual and Material Culture Track offered an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural consideration of the increasing importance of visuality and interactivity in today’s world. Students acquired in-depth knowledge of visual theories, contexts, and practices and their relationship to the global media—and develop critical thinking about the cultural forces behind visuality as a communicative practice. Incorporating non-Western contributions to the field, this track combined a critical approach to theoretical and scientific understandings of vision and visuality with a rigorous consideration of the functions of the viewer, object, and environment in specific circumstances.

Began Fall 2010 closed Spring 2017

Master of Arts in Global Communications and Civil Society (MAGCS)

The Master of Arts in Global Communications and Civil Society gave students insight into communication between NGO members, within the NGO world and civil society, between NGOs, donors and governments, and between NGOs and the corporate world. The program offered an opportunity for students to work on learning how communications impact the development of civil society, independent and activist organizations – and in particular the non-profit sector. The program was an opportunity for those with some professional experience, activists and media professionals, to acquire theoretical knowledge of their field, situating their experience in wider academic debates. It enabled students to think critically, on the basis of case studies, about the interaction between the State, private business and the third sector.

Began Fall 2008 closed Summer 2013

Master of Arts in Cultural Translation (MCT)

The Master of Arts in Cultural Translation studied cultural meanings as part of processes of mobility, migration, and translation. Works of art and culture were considered within supra-national, international, and global contexts, such as empires, population migrations, trade systems, and the circulation of objects and representations. The academic core of the program – divided into historical and theoretical reflection and study of contemporary culture – fed into consideration of cultural policy and creative and critical production. The field of Cultural Translation took the creativity and rigor of the practice of translation, and the energy of contemporary and historical theories of translation, and brought them into debate with other areas in the humanities and in the social and political sciences, as we try to understand and to manage and to inhabit the forms of life that are emerging inter-nationally, trans-nationally, supra-nationally, and globally.

Began Fall 2009 and closed Summer 2015

Master of Arts in Middle East and Islamic Studies (MEIS)

The Master of Arts in Middle East and Islamic Studies provided a rigorous generalist degree that fostered an informed understanding of issues related to the Middle East and the Islamic World. As equally suited – and beneficial – to students from a strong background in Middle East, religious, or Islamic studies as it was for students coming from a wide variety of different backgrounds this degree trained open-minded, nuanced, and critical thinkers.

Began Fall 2007 closed Summer 2015

Master of Arts in Middle East and Islamic Studies with Language (MEISL)

This two-year Research Master of Arts program in Middle East and Islamic Studies with Language was intended for students who wished to dive deeper into the discipline than the one-year program – and especially those wanting to ground their understanding through firm knowledge of a foreign language of the region. The degree required training and proficiency in a language of the Middle East. This enabled students to read accurately in order to carry out research. 

Began Fall 2007 closed Summer 2015

Master of Arts in Middle East and Islamic Studies and International Affairs (MAIS)

This two-year program was a dynamic initiative offering the best of two disciplines: a solid grounding in international theory and practice, as well as a rigorous generalist overview of Middle East and Islamic studies. A pluralistic and multidisciplinary approach offered political and ideological perspectives from the region and encouraged intellectual autonomy. The program built on a theoretical knowledge of politics and international affairs while providing a range of regional specialization in the Middle East and other Islamic countries, as well as the U.S. and Europe.

Began Spring 2008 closed Summer 2015

Master of Arts in Middle East Studies and Arabic Language (MEL)

The three-semester Master of Arts program in Middle East Studies and Arabic combined rigorous study of the Middle East with a solid working knowledge of Arabic. The degree offered insight and knowledge into the history, politics, economics and religion of the region while allowing students to master Arabic. In addition to study in Paris, students got to immerse themselves in this most useful of languages during a summer in Cairo.

Began Fall 2007 closed Summer 2015

Master of Arts in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language (ISL)

The three-semester Master of Arts program in Islamic Studies and Arabic combined a thorough introduction to Islamic studies at the MA level with a solid working knowledge of Arabic, the language of the fundamental sources of faith. This program enabled students to delve into the study of Islam – both as a faith and political and cultural force – through the instruction of its history, the development of the faith, and its rites and rituals. Islam’s legal structure, the rise of political Islam, and its interface with colonialism, modernism and secularism are also explored.

Began Fall 2007 closed Summer 2015

Master of Arts in Public Policy and International Affairs (MPPA)

The MPPA degree offered a multidisciplinary perspective on international politics and policy-making, foregrounding together economics, political science and international relations, political sociology and political theory, international law and ethics. This multidisciplinary framework provided a strong intellectual preparation for our globalizing world. Profiting from the practical aspects of the MA in International Affairs and the Division's overall concerns with public policy, the program simultaneously provided hands-on professional training, necessary for leaders in the international public policy or civil society sectors. The program thereby provided a rounded mix of theory and practice.

Began Fall 2007 closed Summer 2017

Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Management and Sustainability (MCB)

The Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural and Sustainable Business Management was designed to respond to the needs and aims of contemporary society and the increasing demand on businesses to reestablish their relationship and responsibilities vis-à-vis a broader array of global stakeholders, and to participate in creating and maintaining a sustainable socioeconomic and natural environment while operating across cultures. The program focused on interdisciplinary study; the effect of sustainability issues on business operations; cross-cultural management; corporate social responsibility; international business and management; international strategy; and leadership.

The program provided a balance of both the theoretical and practical preparation for a new generation of international managers in an increasingly interrelated global business environment that requires unprecedented active participation by the private sector in socioeconomic development. Students were trained to understand the needs, requirements, and processes of performing across cultures as well as adapting an organization from ‘take-make-waste’ to ‘regenerative circular’ behavior.

Began Fall 2009 and closed Summer 2015 

Master of Arts in Finance

Began Spring 2006 and closed 2008.