Oxford University Diplomatic Studies Programme

The Oxford University Diplomatic Studies Programme (formerly known as the Foreign Service Programme) is a long-running programme of courses offered by the University of Oxford in the field of diplomacy. The programme was originally established in 1969 in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with the intention of educating diplomats of newly independent Commonwealth countries.[1] The programme has since run continuously, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2019, and now consists of a Master of Studies (MSt) in Diplomatic Studies. It is customised for professionals, typically early to mid-career diplomats and other international relations practitioners who seek the combination of academic and vocational study. The annual intake has a global reach, and participants come from a wide range of countries.[2] Over its many years within the university, alumni of the programme have included royalty and heads of state, as well as senior government figures from all over the world.[3][4][5][6]

History

Building on a long history of Oxbridge being linked to the British civil service, in 1926, Oxford and Cambridge jointly ran a Tropical African Services Course on behalf of the British Colonial Office.[7] This programme continued in varying forms and under different names for another forty-three years, as the Colonial Administrative Service Course (1934), the Devonshire Course (1945), Course ‘A’ and ‘B’ (1953), the Overseas Service Course (1962) and, finally, the Overseas Course in Government and Development (1964).[8]

As many Commonwealth states gained independence, their governments sought trained diplomats to staff their Foreign Services. In response to this need, in the 1960s, the Overseas Course was adapted to allow for a small Foreign Service component, morphing, in 1964, into a coherent and more integrated Foreign Service Training Course under the auspices of the Overseas Service Course. Examinations were instituted in 1966.

When the Overseas Service Course was discontinued in 1969, the Foreign Service element of that course was transformed into the Foreign Service Programme, based out of Queen Elizabeth House.[9] In the decades that followed, the programme expanded its audience to governments in the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office requested places be made available to newly independent, former Soviet countries to help build their diplomatic capacity. In 2010, the programme moved to the Department for Continuing Education within the university, and in 2017 it changed its name to the Diplomatic Studies Programme reflecting the more common terminology in the modern academic field.[10]

Notable alumni

A number of significant government figures and heads of state have been a part of the Diplomatic Studies Programme or its predecessor the Foreign Service Programme. Alumni have included:

Directors
  • 1969-1986: Ralph Feltham
  • 1986-1987: Anthony Kirk-Greene
  • 1987-1988: Philip McKearney
  • 1988-1990: Anthony Kirk-Greene
  • 1990-1995: Sir John Johnson
  • 1995-1999: Sir Robin Fearn
  • 1999-2003: Christopher Long
  • 2003-2010: Alan Hunt
  • 2003-2006: Rodney Hall (Academic Director)
  • 2010-2015: Jeremy Cresswell
  • 2015-2019: Kate Jones
  • 2020: Dr Vahid Nick Pay and Dr Charles Boyle (interim directors)
  • 2021–present: Dr Yolanda Kemp Spies[19]

References
  1. Marques-Guedes, Armando (2008). "Raising Diplomats: political, genealogical, and administrative constraints on patterns of training for diplomacy". Diplomatische Akademie, Wien, Favorita Series: 61.
  2. Oxford, University of. "Oxford University Diplomatic Studies Programme". Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  3. "DiplomacyOxford Twitter, referring to King of Bhutan visiting his alma mater". Twitter. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  4. Lawn, Ciara (9 January 2016). "The King of Bhutan studied the FSP". The Mirror. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. "Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, graduated from the Foreign Service Programme in 1979". Arab News. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. "Crown Prince Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, an alumnus of the programme".
  7. "Tropical African Service courses at Oxford and Cambridge". The National Archives (UK). 1930.
  8. Stockwell, Sarah (30 August 2018). The British End of the British Empire. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-58801-0.
  9. Luscombe, Stephen. "The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies". www.britishempire.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. "History of the Diplomatic Studies Programme" (PDF).
  11. "RAOnline Bhutan: Politics - Chhoetse Penlop - Royal Highness Crown Prince Dasho Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck". www.raonline.ch. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  12. Turner, B. (12 January 2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2011: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-58635-6.
  13. "St Cross College newsletter, p.22" (PDF). 2018.
  14. Burns, Jimmy (23 February 2009). "Diplomats to the core - how Oxford continues to 'inoculate the world with Balliol'. | Miscelleneous | | Author of La Roja | Papa Spy Jimmy Burns". Jimmy Burns. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  16. "MINDEF - DPMM Crown Prince". www.mindef.gov.bn. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  17. "Grigol Mgaloblishvili's Biography". Civil.ge. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  18. "CS Amina Mohamed Tips Chevening Scholars". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  19. "Yolanda Spies". UK: Kellogg College, Oxford. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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