International Studies

Introduction 

International Studies is an interdisciplinary major that seeks to help students attain a well-rounded understanding of global developments and trends and to prepare them to succeed in the globalized world of the twenty-first century.  In addition to core courses in international politics, history and economics, students study a foreign language and choose an area of concentration in which they take a cluster of courses about a geographical area of their choice;  globalization and sustainability; or security studies.  A distinguishing aspect of the major is the comprehensive oral examination which students take in the last semester of the senior year.  

Courses appropriate for prospective majors

1.   POSC 170, International Relations is the best point of entry into the major  

2.   ECON 111, Introduction to Microeconomics and ECON 112, Introduction to Macroeconomics, should also be taken early  

3.   Foreign language coursework should be continued or started. 

Introductory courses that fulfill distribution requirements 

Many of the courses in the major can serve as distribution requirements.  In this way, the major offers an organizing theme for the selection of college requirements. 

Course descriptions, requirements for the major refer to the College Bulletin: International Studies. 

 Suggested curricular flow through the INST major

The INST major was designed with the hope and expectation that all of our students would spend a year abroad.  As a result, we developed the coursework so that a student who did spend a year abroad as could complete all the requirements for the major, as long as she or he followed a few guidelines.   

  Many students who do study abroad for a year are able to complete both the INST major and a language major or a language minor, due to the overlap in these programs of study. 

The guidelines are written for the entering student who knows he or she wants to major in INST.  Rather than specify the courses that you “must” have in a given semester, the following are general guidelines regarding courses that we suggest you take during each year.  You should think of these guidelines as giving you a fast track into the major – this provides maximum flexibility in your junior and senior year. 

      First Year 

        POSC 170 

        ECON 111 

        ECON 112 

        foreign language 

    Sophomore Year 

        POSC 280 

        required diplomatic history course and INBM 200 

        INST general electives: refer to College Bulletin: International Studies 

        continue with foreign language 

        Junior Year 

        INST general electives: refer to College Bulletin: International Studies 

        finish INST foreign language requirement 

        finish core INST course requirements (if available) 

        Senior Year 

        INST 401 (senior seminar; autumn semester only) 

        INST 404 (senior review for the oral examination; spring semester only) 

        finish all other INST requirements: (core courses, electives, language as needed) 

For information regarding the suggested guidelines, please feel free to contact an IS   faculty member for clarification. 

Senior oral examination 

One especially challenging part of the major is the comprehensive oral examination at the end of the senior year.  The exam lasts for 40 minutes, and involves questions about the student’s area of concentration and the core areas of the International Studies program. 

Opportunities for off-campus study