The School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University has launched a new Roadmap for Success, aiming to provide students with clearer guidance throughout their academic journey. Developed during the summer of 2025 with contributions from faculty leadership, the roadmap is intended to help students prioritize key activities at each stage of their studies.
The initiative includes separate versions for undergraduate and graduate students, both organized around three main themes: academic achievement, community engagement within the School of Diplomacy, and career preparation. For undergraduates, the roadmap recommends early advising sessions, exploring degree options, joining student organizations, and utilizing campus resources such as the Writing Center, Academic Resource Center (ARC), and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
As students progress through their programs, they are encouraged to assume leadership roles in organizations, plan ahead for internships, and refine long-term career goals. Senior year milestones highlighted in the roadmap include completing a senior project, participating in a for-credit internship, graduating, and taking steps toward joining the alumni network.
The graduate version follows a similar structure but is tailored to reflect the shorter duration and specialized focus of graduate programs. It guides new students through meeting faculty members, declaring specializations, engaging with groups like the Graduate Diplomacy Council and Journal of Diplomacy, as well as exploring fellowship opportunities. The document also emphasizes early planning for internships and projects while preparing for post-graduation careers.
Martin Edwards, Ph.D., professor and Associate Dean at the School of Diplomacy explained: “The genesis of this grew out of discussions about student advising across the university. Other universities have developed these nonacademic degree maps to help students couple their professional development with their personal and extracurricular development with their coursework.”
He added: “We’re spelling out expectations in a clear way so that students will have a better sense of what they need to be doing to become more connected on campus, develop strong relationships with faculty and start to think about pathways to a career.”
Edwards noted that after observing similar efforts at other institutions yield positive results, Seton Hall adapted this approach specifically for its diplomacy community over the summer. The Joint Leadership Team provided feedback on its development while Catherine Ruby, Ph.D., customized the graduate version.
Edwards summarized: “We want to make clear to students what they should be doing at what point in their careers to get where they need to go.” He also linked this initiative to broader university goals: “The University Strategic Plan calls for more holistic student learning experiences. By developing this, we’ve already met that objective.”
