Department Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in International Relations

All majors and minors must complete IR 210 International Relations: Introductory Analysis. All majors also must complete IR 211 International Relations: Approaches to Research, or its equivalent. Normally IR 210 should be completed before attempting 400-level IR courses.

Three semesters of a single foreign language are required. All majors are encouraged to obtain as much foreign language training as possible either through a major or a minor in a foreign language or through a study program abroad. A fourth semester of a foreign language may be applied toward the IR major elective requirements.

Beyond IR 210 and IR 211, or its equivalent, international relations majors are required to take eight additional courses. Seven upper division courses, at least six of which must come from the curriculum of the School of International Relations, are required. These six upper division IR courses must include at least one regional course and one 400-level course. IR courses, the fourth semester of a language sequence, and approved courses from related fields may be taken as the seventh and eighth courses.

Department Minor Requirements

The minor in international relations allows students to develop a specialty in the field without a full major. Requirements are: IR 210 International Relations: Introductory Analysis and four upper division courses including at least one regional course and one 400-level course. Students planning to minor in international relations should register with the director of student affairs in Von KleinSmid Center 301.

Honors Program

The honors program centers around IR 494 Honors Thesis Seminar which culminates in a thesis based on original research. In the spring of the junior year, students who have earned a GPA of 3.5 in the major and an overall GPA of 3.3 submit an application, two letters of recommendation and a writing sample which identifies the thesis topic to the student affairs office. Upon admission to the program, the student identifies an appropriate faculty member to supervise the thesis and, in the fall of the senior year, enrolls in IR 494. If the program is completed successfully (a B+ or better in IR 494, a major GPA of 3.5 and an overall GPA of 3.3), the transcript will read "with Honors."

Interdisciplinary Russian Area Studies Minor

See Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Interdisciplinary Peace and Conflict Studies Minor See Peace and Conflict Studies Program.

Advisement

Advisement is required for all majors and minors. Students are encouraged to meet with the director of student affairs at least once a semester to review the direction of their individual programs. Students are also encouraged to seek the advisement of faculty members whose specializations are appropriate to their programs of study.

Academic Specialization

Students majoring in international relations who wish to develop their own specialization or emphasize a particular regional area may establish with a faculty advisor, or with the director of student affairs, an academic program which will accomplish the students' objectives.

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