International Studies, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Lynn Nelson
Professor and Program Coordinator in the Wilder School
Gina Kovarsky
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator in the School of World Studies
The International Studies Program is designed to increase students’ knowledge about the institutions, traditions, values, aspirations and concerns of people in different countries and regions of the world. Its broad-based, interdisciplinary curriculum gives students the option of focusing on several different themes and their combinations, depending on interests and career plans. These include political, social and economic systems, culture and religious traditions, diverse media, and language. To complete the major or the minor, students may choose to study questions and issues that confront the global community overall or may concentrate on a specific geographic area.
The Bachelor of Arts in International Studies will qualify students to follow a number of career paths, including business, community and government work in areas such as policy analysis, economic development, foreign service, international affairs, international development, foreign trade and finance. Students can also find opportunities in teaching and work with a variety of private public-service organizations. Further, an undergraduate degree in international studies provides an excellent background for the study of law and advanced graduate study in a number of social science and humanities disciplines, business or journalism.
Additional information about the international studies major and minors, including approved lists of courses for the various concentrations, is available from the international studies website at www.worldstudies.vcu.edu/intl.
Degree requirements – Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
To earn a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, students must complete 120 course credits, at least 31 of which must be in the major, with a minimum GPA of 2.25. Students must take at least 21 credits in upper-level (300 or 400) INTL courses. The focus should be interdisciplinary, with no more than half of major course credits beyond the INTL core coming from any one traditional discipline (e.g., ANTH, POLI or SOCY).
Students should work with their advisers to establish a plan for a minor that will broaden their international studies perspectives. International studies majors are encouraged to complete the course requirements for a minor in one of the following fields: African studies, Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, anthropology, Asian and Chinese studies, economics, business (general business minor), French, geography, German, history, Italian studies, Mediterranean studies, political science, religious studies, Russian studies, sociology, Spanish or urban and regional studies. Students also may want to consider a second major. Advisers will work with students to explore the benefits of a double major and a minor.
All majors are required to complete the following core courses (10 credits):
- INTL 101 Human Societies and Globalization or INTL/POLI 105 International Relations (three credits)
- INTL 490 Seminar in International Issues (three credits)
- INTL 493 International Studies Internship or INTL 398 Directed Study Abroad (or other approved study-abroad experience) or an approved service-learning or independent study course (three credits)
- INTL 499 Senior Seminar (one credit)
Students must fulfill an experiential learning requirement through an approved internship, service-learning course or study-abroad program. Additionally, students must complete foreign language study through the advanced level (300, 305, 320 or 321) by course or placement, unless this level of instruction is not available in the chosen language. (In such cases, the faculty adviser will assist the student in identifying appropriate language study options at other U.S. institutions or abroad.) International studies students also must fulfill the college general education requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree.
To major in international studies, students must take course work that fulfills the requirements for either a general international studies major (offered with a humanities emphasis in the World School or a social science emphasis in the Wilder School), or students must choose a major with a global studies concentration (with options in both the World School or Wilder School) or a geographical area studies concentration (available only through the World School). Students may choose the program of study that best fits their interests. The general international studies option is outlined below; concentration areas may be reached by the links to the right.
General international studies major
The following three courses (nine credits) are required:
1. INTL 101 Human Societies and Globalization (if not used as a core requirement) or INTL/POLI 105 International Relations (if not used as a core requirement)
2. INTL/SOCY 330 Global Societies: Trends and Issues
3. INTL/POLI 362 International Organizations and Institutions
In consultation with their advisers, students will be required to complete 12 additional credits in international studies that comprise a coherent set of courses aimed at deepening knowledge in a particular area. Students interested in completing these credits with a social science emphasis should consult with advisers in the Wilder School, while those interested in completing these credits with a humanities emphasis should consult with advisers in the World School.