<P> The school offers multidisciplinary instruction leading to the degrees of master of arts for early and mid-career professionals, as well as a doctor of philosophy program . Approximately 300 students graduate from the Washington, D.C., campus each year from the two - year master of arts program in international relations and international economics . Unlike most other international affairs graduate schools that offer professional master's degrees, Johns Hopkins SAIS requires its master of arts candidates to fulfill the International Ecopass a one - hour capstone oral examination synthesizing and integrating knowledge from the student's regional or functional concentration and international economics . The oral examination and international economics requirements of the master of arts curriculum have been the signature aspects of the school's education . </P> <P> A study conducted in 2005 examined graduate international relations programs throughout the United States, interviewing over a thousand professionals in the field, with the results subsequently published in the Foreign Policy magazine . 65 percent of respondents named Johns Hopkins University--SAIS as the best terminal master's program in international relations . SAIS received the most votes, followed by Georgetown University (Walsh), Harvard University (Kennedy), Tufts University (Fletcher), and Columbia University (SIPA). The latest edition of the study was produced in 2014, with the master's program at SAIS ranking second globally after Georgetown (Walsh). </P> <P> Since 1990, SAIS and the Fletcher School have been the only nonlaw schools in the United States to participate in the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition . Competing against full - time law students, SAIS generalists have performed very well . SAIS has twice placed second overall out of 12 schools and advanced to the "final four" in its region . In head - to - head competitions, SAIS has defeated elite law schools such as Georgetown University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Maryland . </P> <P> SAIS students have also demonstrated their versatility by successfully competing in the Sustainable Innovation Summit Challenge hosted by the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona . Two different SAIS teams won first place in both 2007 and 2008, besting teams of MBA students from some of the world's top business schools . </P>

Paul h. nitze school of advanced international studies ranking