International Studies Program Mission Statement

At the beginning of the twenty-first century the pace of integration among the world's regions and populations has accelerated rapidly. Powerful forces--such as the emergence of transnational economies, the transformation of legal and political authority and power structures, the increased speed and density of global communication, and the movement of peoples and cultures –have challenged traditional understandings of international security, sovereignty, citizenship, public health, economic development, community, belonging and what it means to be a world citizen.

The International Studies Adjunct Major aims to provide future professionals who will be acting in the global arena with an interdisciplinary perspective on international phenomena.  Graduates of the program will acquire the fundamental analytic skills and key intellectual concepts necessary to be critical analysts of international affairs. Students apply their analytic skills to explore substantive issues from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. In addition, students gain an expertise in a set of issues faced by a particular region outside the United States. Whether going on to a career in government, business, law, journalism, work in non-governmental organizations, engineering, medicine or other advanced degree or specialty, the ability to see politics and economics existing in social, environmental and cultural contexts and to comprehend and assess the world in its increasingly global dimensions is an invaluable asset.

Undergraduates enrolled in any school of the University may choose this major as a complement to their disciplinary majors. From its inception in 1988 the program has been a popular one, and now numbers roughly 300 students annually who have chosen to embark on a multidisciplinary exploration of the rapidly changing world.  While most of the faculty in the program are in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the major is available to undergraduates in any school of the University (i.e., the School of Education and Social Policy, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Medill School of Journalism, the School of Speech, the School of Music and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences). As an adjunct major, students declare International Studies in conjunction with study in their primary discipline, for example, engineering, journalism, economics, communication studies, history, political science, medicine, or literature.

International Studies has recently been revised to further strengthen students' analytic skills through a core sequence (formerly core electives) consisting of courses in global history, international relations, the principles of international economics and American foreign relations. The five-course core sequence is designed to set the intellectual bar of the International Studies major high, challenging students to study international affairs from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

The Adjunct Major in International Studies was constructed to provide a broad background and to introduce students to various approaches and aspects of international studies. In the process, students find their way to some more specialized interest. New thematic clusters (formerly core electives) require students to deepen their knowledge of a particular topic. These interdisciplinary clusters build on the critical aspects of international studies today: security, economics, the global commons, and culture and society. Students will take three courses in their chosen thematic cluster and, in their senior year, participate in an integrating project that engages them in independent research on a topic related to their chosen thematic cluster. 

The regional cluster requirement provides a venue for students to develop focused interests in a particular area of the world. The experience of studying abroad, through approved study abroad programs, further encourages and confirms the development of focused interests. Opportunities are available for students to apply for undergraduate research grants in order that students can undertake guided research on topics in which they have a strong interest. These grants may be used for research abroad as well as in the United States.

International Studies requires its adjunct majors to achieve basic competence in a foreign language, as this capability transforms one's perception of the world and the ability to study its complexity. Students are urged to recognize that two years of language study is only the first leg of the road to mastery of a foreign language, an adventure in learning that is extraordinarily rewarding and important. The program encourages further development of skills in foreign languages by offering a Certificate of Distinction in Foreign Languages to students who pursue advanced work in one foreign language or develop proficiency in a second foreign language.

A newly instituted honors program (to begin in the Spring of 2007) will provide exceptional, linguistically advanced students the option to pursue a deeper, more intensive involvement in International Studies through a 3-part honors seminar where they will prepare for and write an honors thesis.

Whereas we encourage most students to pursue the major, we recognize that some students may not have the time or the flexibility given other commitments. Therefore, those students interested in International Studies but who are already pursing other majors, can now declare a minor in International Studies.

Beyond academic requirements, we invite students to join our dynamic International Studies community. Students have a chance to socialize, attend forums and colloquia on news breaking issues, learn about fellowships and career opportunities and participate in off campus cultural activities through our new “coffee house”. We encourage and support students to use their creative talent and energy to develop their own projects and form student groups.   

Welcome to International Studies! Stop by or e-mail us with any questions.