Students who study international affairs develop understanding about contemporary global issues as well as in-depth knowledge of a chosen region or policy issue. Programs may focus on the diplomacy, culture and economics of a particular country or in a general sense.

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. Switzerland's independence and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers. Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable modern market economy with low unemployment.

The PhD is a doctoral degree, specifically called a "doctor of philosophy" degree. This is misleading because PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers (unless they earned their degree in philosophy!). That said, PhD recipients are able to engage in thought experiments, reason about problems, and solve problems in sophisticated ways.