International Relations
The major in International Relations is designed for students who wish to deepen their knowledge and understanding of this multi-disciplinary field. Students receive a solid foundation for a variety of careers in areas such as diplomatic and government service, international organizations, international business, journalism, law and banking. Many graduates have also chosen to pursue graduate study in related areas.
In this major students take core courses in political science, sociology, and history and undertake interdisciplinary work in areas such as languages, cultural studies, economics or communications. The major aims to provide students with the instruments and techniques to analyze complex phenomena in the era of globalization.
Not open to majors in Political Science or Political Science with an emphasis in Global Political Economy.
Major Requirements (51 Credits)
Foundation Courses (15 Credits)
| POL 100 | Introduction to Political Science | 3 |
| POL 101 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POL 112 | Markets, Policy and Administration | 3 |
| SOC 100 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| And | |
| HIS 101 | Western Civilization II: Modern | 3 |
| Or | |
| HIS 105 | Global History II: Globalization, the Emergence of the Modern State, and Coping with Change | 3 |
Required Courses (12 Credits)
| POL 300 | Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POL 301 | Theories of International Relations | 3 |
| POL 321 | International Organization | 3 |
| POL 377 | International Political Economy | 3 |
Capstone Requirement (6 Credits)
| POL 497 | Readings and Methods in Political Science and International Relations | 3 |
| POL 499 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
Departmental Electives (12 Credits)
Four of the following:
| Any POL 200-level course | |
| Any POL 300-level course | |
| Any language at the 301 level | |
Interdisciplinary Electives (6 Credits)
Any course at 200-level or above in HIS or ECN or:
| AHT 218T | Harbor Cities: Architecture, Vision, and Experience | 3 |
| AHT 361 | The Visual Culture of Disaster | 3 |
| BUS 410 | Organizational Behavior and Leadership | 3 |
| COM 301 | Globalization and Media | 3 |
| COM 302 | Intercultural Communication: Theory, Research, and Practice | 3 |
| CLCS 330 | The Politics of Mobility: Exile and Immigration | 3 |
| CLCS 350 | Culture and Human Rights | 3 |
| ECN 225 | Issues and Controversies in Macroeconomics (Intermediate Macroeconomics) | 3 |
| ECN 256 | Managerial Economics (Intermediate Microeconomics) | 3 |
| ECN 303 | Development Economics | 3 |
| ECN 305 | Economics of the European Union | 3 |
| ECN 330T | Neo-liberal India: Globalization and Development | 3 |
| ECN 331T | Sustainable Economic Development | 3 |
| ECN 341 | International Trade | 3 |
| ECN 355 | Political Economy: Theories and Issues | 3 |
| ENV 200 | Understanding Environmental Issues | 3 |
| ENV 230T | Freshwater Conservation | 3 |
| ENV 282T | Tourism and the Environment: Iceland | 3 |
| GER 374 | Strangers in Paradise?: Historical and Cultural Texts on Immigration into Switzerland | 3 |
| Any HIS course at 200-level or above | |
| MAT 200 | Calculus | 3 |
| MAT 201 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| PSY 201 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 220 | Multicultural Psychology | 3 |
Note: Prerequisites may be required for courses outside of the major.
The department strongly recommends that IR majors take a POL Academic Travel course