The Graduate Institute is an institution of research and higher education (Master and PhD). Selective and cosmopolitan, it is located in the heart of International Geneva and specialises in the study of the major global, international and transnational challenges facing the contemporary world. It also offers professional development programmes and expertise to international actors from the public, private and non-profit sectors.
The Graduate Institute’s history dates back to 1927, the time of the League of Nations, when it was created as the first institution in the world dedicated entirely to the study of international affairs. The year 1961 saw the birth of the Institute for Development Studies (known at the time as the African Institute), a pioneer in the field. In 2008, the two institutes decided to unite under the same roof, thereby combining the study of international relations and development in a unique way.
The Graduate Institute is accredited by the Swiss Government and receives funding from the Confederation and the Canton of Geneva. It is managed by a private foundation and governed by a regulatory framework with a strong emphasis on efficiency. The Graduate Institute’s strategy is articulated around public-private partnerships supported by leading patrons and foundations to whom we should like to extend our sincere gratitude.
Several core values guide the Graduate Institute’s mission:
- to foster respect for diversity
- to encourage a sense of global responsibility
- to make an academic contribution to the development of less privileged societies
- to promote international cooperation through an innovative approach to the challenges facing
- the contemporary world