Degree Programs

As interactions between states, societies, and cultures increase, so too do the responses to these interactions multiply. The Global Studies major allows students to explore such interactions and their outcomes. By bringing in both historical and contemporary material, the major provides students with the tools that they need in order to make sense of the world in which they live—as well as understanding how it got to be that way. Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in global studies will engage in thinking critically about how global change has (and can) come about during the course of their lifetimes. The major aims to have students focus on relevant issues to them in a way that provides intellectual flexibility. The major will offer solid training in how to use acquired knowledge to become agents of positive change on the global issues that matter most to people here, and elsewhere around the world.

The Global Studies major requires students to choose a concentration and a geographic region in which to become an expert. It connects this regional specialization to language training. Global Studies majors will choose one of three concentrations: (1) Global Development; (2) Global Peace and Conflict; or (3) Global Societies and Cultures. This will allow students to focus their studies on a specific aspect of the “global.” At the same time, those pursuing this major will choose one of five regions (Asia, Africa, Europe/Russia, The Americas or the Middle East) in which to specialize, both in terms of content and language. In doing so, students have an opportunity to become a specialist in a specific region, especially as it relates to larger questions that arise from global interaction. In addition, the major requires training in critical thinking–that is how to study a particular problem in a consistent and rigorous way. Students will work with faculty and the Global Studies advisors to devise a program that best captures their interests and allows them to reach their intellectual and professional potentials.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
Major Requirements
Lower Division:
5 Courses


Foreign Language
All students must demonstrate a proficiency equivalent to four college-level semesters in a modern language other than English. This language must be linked to the student’s regional focus within the major.

Equivalency can be achieved through coursework, AP credit, examination, and/or study abroad. For more information on how to complete the language requirement, please consult the Global Studies Requirements & Policies handbook. Languages accepted by the College of Letters and Science are not automatically accepted by the Global Studies major. Please check with the department for eligible languages, and to make sure that your language matches your regional focus within the major.

Upper Division:

HOW TO DECLARE

Declaring:
Applications are accepted during the fall and spring semesters from the third week of instruction until the last day of instruction (not the last day of finals). Applications are accepted during summer sessions beginning in June until the beginning of the fall semester (not the beginning of classes).

To be eligible to declare students must:

Additionally, students are encouraged – but not required – to complete two semesters of college-level foreign language or the equivalent before applying to the major.

To get declared you must both:
attend a Major Declaration Workshop (check the Calendar for dates), and
meet with an advisor to submit the GLOBAL STUDIES application materials

Bring a completed Application – including all materials and transcripts listed below – to the Workshop. Application materials may be submitted after attending the Major Declaration Workshop. However, students will not be officially declared until they have both attended a Workshop and submitted all declaration papers.

LEARNING GOALS
Students who complete the major in Global Studies will:

1) Acquire historical and geographical knowledge, and develop language skills;

2) Develop strong interdisciplinary training, gaining control over key concepts in the social sciences and/or the humanities (see below);

3) Apply an interdisciplinary approach to the study of contemporary global issues;

4) Demonstrate analytical skills, as well as those in critical reading and writing, through research.

5) Synthesize the ways in which local circumstances influence global events, and vice-versa