Academics

International Relations > Requirements

International Relations Major
A major in international relations must take a core set of courses that will form a firm basis from which to study advanced areas in depth. The core courses will acquaint the student with concepts such as the balance of power, the development of the nation-state system in Europe, non-Western history, basic models of human societies, and basic economic principles. Students must maintain a C average in courses taken in the major.

The required core courses are:  Economics 110 (Principles of Economics); Sociology and Anthropology 110 (Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology); History 212 (Europe from the Old Regime to the Modern Era) or History 213 (Europe in the Twentieth Century); Politics 340 (World Politics); International Relations 480 (Senior Seminar). The Senior requirement can also be met by a senior thesis or a research project as approved by the department chair. The completion of a foreign language through the 305 or 320 level is also required for students whose primary language is English.

Students must take two courses from a specifically comparative perspective to become familiar with differences and similarities among different states and societies. The two courses may be selected from the following or from any other comparative courses deemed suitable by the chairperson: Economics 270 (Latin American Development); Politics 210 (Politics of Western Europe and the European Union); Politics 212 (Politics of the Third World); Politics 216 (The Politics of the Middle East); Politics 217 (African Politics); Politics 219 (The Politics of Latin America); Politics 310 (State and Nation Building); Politics 318-01 (Women in the Third World).

A student must also take four electives that will enable him or her to focus interest on a series of interrelated topics in preparation for the seminar. These four courses or independent studies or internships are to be chosen in consultation with the chairperson.

International Relations Minor
Eight courses are required from the following: four foreign language courses; two core courses and two comparative courses that are normally required for the major; or two foreign language courses and four core courses and two comparative courses that are normally required for the major. 

Politics 110: Introduction to Politics 

Politics 214: Politics of South Africa 

274 Topics in Asian Studies: Global Engagement in Contemporary China
(Cross-listed as Asian Studies 274, History 274, and Philosophy 274.)

345 Topics in International Relations: Arms Proliferation and Control
This course introduces students to the main arguments and concepts in international relations regarding the proliferation and control of weapons of mass destruction. It studies the theory of arms proliferation and control, focusing on why states want these weapons, why they have sought to regulate them, and how proliferation affects international security. It also surveys recent case studies of arms proliferation and control, including the U.S.-Russian nuclear deterrence regime and new challenges to it, nuclear proliferation in South Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East, and recent developments in the area of biological and chemical weapons.

348 International Organization & Law
(Cross-listed as Politics 348.)

480 Senior Seminar: America and the Twenty-First-Century World
What are America’s core national interests? What are the principal threats to these interests? What role should America play in the world? These questions of grand strategy have taken on new importance in recent years. During the Cold War, the United States pursued a strategy of containment, which sought to limit the power and influence of the Soviet Union. While containment may have hastened the demise of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War also put an end to containment as a viable grand strategy. As a result, since the early 1990s policy makers and policy analysts have sought to reorient grand strategy in ways that reflect the fundamental changes underway in the international system. Particular attention is given to the similarities and differences in the grand strategies of the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, which address issues such as international institutions, the use of force and military spending, democracy promotion, the world economy, and the global environment.