Concentration in International Affairs
The Major in Global Studies —
Concentration in International Affairs
Why do states, nations, and societies cooperate, compromise, and fight? Living and working in our rapidly changing global arena presents great opportunities to advance the human condition, improve political and civil liberties, recast bargains between governments and their societies, transform social welfare, and advance the boundaries of knowledge and scientific exploration. Yet, this same context presents great risks as people fear loss of identity, worry about economic subordination and loss to those beyond their borders, encounter the export of environmental degradation, and confront potential decline in personal and social autonomy. Students can explore the heightened economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental interdependence that generates prospects for cooperation; at the same time, this interdependence involves serious challenges, which create the possibility for conflict but also for compromise.
Concentration objectives: The concentration in International Affairs offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding relations between societies. It provides opportunities to examine complex global issues and processes from multiple perspectives and to help understand the fundamental processes of cooperation, compromise, and conflict in the global arena. The program provides students with knowledge and skills for understanding and working with difficult international and cross-cultural problems that states, societies, and communities face.
General Requirements
One semester of language must be completed before declaring the major.
- Students must complete a minimum of 36 units in Global Studies, including at least three courses focused on a world area.
- Students must complete at least 24 units at the 300 level or above, including courses across a minimum of three academic disciplines.
- Students must complete at least 6 units at the 400 level, no more than 3 of which may be directed research or independent study.
- In addition to the 36 units, students must complete a four-semester sequence of courses in one modern language appropriate to their concentration.
These requirements may be fulfilled only with college-level course work undertaken during a student's undergraduate enrollment. Courses must be taken for a grade, and a student must receive a grade of C+ or higher in all courses.
This concentration requires 36 units of course work:
- 3 units of Research Methods course work (any level)
- 6 units of introductory course work (100-200 level) from two different academic disciplines
- 9 units of advanced course work from the Core Courses list (300-400 level)
- 15 units of advanced course work (300-400 level)
- 3 units of additional course work (any level)
Africa, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia and North America are considered world areas for the International Affairs concentration. A student must complete two courses in one of these world areas and one course in another world area.
Note: A single course may satisfy more than one of the distribution requirements (i.e., disciplinary or world area). Some of these requirements may be completed while abroad.
Introductory courses (choose two from this list, for a total of 6 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 178 | First-Year Seminar: Imagining and Creating Africa: Youth, Culture, and Change | 3 |
| AFAS 255 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| AMCS 250 | Topics in Asian American Studies: Intro to Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies | 3 |
| Anthro 132 | First-Year Seminar: Past Tense, Future Imperfect: The Rise and Fall of Societies & Global Civilization | 3 |
| Anthro 160B | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| BEYOND 160 | Gender, Youth, and Global Health | 3 |
| Biol 2950 | Introduction to Environmental Biology | 3 |
| Chinese 227C | Chinese Civilization | 3 |
| Chinese 270 | Sophomore Seminar: U.S.-China Relations: Perceptions and Realities | 3 |
| EPSc 111 | Introduction to Global Climate Change in the 21st Century | 3 |
| EPSc 116A | Resources of the Earth | 3 |
| EPSc 201 | Earth and the Environment | 4 |
| EPSc 219 | Energy and the Environment | 3 |
| EPSc 221A | Human Use of the Earth | 3 |
| Econ 1011 | Introduction to Microeconomics | 3 |
| Econ 1021 | Introduction to Macroeconomics | 3 |
| Econ 208 | First-Year Seminar: Economics and Society | 3 |
| EnSt 110 | Environmental Issues | 3 |
| EnSt 290 | Sophomore Seminar in Sustainability and the Environment | 3 |
| FYP 116 | Ampersand: Geographies of Globalization and Development | 3 |
| FYP 117 | Amp:Global Population on the Move: Language + Resettlement w/Legal, Healthcare + Educational Systems | 3 |
| FYP 2242 | Ampersand: Migration Policies and Colonialism: Refugee Resettlement and Integration | 3 |
| FYP 2243 | Ampersand: Mediterranean Migration: Dynamics and Consequences on the EU and MENA | 3 |
| GIS 200 | Introduction to GIS (U90) | 3 |
| History 102C | Western Civilization II | 3 |
| GS 103B | First-Year Seminar: International Public Affairs | 3 |
| GS 111 | First-Year Seminar: The Vietnam Wars | 3 |
| GS 127 | Migration in the Global World: Stories | 3 |
| GS 135 | First-Year Seminar: Chinatown: Migration, Identity, and Space | 3 |
| GS 140 | East Asia in the World | 3 |
| GS 155 | First-Year Seminar: Mapping the World: Introduction to Human Geography | 3 |
| GS 160 | World Politics and the Global Economy | 3 |
| GS 207 | Crossing Borders: An Introduction to Institutions and Concepts in Global Studies | 3 |
| GS 229 | Modern European History: Migrations, Nation States, Identities | 3 |
| GS 244 | Introduction to European Studies | 3 |
| History 102D | Introduction to Modern European History | 3 |
| History 1500 | Silver, Slaves and the State: Globalization in the 18th Century | 3 |
| History 164 | Introduction to World History: The Second World War in World History | 3 |
| History 1640 | Health and Disease in World History | 3 |
| History 2093 | Mobilizing Shame: Violence, the Media and Int'l Intervention | 3 |
| History 2119 | First-Year Seminar: Race and Ethnicity in Latin America: Myths, Realities and Identities | 3 |
| History 2157 | First-Year Seminar: The Meaning of Pakistan: History, Culture, Art | 3 |
| History 2171 | Who Died and Made Them Kings? People, Politics and Power in the Atlantic World | 3 |
| History 2356 | From St. Louis to Shanghai: Cities and Citizens in Global Urban History | 3 |
| History 270 | Globalization and its Discontents | 3 |
| IPH 207C | Modern Political Thought: Text and Traditions | 3 |
| Japan 226C | Japanese Civilization | 3 |
| JIMES 210C | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 3 |
| Korean 223C | Korean Civilization | 3 |
| LatAm 165D | Latin America: Nation, Ethnicity and Social Conflict | 3 |
| Math 1011 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| Math 2200 | Elementary Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| MEC 290 | Microeconomics | 3 |
| MEC 292 | Global Economy | 3 |
| Phil 100G | Logic and Critical Analysis | 3 |
| Phil 131F | Present Moral Problems | 3 |
| Phil 233F | Biomedical Ethics | 3 |
| Phil 235F | Introduction to Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| Physics 171A | Physics and Society | 3 |
| Pol Sci 102B | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| Pol Sci 103B | International Politics | 3 |
| Pol Sci 106 | Introduction to Political Theory | 3 |
| Pol Sci 2010 | Introduction to Environmental Policy | 3 |
| RelPol 290 | Islamophobia & U.S. Politics | 3 |
| SOC 106 | Social Problems and Social Issues | 3 |
| SOC 2010 | The Roots of Ferguson: Understanding Racial Inequality in the Contemporary U.S. | 3 |
| SOC 2030 | Social Movements | 3 |
| SOC 2110 | Social Inequality in America | 3 |
| URST 101 | First-Year Seminar: Introduction to Urban Studies | 3 |
| WGSS 100B | Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| WGSS 206 | Sexuality and the State: Introduction to Sexuality Studies | 3 |
Core courses (choose three from this list, for a total of 9 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Anthro 3206 | Global Gender Issues | 3 |
| Anthro 3283 | Introduction to Global Health | 3 |
| Anthro 3391 | Economies as Cultural Systems | 3 |
| Anthro 3612 | Population and Society | 3 |
| Anthro 3874 | International Public Health | 3 |
| Anthro 4022 | Transnational Reproductive Health Issues: Meanings, Technologies, Practices | 3 |
| Econ 451 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| GS 3040 | International Law and Politics | 3 |
| GS 314B | International Politics | 3 |
| GS 328B | Gateway to Development | 3 |
| GS 3575 | U.S. Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice | 3 |
| GS 376 | International Economics | 3 |
| GS 402 | The Meaning of National Security in the 21st Century | 3 |
| GS 4246 | State Failure, State Success and Development | 3 |
| GS 4622 | Labor and Labor Movements in Global History | 3 |
| GS 4761 | Politics of Global Finance | 3 |
| History 3593 | The Wheels of Commerce: From the Industrial Revolution to Global Capitalism | 3 |
| History 3741 | History of United States: Foreign Relations: 1920-1989 | 3 |
| History 3743 | History of U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1920 | 3 |
| IA 511 | International Law and Human Rights (U85) | 3 |
| IA 519 | International Growth and Development, Inequality, and Transitional Justice (U85) | 3 |
| IA 535 | American Foreign Policy (U85) | 3 |
| IA 5571 | Politics of Global Finance (U85) | 3 |
| IA 574 | International Relations (U85) | 3 |
| IA 5772 | State Failure, State Success and Development (U85) | 3 |
| Pol Sci 3171 | Topics in Politics | 3 |
| Pol Sci 332B | Environmental and Energy Issues | 3 |
| Pol Sci 339 | Topics in Politics | 3 |
| Pol Sci 373 | International Political Economy | 3 |
| Pol Sci 4070 | Global Justice | 3 |
| Pol Sci 4731 | Global Political Economy | 3 |
| Pol Sci 4791 | Political Economy of Development | 3 |
| Pol Sci 4792 | Globalization and National Politics | 3 |
| SOC 3001 | Social Theory | 3 |
| SOC 4810 | Global Structures and Problems | 3 |
Research methods courses (choose one from this list, for a total of 3 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Anthro 3284 | Public Health Research and Practice | 3 |
| Anthro 4123 | Argumentation Through Ethnography | 3 |
| Anthro 4253 | Researching Fertility, Mortality and Migration | 3 |
| Anthro 4455 | Ethnographic Fieldwork: The Politics of Schooling | 3 |
| Anthro 4481 | Writing Culture | 3 |
| Anthro 4803 | Advanced GIS Modeling and Landscape Analysis | 3 |
| APL 4111 | Linguistics and Language Learning | 3 |
| ARCH 307X | Community Building | 3 |
| CFH 400W | Merle Kling Undergraduate Honors Fellowship Seminar | 3 |
| Comp Lit 394 | Worldwide Translation: Language, Culture, Technology | 3 |
| DAT 120 | Managerial Statistics I | 3 |
| DAT 121 | Managerial Statistics II | 3 |
| Econ 413 | Introduction to Econometrics | 3 |
| Econ 414 | Econometric Techniques (U07) | 3 |
| EnSt 380 | Applications in GIS | 3 |
| GIS 200 | Introduction to GIS (U90) | 3 |
| GIS 300 | Advanced GIS (U90) | 3 |
| GIS 303 | Digital Cartography (U90) | 3 |
| GIS 421 | Spatial Data Modeling and Design (U90) | 3 |
| GS 318 | Learning to Use GIS in Development, Area Studies and International Affairs | 3 |
| GS 3248 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| GS 4005 | Directed Research in Global Studies | 3 |
| GS 4414 | Gender Analysis for International Affairs | 3 |
| History 301T | Historical Methods — Transregional History | 3 |
| IA 524 | Process and Design of Research (U85) | 3 |
| IA 5410 | Alternative Analytic Techniques for International Affairs (U85) | 3 |
| Math 1011 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| Math 2200 | Elementary Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| Math 3200 | Elementary to Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis | 3 |
| Math 475 | Statistical Computation | 3 |
| NPM 450 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| Phil 321G | Philosophy of Science | 3 |
| Pol Sci 3011 | Computational Modeling in the Social Sciences | 3 |
| Pol Sci 362 | Politics and the Theory of Games | 3 |
| Pol Sci 363 | Quantitative Political Methodology | 3 |
| Pol Sci 4043 | Public Policy Analysis, Assessment and Practical Wisdom | 3 |
| Pol Sci 4271 | Data Science and Policy | 3 |
| Pol Sci 495 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| Psych 300 | Introduction to Psychological Statistics | 3 |
| SOC 3050 | Statistics for Sociology | 3 |
Advanced courses: Choose five courses from current, relevant, internationally focused course offerings in the following departments.* All courses must be approved by the student's Global Studies advisor in order to count for the major. Visit the concentration webpage and master course list for the full list of options.
- African and African-American Studies
- Anthropology
- Applied Linguistics
- Arabic
- Architecture
- Art History
- Biology and Biomedical Sciences
- Chinese
- Classics
- Comparative Literature
- Earth and Planetary Science
- East Asian Languages and Cultures
- Economics
- Education
- Environmental Studies
- Film and Media Studies
- Finance (Olin Business School)
- German
- Global Studies
- History
- Italian
- Jewish, Islamic and Middle Eastern Cultures
- Korean
- Latin American Studies
- Management (Olin Business School)
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Religion and Politics
- Religious Studies
- Russian
- Sociology
- Spanish
- University College — Geographic Information Systems; International Affairs; International Studies; Sustainability
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- *
Students may submit a request to add a course by following the instructions for the Petition Process.
Additional Requirements and Information
Study Abroad
- We strongly encourage students to study abroad. For those who do not study abroad and receive credit toward the Global Studies General Requirements, an additional 3-unit course at the 300 or 400 level is required.
- We strongly prefer students to select a study abroad location and regional specialization consistent with their chosen language of study (e.g., if a student wishes to study in Latin America, they must satisfy their language requirement with either Portuguese or Spanish).
- Students may receive a maximum of 6 credits from a single semester, 12 credits from a year, or 3 credits from a summer term of study abroad.
- Students may apply no more than 12 total credits to the Global Studies major from study abroad, University College, summer school at other U.S. universities, or any combination thereof.
- To receive credit for a summer course completed at another institution, a student should fill out the Approval for Non-WashU Course Credit form with Arts & Sciences to take the course for "general credit" and then petition to have the course count toward their Global Studies major.
Latin Honors
- Students must confidently expect to graduate with an overall grade-point average of 3.65 or higher to qualify for Latin Honors.
- Students should enroll in GS 485 Preparation for Global Studies Honors Thesis during the fall of senior year and in GS 486 Global Studies Senior Honors Thesis during the spring of senior year (under the corresponding section number of the faculty member overseeing the student's thesis).
Language Requirement
- All Global Studies majors must satisfy a language requirement that entails the successful completion of four semesters of one modern language appropriate to their concentration. For some students, this may mean the first four semesters of a language; for others who place into advanced language classes — and with approval from Global Studies language faculty — this may include literature, culture, oral communication, and linguistic courses in the target language, once such students complete the basic language sequence.
- Students are encouraged to study more than one language at Washington University, but they must satisfy their Global Studies language requirement by demonstrating competence in at least one language through the fourth semester. Available modern languages include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. Students should consult the course listings for details about the language sequences. (On the "A&S IQ" tab, click on "Courses," and then toggle "Area Requirement" to "LS Language & Cultural Diversity-Language" and click "Search" to see a list of available language courses.)
Special note for Spanish learners: The following Spanish courses are not part of the regular sequence that are permitted to count toward the four semesters of language: Span 223 Intermediate Spanish Conversation and Culture, Span 351 Business Spanish, Span 353 Medical Spanish, and Span 355 Spanish for the Social Sciences. Some students might find these courses valuable for other reasons. For questions about this, students should consult with their major advisor.
Students With Prior Language Experience
Native speakers of a modern language: Students must satisfy the four-semester Global Studies language requirement in another language appropriate to their concentration.
Heritage speakers who do not have a native level of fluency: Students must seek appropriate placement by the coordinator of the language program and complete the four-semester Global Studies language requirement.
Transfer students who have taken language courses: A transfer student may receive credit for the courses as part of the four-semester Global Studies language requirement only if a placement exam is taken upon arrival at Washington University in the given language and the department/program determines that the student may progress to the next highest level of language instruction.
Students who take a language course at another institution (whether in the United States or abroad): A student may receive credit for the course as part of the four-semester Global Studies language requirement only if (1) the credit is transferred back as Washington University credit; and (2) the student takes a placement exam in the given language upon their return to Washington University and the department/program determines that the student may progress to the next highest level of language instruction.