Global Studies, Major

Our community

Global Studies offers transformative topical, methodological, experiential/immersive/study-abroad, and career-oriented experience which position graduates for exciting international careers and graduate school.

Our alumni go on to pursue successful careers in fields including but not limited to global governance, international business, and non-profit and advocacy work in fields like international organizations, law, education, sustainability, migration, social movements, foreign policy, the private sector, philanthropy, and the global cultural industries.

Our strategy

Recognizing that challenges across these fields are becoming more complex in our age of rapid transformation, the program provides students with a robust, interdisciplinary conceptual and methodological toolkit. Another key feature of the program is high-touch advising, enabling students to customize their experience to their interests and professional goals.

For example, many students build study abroad into their four-year plan - an opportunity that is bolstered by the fact that credits from courses taken abroad typically can be channeled towards Global Studies graduation requirements.

Our curriculum

The student experience entails a four-step journey which is launched by:

• Taking two core requirements: Introduction to Global Studies and Research Methods (8 credits).
• Having completed these gateway courses, students explore three thematic “pathways” to expertise in global studies: Global Governance, Development and Sustainability, and Culture Power and Social Movements. Here students chose one of two courses offered within each pathway for robust cross-sectoral engagement (e.g. Int’l Law and Organizations; Diplomacy; Global Political Economy; Politics of Int’l Aid and Development; Culture Power and Social Movements; Global Migration) (12 credits).
• In the third step of the journey, student work with their dedicated faculty advisor - as well as our peer advisor team - to select upper-level College of Arts and Science electives taken either in residence or via study abroad. Here, students dive deeper into their preferred pathways while incorporating robust training on one or more world regions (e.g. Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East) or functional areas of expertise (e.g. diplomacy/foreign policy; public policy  and advocacy; communications/media).
• These upper-level electives also can be channeled to helping students secure minors the above area studies and functional fields, among other minors.  
• In the fourth and final leg of the journey, students bring together their global studies education to produce an honors thesis or capstone project as the culmination of their undergraduate journey and as stepping stone to next steps, such as a 4+1 combined undergrad/grad degree, law school, or embarking upon a global-facing career.