The New IR Curriculum for 2007/2008

The new IR Curriculum is now in effect as of May 2007.  If you declared under the old curriculum, these changes do NOT apply to you. Click here to see the old curriculum.

You may also find answers in the curriculum FAQs.  Additional questions can be directed to your faculty advisor, to Professor Tierney (mjtier@wm.edu), or Professor Rahman (kirahm@wm.edu).

Please note that not all of these classes may be available.  Please check the current course listings for courses, times, prerequisites and other important information. Interested in an Honors thesis? Click here!

The New IR Curriculum

Students who declare their majors from Summer 2007 forward will have the following 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.

GOVT    204:     Introduction to International Politics
GOVT    328:     International Political Economy (Govt 204)
GOVT    329:     International Security (Govt 204)
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:     Contemporary Problems in IR (GOVT 204, HIST 192, ECON 101/102)

Part B: Methods (1 course): Computer Proficiency is satisfied by Part B

Part B includes courses designed to familiarize students with the basic methodological tools of disciplines contributing to the IR major. 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, 301 prerequisites, 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
ECON    382:     Comparative Economics
GOVT    312:     Politics of Developing Countries
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       211:     Topics in History (only approved IR topics)
HIST       212:     Topics in History (only approved IR topics)
HIST      280:       West Africa
HIST       300:      The Caribbean
HIST       305:     History of Mexico
HIST      304:       Brazil
HIST       325:      Race, Culture, and Modernization in South Africa
HIST       326:     Ethnicity and State in the African Context
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

If students take more than one course from the Part C list, those courses may be used as electives to fulfill Part E.

Part D: Capstone (1 course): Major Writing Requirement is satisfied by Part D

To fulfill part D, each student must successfully complete an independent research project. 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.
xxx          xxx             400-level seminar in contributing department (approved IR topics
                                 only)
xxx          xxx             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.

ANTH    475:     Globalization, Democratization and Neo-nationalisms
ANTH    476:     National Formations and Postcolonial Identities
BUAD    417:     International Banking and Trade Financing
ECON    400:     Economics of Immigration--Econ 400:03
ECON    474:     Seminar in International Economic Integration (ECON 303 and 304)
ECON    483:     Development Economics (ECON 303, 304)
ECON    484:     Economics of Growth (ECON 303, 304)
ECON    485:     Seminar in the Macroeconomics of Development (ECON 303 and 304)
GOVT    322:     Global Environmental Governance
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    347:     Southern Africa:  Politics and Society
GOVT    391:     Topics in Government (International Relations topics only)
GOVT    417:     Government and Politics in South Asia
GOVT    433:     Theories of the International System
GOVT    436:     International Relations of East Asia
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       223:     Pacific War
HIST       241:     European History, 1815-1914
HIST       242:     European History, 1914-1945
HIST       243:     Europe Since 1945
HIST       280:     West Africa Since 1800
HIST       330:     American and China:  US-China Relations Since 1784
HIST       373:     East Central Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries
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 Peace Keeping
SOCL     408:     Migration in Global Context
SOCL     430:     Comparative Studies in Gender and Work