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With a tradition of leadership and innovation, and a commitment to excellence, the Patterson School is keenly focused on what will be required to prepare international policymakers to meet the demands of the 21st century. We continue to be guided by James Patterson’s visionary approach to the integrated study of diplomacy and international commerce. We constantly refine our curriculum to ensure that we are effectively educating future global leaders in both fields. As one of the nation’s leading masters programs in international affairs, we are building upon a very solid foundation.

Our people make the difference.

Fall 2023 Graduating Cohort @ Spindletop — Fall 2023 graduating cohort celebrating the successful completion of their comprehensive exams!

Group Photo Crisis Simulation Fall 2023 — Army War College International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE) - Fall 2023

Fall 2023 cohort — The Patterson School's Fall 2023 new student cohort!

Crisis simulation group photo spring 2023 — Crisis Simulation Spring 2023

Patterson Students at Islamic Center of America — Patterson students at Islamic Center of America during their 2023 spring break trip

Patterson students at US Institute of Peace — Patterson School students visited the U.S. Institute of Peace during their trip to Washington DC in October 2022

Fall 2022 Cohort — The Patterson School welcomes its 2022 student cohort!

Patterson Students in Doha, Qatar — Patterson School students from the 58th and 59th cohorts visited Doha, Qatar in December 2018

Patterson Students at Turkish Ambassador's Residence — Students had the opportunity to visit the Turkish Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C.

Patterson students in Japan — Patterson School students in Japan

Latest News

Meet the new Director of the Patterson School

Patterson staff Nov 1, 2024

The Patterson School would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Director Dr. Joe Young! Dr. Young is coming to us from American University where he has held a number of leadership positions over the past 14 years in several different schools.

Room with seated students watching opening announcements about ISCNE.

2024 Negotiation Simulation: Central Asia was a success!

Oct 13, 2024

Students, faculty, alumni and special guests, the U.S. Army War College's ISCNE team gathered in Patterson Hall Friday afternoon to begin this year's negotiation simulation. The exercise actually begins a few days ahead of the kickoff as teams are assembled, mentors recruited, and packets of background material are distributed. Students quickly must come to understand the region and the issues that the region faces as they prepare their strategies for tackling real-world international issues.

2024 Summer Reading List

Jan 27, 2024

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, Siddharth Kara, (2023) Pacific Power Paradox: American Statecraft and the Fate of the Asian Peace, Van Jackson, (2023) The Edge of the Plain: How Borders Make and Break Our World, James Crawford, (2023) Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency, Andy Greenberg, (2022) Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy, Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, (2023)

Meet Ryan Consaul, 2005 Alum

Mar 15, 2023

Ryan Consaul is a senior international/defense researcher at RAND. Previously, he served as a subcommittee staff director on the House Homeland Security Committee's Oversight and Management Efficiency Subcommittee where he led the Committee's oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's management activities including acquisition management; information technology; financial systems; human capital; employee integrity; and issues of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Meet Thomas Niles, 1962 Alum

Mar 15, 2023

Thomas M.T. Niles is Vice President of the National Defense University. A career Foreign Service Officer, Ambassador Niles joined the Foreign Service in February 1962. He served successively in Belgrade (1963-65), in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs of the Department of State (1965-67), Moscow (1968-71), United States mission to NATO (1971-1973), and again in Moscow as Director of the Commercial Office from 1973 to 1976.

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