Information for First Year Students

  1. Office & Department Directory
  2. Global Studies Department
  3. Information for First Year Students

Global Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to issues that span across the globe such as migration, health, violence, and economic inequality. The department is built off of the Global Studies Learning Goals of positionality, relationality, historicity, globality and locality, and critique. The Global Studies department aims to develop students to take a critical and thoughtful view of global relationships and the dominant ways of understanding the world. First-Year Students interested in Global Studies are encouraged to take GS 101 I: Political Economy and GS 102 II: Race, Culture, and Identity. 

Major Requirements

I. Core Courses

101. Introduction to Global Studies I: Political Economy.

102. Introduction to Global Studies II: Race, Culture, Identity.

290. Global Studies Research Methods.

301. Theories of Global Political Economy.

302. Theories of Global Cultural Studies.

Two (2) Elective Courses with GS Designation

 (i) One at the 200 level

(ii) One at the 300 level

     Electives should normally fit in with the student's concentration. Students may petition the global studies chair to count other appropriate GS-designated transnational courses.

489, 490. SYE: Senior Project.

498, 499. SYE: Honors Project.

II. Choice of Concentrations.

Students have three tracks they can choose from to mold their concentration. These are comparative area studies, in which they take three courses in each of two geographic or cultural areas; one-area study, in which they take four courses in an area plus either two semesters of introductory language or one semester of 200-level language related to their area concentration; or thematic study, in which they take three courses in a region or culture and three courses in such areas as gender and sexuality studies, peace studies, environmental studies, security, development or other topics approved by the global studies chair. Students doing the comparative area studies or thematic concentration also need to complete at least one semester of a second language.

Area Studies options available for students’ concentrations include:

  • African Studies
  • African-American Studies
  • Arabic Studies
  • Asian Studies
  • Canadian Studies
  • Caribbean and Latin American Studies
  • Chinese Studies
  • European Studies
  • Native American Studies

Thematic programs and options available for students' concentrations include:

  • Development
  • Environmental Studies
  • Peace Studies
  • Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • Public Health
  • Media Communications
  • Migration/Mobility
  • Business
  • Governance/Policy
  • The Arts
  • Religious Studies
  • Social movements

With the approval of the department chair, students may also choose an area not on the above list (e.g. Middle Eastern or Islamic studies, security studies, policy studies, etc).

Minor Requirements

The global studies minor consists of five (5) courses: Global Studies 101, 102, either 301 or 302, two electives in global studies (one at the 200 level and one at the 300 level), and a semester of second language study.

Honors Requirements

To receive honors in global studies, students must achieve a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.2 overall and submit for evaluation a project of substantial length. Further details may be obtained in the department office.