GMAP students in the Classroom
GMAP provides every student with a curriculum of highest academic rigor. Every aspect of GMAP has been designed to help participants gain a 360-degree perspective on international affairs. This applies to all facets of the program, from its curriculum and faculty to its class makeup and emphasis on team collaboration.
Most degree programs are strictly discipline focused, unlike most international careers. GMAP, like the broader Fletcher curriculum from which it is derived, recognizes that the cultural, historical and environmental forces that shape international affairs are deeply connected. The GMAP curriculum includes all aspects of international affairs that leaders in any discipline must master. It sets students at the nexus of international affairs, business, law, and development.
Learning in GMAP
Residencies provide the intensive classroom experience and personal contact that form the foundation for all subsequent interaction. They facilitate the exchange of ideas among participants, faculty, and administration. The residencies are also opportunities to experience the larger Fletcher community and include lectures, cultural symposia and social gatherings with local alumni and friends of Fletcher.
Technology plays a vital role in GMAP. It serves to sustain and augment the community formed in the classroom during the residencies. GMAP strives to make the technology as transparent as possible, placing the focus where it should be—on teaching and learning.
A typical week of learning during the Internet-mediated instruction might include reading assigned books and articles, viewing multimedia content created by the Fletcher faculty, collaborating with teams on assignments, and engaging in an in-depth discussion with classmates and professors in an electronic discussion forum.
Collaboration in GMAP
Teams are an integral part of the GMAP experience. Students complete a team project during each of the first and second residencies, and teams form the core of daily interaction during the Internet-mediated portion of the program. Team collaboration has a number of benefits that include cooperation among and across different personalities, cultures, time zones and continents. Students establish an esprit de corps that provides a support network upon which all rely for both personal and group success.
GMAP faculty and staff also work closely with students throughout the year of study. During the residency, students attend nine, 80-minute face-to-face sessions for each full term class. This ensures that students and professors understand each other before continuing their collaboration during the Internet-mediated study.