Kissinger Undergraduate Seminar

The Center's Kissinger Seminar on American Grand Strategy and World Order engages Johns Hopkins University undergraduate students in the enriching study and practice of U.S. foreign policy. 

An initiative of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS, the Kissinger Seminar exposes exceptional undergraduate students to the study of grand strategy and the history of U.S. foreign policy by exploring critical moments, themes, and people in the history of American grand strategy, from Washington's Farewell Address to the statecraft of Donald Trump, and by engaging with experts and practitioners across government and academia. Rooted in applied history - the study of the past as a way of better understanding the challenges and opportunities of the present and future, - the seminar equips students to evaluate and contribute to intense debates about the future of American grand strategy. The seminar will also consider key issues in U.S. grand strategy today, from climate change to the challenge of an assertive China. 

Taught by Professors Hal Brands and Francis Gavin, this course links SAIS with the International Studies Program at our Homewood Campus. The course will meet 9 times at Homewood and 4 times at the SAIS campus in Washington, D.C. Transportation between Homewood campus and SAIS will be provided.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to take this course, especially since it emphasized learning through applied history, unlike any undergraduate course. I was constantly amazed by my professors and peers, whose insights on and passion for the course material challenged and inspired me every day. I left every lecture eager to learn more, and the course reaffirmed my desire to work in the realm of foreign policy in the future.

Carmela Irato, BA '21

Application Instructions

Enrollment is at the discretion of the instructor and space in the course is limited. The application window for Spring 2023 is closed; please check back in Fall 2023 for updated deadlines. Applications consist of a one-page resume, one-page personal statement on why you want to take the class including how it contributes to your professional interests, and a writing sample of less than ten pages e-mailed to [email protected]. This course is an initiative of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS. It will expose exceptional undergraduate students to the study of American grand strategy and world order. The course will explore critical themes and issues in U.S. foreign policy today, from climate change to the challenge of an assertive China. It will also explore the way that historical knowledge can inform effective grand strategy. Students will have the opportunity to meet with current and former policymakers who have worked on these issues in real time. The course will meet 9 times at Homewood and 4 times at the SAIS campus in Washington, D.C.; transportation between Homewood campus and SAIS will be provided.