The International Relations and Global Studies (IRG) major prepares students to make effective decisions as citizens of an interconnected world; encourages global perspectives; and increases students’ opportunities to study other cultures in relation to their own. This interdisciplinary major focuses on relationships and tensions between cultures or regions by linking issues, approaches, contexts, and sources of knowledge in new ways.
IRG majors learn to think critically about key issues in the field and develop aptitude in the areas of political awareness, economic understanding, cultural competency, international cooperation, and global citizenship.
The IRG major consists of a total of 39 hrs for the major. It has a more rigorous foreign language requirement than other non-language majors, includes a mandatory study abroad component, and culminates in a senior capstone research course. In addition to completing an introductory course, an upper-division topics in international relations course, and a series of required core courses from various academic departments, IRG students focus on 12 hours of upper-division coursework in one of four interdisciplinary tracks: I. Culture, Media, and the Arts; II. International Security; III. Science, Technology, and the Environment; IV. International Political Economy. Outside of the major, IRG students must also complete a minor in a global area of concentration.
Today's citizens of the world are connected by markets, politics, and culture as never before. A fundamental understanding of the development of and changes in the world since the Enlightenment serves to provide a common vocabulary for global citizens.
Growing uniformity of mores, outlook, and social patterns is a prominent feature of globalization in the contemporary world. The patterns of transnational cultural influences are significant in themselves. They may also have wider political and economic implications. Age-old questions of collective identity and collective action thereby are acquiring a new form and a new saliency.
Enduring issues of war & peace between states now share attention with new phenomena that have come to the fore in the post-Cold War era. They include: ethnic conflicts and peacekeeping, transnational terrorism, energy security, and the proliferation of unconventional weapons. These concerns heighten awareness of the requirements for effective multilateral action in a world where legitimate and accountable authority still rests with national governments.
Our contemporary world has been shaped to a large extent by our progressive understanding and mastery of our natural environment through the advances of science and technology. Those transformations open historic opportunities for human betterment on a global scale. Maximizing that potential while ensuring the viability of the earth's ecosystem and resources challenges our public institutions, social order, and individual sense of responsibility as both national and world citizens.
An historically unprecedented degree of economic interdependence is a hallmark of today's world. Yet, this integration is not matched by competent mechanisms for overseeing the workings of world markets and coordinating national policies. There is a need to pull the two dimensions of global affairs into focus because systemic tensions among the principles of efficiency, equity, and stability are generating practical problems at every level and within every region.
