ISS offers a series of postgraduate diploma programmes catering to the needs of young and mid-career professionals who wish to deepen their knowledge in a particular field related to their research or occupation. The programmes analyze development issues from a broad perspective – political, legal, economic and social. An essential part of this process involves comparative analysis of the similarities and differences determined by geography, culture and history. Participants expand their horizons in open dialogue with ISS academic staff and their fellow students.
The postgraduate diploma programmes are policy-oriented, issue-driven and skill-intensive, and are comprised of coursework with exercises, case studies, and individual and group assignments, usually based on real-life experiences. In some programmes, there will be study visits to relevant Dutch and international organizations.