J-Term Courses 2010

The courses listed below are offered on campus during the January 4^th – 29^th term.   Registration is concurrent with Spring 2010 Registration.

IMGT 8627A Financial Statement Analysis, 3 credits

Professor Chan

Monday – Thursday, January 4 – January 7:  9:00am-6:30pm

Monday, January 11:  9:00am-5:00pm

Friday, January 15:  9:00am-1:00pm

**Prereq: IMGT 8531 or IMGT 8530

This course teaches financial and managerial accounting concepts from a management perspective. It is designed to be useful particularly for those who aspire to be managers, management consultants, financial specialists (e.g., controller, financial analyst, auditor), or human resource specialists (e.g., personnel director, compensation consultant). The course highlights the reporting differences among industries, including manufacturing, retailing, and service firms, and regulated and non-regulated firms. Statements of actual companies, with an emphasis on international companies, are used in illustrations and cases. The actual financial statements highlight current financial reporting problems, including comprehensive income, segment reporting, options, post-retirement benefits, and the harmonization of international standards.

IMGT 8658A Corporate Governance, 3 credits

Professor Dow

Tuesday – Thursday, January 12 – January 21:  9:00am-5:00pm

The recent financial crisis underscores the importance of corporate governance regulation and enforcement. This course will combine various theoretical perspectives on corporate governance with practical applications through lectures, class discussion and case analysis.  The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theoretical foundations of corporate governance and demonstrate the complexity of corporate governance issues.  In addition, students will become familiar with the various mechanisms of corporate governance and develop the skills necessary to evaluate the governance of a company.

IPOL 8575 Intro to Humanitarian Engagement & Practium, 4 credits

Professor Williams & Professor Hyde

Monday – Friday, January 11 – January 29:  8:30am-1:00pm

Humanitarian Engagement is a large-scale simulation exercise designed to replicate program operations involving non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (IOs), the military (national and international), national and local offices of government, beneficiaries, the corporate sector, and the media.  The exercise is directed at mid-level managers engaged in program operations in the field and at headquarters.  This simulation will challenge participants’ knowledge and understanding of the complexities of program management during response to natural or manmade disasters.

IPOL 8674 Seminar on Diplomacy, 4 credits

Professor Leng

Monday – Friday, January 4 – January 29:  9:00am-11:00am

**Students should have some prior background in the study of international politics, including a basic course on international relations.

The seminar combines negotiation theory with the memoirs and reflections of professional diplomats and statesmen.  The cases that we will study this term are the Congress of Vienna, which ended the Napoleonic Wars in 1816; U.S.-Indian nuclear arms negotiations, and the American mediation in the Bosnian War, 1992-1995.  Theoretical readings focus on the structure of negotiation, negotiation strategies, the role of culture in negotiation, and mediation.  Each student is required to write and present orally an independent case study of an international negotiation, or a research design, in the form a formal research proposal for an aggregate study of some aspect of diplomacy.

WKSH 8517A Intro to Science of Climate Change, 1 credit

Professor Wolfson

Monday – Friday, January 4 – January 8: 9:00am-12:00pm

Anthropogenic climate change is the global environmental issue of the twenty-first century.  Policymakers will increasingly find themselves dealing with climate change, including mitigation of human influence on climate, adaptation to inevitable climate change, and international policy questions relating to this global problem.  Although details of future climate are uncertain, the fact of anthropogenic climate change rests on a firm scientific basis.  This course introduces that science at a level appropriate to students of international environmental policy who do not necessarily bring a scientific background to their studies.  Major topics covered include the energy flows that establish Earth’s climate, the role of humankind in altering climate, what we know from past climates, and how we model climate futures.  The course includes some quantitative work, appropriate to students who have had high-school algebra.

WKSH 8591A The Nuclear Difference: Nuclear Science for Policymakers, 1 credit

Professor Wolfson

Monday – Friday, January 11 – January 15: 9:00am-12:00pm

Why is it that nuclear weapons have given humankind a totally unprecedented level of destructive potential?  Why is nuclear-weapons technology spreading despite our best efforts to stop it?  What policies can help reduce the threat from nuclear weapons?  The answers lie, fundamentally, in the science of the atomic nucleus.  The “nuclear difference” is the million-fold difference between the energy bound in the nucleus versus that of everyday chemical reactions.  The potential for nuclear proliferation—and our hope of slowing it—lies in subtle properties of the elements uranium and plutonium.  This course introduces basic nuclear science at a level appropriate to students of nonproliferation policy who do not necessarily bring a scientific background to their studies.  After the appropriate background is established, the course will emphasize issues of uranium enrichment and plutonium production, as well as connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

Additional J-Term Offerings

All courses below require a separate application process.

Development Project Management Institute (DPMI) (Application Proccess is Closed)

The Development Project Management Institute (DPMI), a three-week training on project planning, strategic partnership, social entrepreneurship, and facilitation is currently full. The program will be offered in Monterey and Washington, DC at the beginning of the summer. For more information, visit http://go.miis.edu/dpmi.

Conservation Leadership Practicum (CLP) (Accepting Applications for Waitlist)

The Conservation Leadership Practicum (CLP) is an innovative two week certificate course focused on delivering the necessary skills for current and future environmental leaders.  Graduates will to go on to manage and lead successful conservation projects with local and global organizations.The next CLP session will take place January 11 – 22, 2010. Monterey Institute students can complete the training for 4 units of academic credit, with the option of completing an additional 2 unit directed study with Prof. Jeff Langholz during the spring semester.

While the program is currently full, a waitlist was recently started. If you would like to be added to this short waitlist, please contact clp.miis@gmail.com. For more information on the program, please visit http://go.miis.edu/clp. There is no program fee for this program, although regular tuition rates apply.

4 credits may count towards 1 policy research seminar

Practicum in Chile (APPLICATION PROCESS IS STILL OPEN!)

January 5-22, 2010

The Chile JTerm team works directly with indigenous people groups. Partnerships with local institutions (non profits, universities, governments etc.) are formed to assist project implementation. It is important to remember that as a team, the students, professors, and alumni from MIIS do not serve as project “implementers” but as partners, working with indigenous groups to promote advocacy and agency.

For more information please visit the website or contact lejla@globalmajority.net

Team Monterey El Salvador (Application Process is Closed)

Team Monterey provides a professional, international opportunity for MIIS students to hone development skills and enhance language and multicultural competency by developing and nurturing a partnership with La Coordinadora (a Salvadoran Community Based Organization) through ongoing projects aligned with its strategic objectives. Project areas include sustainable agriculture, micro-business models, natural resource protection, youth empowerment, organizational capacity building and more. As elaborated through the Memorandum of Understanding, signed in January 2009, a continued relationship between the two organizations will offer invaluable practical experience for burgeoning young development professionals and linguists. In addition, sustained benefit will be ensured to La Coordinadora and its constituents through project elaboration, capacity building and cross cultural integration.’

For more information, email the Team or visit the Team Monterey El Salvador blog.

Challenges to Peacebuilding in Sierra Leon (Application Process is Closed)

The J-Term course, “Challenges to Peacebuilding” is conducted in the field – in different “hot-spots” around the world. The course is especially targeted towards students studying conflict resolution at the Institute but is also of interest to those studying human rights and development. It is designed to supplement conflict resolution theories and concepts learned in the classroom with ‘real-world’ examples on the nature of conflict, its impact on people, peacebuilding initiatives and in understanding the kinds of actors involved in rebuilding and bring peace to a country. Another key objective of this course is get students to learn to deal with the complexities of conducting field research, develop data collection instruments and summarize data for a qualitative analysis.