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Major Requirements for International Relations

A major in International Relations includes courses from at least three departments. A detailed description of the degree program is provided below. The program does not currently offer a minor. In all cases, students should take Government 204, Economics 101 and 102, and History 192 as soon as possible. This ensures that they are prepared to take INRL 300 during their sophomore year.

The International Relations major requires a minimum of thirty seven credits selected from the options listed under Parts A, B, C, D, and E below In choosing courses, students are encouraged to work with their advisors to achieve an appropriate degree of substantive coherence across disciplines and analytical approaches. For example, a student might combine History 182 (African History) in Part E with Anthropology 335 (Peoples and Cultures of Africa) under Part C. Such choices should also be taken into consideration by the student in selecting the language(s) used to fulfill the language co-requisite.

Major Writing Requirement (MWR). The major writing requirement may be satisfied by upon completions of the capstone course, internship, independent study or honors project.

Major Computer Proficiency Requirement (CPR). International Relations majors may satisfy the computing proficiency computer proficiency by succesfully completing the concentration methods course requirements.

Part A: Core Curriculum (7 courses)

Part A represents the core of the IR major, and includes basic requirements in Government, Economics, and History. All courses must be taken, and no substitutions are allowed. Prerequisites in (parentheses).

GOVT 204/GOVT 150W-01 and -03: Introduction to International Politics
GOVT 328: International Political Economy (GOVT 204/GOVT 150W-01 and -03)
GOVT 329: International Security (GOVT 204/GOVT 150W-01 and -03)
ECON 475: International Trade Theory and Policy (ECON 101, 102, 303)
ECON 476: International Finance Open Econ Macro (ECON 101, 102, 304)
HIST 192: Global History since 1500
INRL 300: IR in Disciplinary Perspective (GOVT 204/GOVT 150W-01 and -03, HIST 192, ECON 101/102). You should take this course during your sophomore year.

Part B: Methods (1 course)

Part B includes courses designed to familiarize students with the basic methodological tools of disciplines contributing to the IR major. This course meets the Major Computer Proficiency requirement. Students who intend to write an Honors thesis In IR should select the methods course that provides the necessary tools to complete the thesis. It may be fulfilled with any of the following courses:

BUAD 231: Statistics
GOVT 301: Research Methods
GOVT 307: Political Polling and Survey Analysis
ECON 307: Principles and Methods of Statistics
PSYC 302: Experimental Methods (201, 202, 301prerequisites, 302L co-req.)
SOCL 352: Methods of Social Research (Soc 250)
SOCL 353: Social Statistics (Soc 250 or consent)

Part C: Social and Cultural Contexts (1 course)

Part C emphasizes the role that social and cultural contexts play in international relations, and exposes students to relevant disciplinary approaches. Students may fulfill part C with any of the following courses:

ANTH 330: Caribbean Cultures (ANTH 202)
ANTH 335: Peoples and Cultures of Africa
ANTH 338: Native Cultures of Latin America
GOVT 312: Politics of Developing Countries (GOV 203)
GOVT 334: Russian and Post-Soviet Politics
GOVT 335: Politics of Eastern Europe
GOVT 336: Governments and Politics of China and Japan
GOVT 337: Politics in Africa
GOVT 338: Latin American Politics and Government
GOVT 339: Middle Eastern Political Systems
HIST 380: West Africa
HIST 300: The Caribbean
HIST 304: Brazil
HIST 305: History of Mexico
HIST 325: Race, Culture, and Modernization in South Africa
HIST 328: Modern Japanese History
HIST 329: Modern Chinese History
HIST 330: America and China: US-China Relations since 1784
HIST 332: Modern Korean History
HIST 340: Maroon Societies
HIST 370: History of Britain
HIST 373: East Central Europe
HIST 378: The History of Russia
HIST 384: The History of Germany
SOCL 312: Comparative Sociology
SOCL 313: Globalization and International Development

Part D: Capstone (1 course)

 To fulfill part D, each student must successfully complete an independent research project. This course meets the Major Writing Requirement. This requirement may be met by completing one of the following:

INRL 495-496: Senior Honors in International Relations
INRL 480: Independent Study in International Relations
400-level seminar in contributing department (approved IR topics only)
Three credit directed internship in contributing department (approved IR topic only, and must not be Pass/Fail)

Part E: Electives (2 courses)

IR majors may choose any two courses from the list below, provided that no more than nine of the twelve total courses required for the concentration may come from the economics and/or government department. All the courses in Part C listed above can also count as Part E courses.

ANTH 475: Globalization, Democratization and Neo-nationalisms
ANTH 476: National Formations and Postcolonial Identities
BUAD 417: International Banking and Trade Financing (Buad 203, Econ 101, 102)
ECON 342: Global Economic History (Econ 101, 102)
ECON 382: Comparative Economics (Econ 101, 102)
ECON 400: Economics of Immigration--Econ 400:03 (Econ 303, 304)
ECON 474: Seminar in International Economic Integration (ECON 303 304, and 475)
ECON 483: Development Economics (ECON 303, 304)
ECON 484: Economics of Growth (ECON 303, 304)
GOVT 322: Global Environmental Governance (Gov 204)
GOVT 324: U. S. Foreign Policy
GOVT 325: International Organization (GOVT 204)
GOVT 326: International Law (GOVT 204)
GOVT 327: Intermediate International Relations Theory (GOVT 204)
GOVT 330: Politics of European Cooperation (GOVT 204)
GOVT 391: Topics in Government (International Relations topics only)
GOVT 433: Theories of the International System
GOVT 482: Geostrategic Thought
HIST 131: Survey of Latin American History to 1824
HIST 132: Survey of Latin American History, 1824 to present
HIST 141: Survey of East Asian Civilization to 1600
HIST 142: Survey of East Asian Civilization, 1600 to present
HIST 161: History of South Asia
HIST 172: The Modern Middle East II (1798-present)
HIST 182: African History
HIST 211: Topics in History (only approved IR topics)
HIST 212: Topics in History (only approved IR topics)
HIST 223: Pacific War
HIST 241: European History, 1815-1914
HIST 242: European History, 1914-1945
HIST 243: Europe Since 1945

HIST 311: Topics in History (only approved IR topics)
HIST 312: Topics in History (only approved IR topics)
HIST 319: The Nuclear World
HIST 431: United States Immigration History
HIST 433: U.S. Foreign Relations, 1763-1900
HIST 434: U.S. Foreign Relations, 1900-present
HIST 435: America and Vietnam
HIST 490/491: Topics in History (International Relations topics only)
HIST 490C/491C: Senior Colloquia in History (International Relations topics only)
INRL 390: Topics in International Relations
INRL 480: Independent Study
INRL 495-496: Senior Honors
PSYC 470: Topics in Psychology: Psychology of Peacekeeping (instructor permission required)
RELG 323: Warfare and Ethics
SOCL 408: Migration in Global Context
SOCL 427: Globalization and the Environment
SOCL 430: Comparative Studies in Gender and Work

Second Language Requirement

The IR major requires intermediate proficiency in a modern language other than the native language of the student. The student can meet this requirement in two ways: 

Continuation of the modern foreign language used by the student to meet the College requirement to three courses above the level of 202. The courses must be taught in the target language.

Starting a second modern language in addition to the modern language used to meet the College requirement. The student must achieve the 202 level in both of the languages, and one course over the 202 level in one of the languages. The courses must be taught in the target language.

A student who is a native speaker of a language other than English should consult with his/her advisor about meeting the IR language requirement using their native language.