International Relations Major

Pepper on Camel

The International Relations major builds from core requirements in political science and adds interdisciplinary study in economics, foreign language and history to equip students with the tools they need to understand and analyze world affairs, international development and international political economy. The major provides focused training for students who plan to work in a variety of international career fields including international governmental affairs, international business, area studies, relief and development, international law, and graduate study in foreign affairs, law and international politics.

International Relations Major Requirements

Requirements for an International Relations major are 34 hours of courses in international relations and 12 hours of supporting courses.

Core Courses in International Relations

CourseNameHours
IR 155  Comparative Politics  4
IR 175   International Politics   4
PSCI 135
or
PSCI 145 
American Politics and Government
or 
Political Philosophy 
4
IR 494  Senior Seminar   4
IR 496  Internship  2

Electives

Comparative Politics

CourseNameHours
IR 347  East Asian Politics  4
IR 348  Middle East Politics  4
IR 354  African Politics  4
IR 355  Latin American Politics  4
IR 356   European Politics  4
IR 358  Post-Communist Politics  4

International Politics 

CourseNameHours
IR 315  Politics of Global Development  4
IR 370  International Law   4
IR 376  Ethics and Foreign Policy  2
IR 378  U.S. Foreign Policy   4 
IR 379  International Political Economy  2

Required Supporting Courses

The major requires 12 hours of supporting courses from other departments. The other 8 hours of supporting courses must be taken from two of the following four categories.  The four categories are Foreign Language, Economics, History, and Research: