What are the responsibilities and job description for the Adjunct Instructor - American Foreign Policy (Graduate) position at The University of Pittsburgh?
Adjunct Instructor - American Foreign Policy (Graduate)
The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) is seeking a part-time instructor for its Fall 2025 course, PIA 2411: American Foreign Policy. This is a full-semester, 3-credit, graduate course. The Fall 2025 term runs from Monday, 25 August 2025 through Thursday, 18 December 2025. The course will meet in person, once per week for three hours.
Instructor’s duties include preparing a syllabus, leading class sessions, grading and commenting on student’s work, providing timely and frequent feedback on student assignments, utilizing Canvas, and being available to meet with students. The instructor is expected to be responsive to all student inquiries. Enrollment will be approximately 20 students.
Successful applicants will have at least a Master’s degree in a relevant field (Political Science, International Relations, History, Public Administration, Public Policy, or similar). Prior experience working in federal service is strongly preferred. Preference will be given to candidates with previous teaching experience at the Master’s level.
Course Description for PIA 2411: American Foreign Policy
Students will learn about foreign policy, strategy, and politics through the lens of American diplomatic history with an emphasis on the evolution of thought, practice, and tradecraft in the conduct of U.S. foreign relations. Beginning with colonial antecedents and the ancient, medieval, and modern sources that inspired the Founding Generation, the course will examine how U.S. policy was formed and implemented during the eras of the War of Independence and early Republic, territorial expansion, Civil War, naval expansion and civil service reform, World Wars/Interwar, and the rise of the current national security process since World War II. Attention will be given to the development of the diplomatic and consular services through their early forms, professionalization, the Rogers Act of 1924, the National Security Act of 1947, the Foreign Service Act of 1980, and other significant milestones, as well as to the sources of inspiration and methods of practice for American diplomats and other practitioners of U.S. statecraft in various eras. American negotiating styles will be studied in comparison with various foreign interlocutors, as well as the social, cultural, political, and ideational factors that influenced American diplomacy, including the evolution of thinking around isolationism and internationalism and the influence of different political dispensations upon diplomatic practice and the implementation of policy. Case studies and simulations will be featured.
Interested applicants should submit a CV, including contact information for three professional references, and a brief letter of interest that incudes discussion of teaching experience and interests. Please include if you have post-secondary teaching experience and whether you have prior experience teaching a course on American Foreign Policy. While all applications must be submitted through Talent Center, informal inquiries about the course should be directed to Dr. Ryan Grauer, MPIA Program Director and Associate Professor, at grauer@pitt.edu
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