International Studies Minor

Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences
Degrees Offered: None
Minor Offered: International Studies

The International Studies Minor requires the successful completion of the following:

1. Students who choose to pursue the International Studies minor must seek advice and approval from faculty members on the International Studies Minor Committee and from their advisors in the major program. This includes, but is not limited to, an International Studies Minor Plan of Study Worksheet signed by a member of the International Studies Minor Committee.
2. A student completing the International Studies minor must take 15 hours of course work in International Studies. The minor consists of two tiers with the student taking six hours in Tier I and nine hours in Tier II.
3. The six hours from Tier I must be from the set of courses listed below, with the stipulation that no student may take his/her two courses from within the same discipline, or within the major area of study. The purpose of these primary courses is to give the student a general introduction to the international environment and the issues involved in addressing questions from an international perspective. The double-counting of core courses is appropriate.
4. The students must take the remaining nine hours from Tier II courses in either the issues section or the area studies section. The issues courses address certain thematic subfields of international studies, such as international economics, international political organization, development, and American foreign policy. The area courses allow the student to focus on particular countries or geographic regions. Students develop specific programs with the assistance of an International Studies Minor Committee faculty advisor to ensure the maintenance of a certain degree of intellectual coherence.
5. All students receiving the International Studies minor will have completed work in a foreign language up through the intermediate level as determined by either the completion of suitable coursework or the testing of language proficiency.
6. Unsupervised tours rarely qualify for credit toward the International Studies Minor. In rare exceptions, a maximum of three credit hours for unsupervised tours is allowable with a predetermined and pre-approved academic requirement authorized by an International Studies Minor Committee faculty advisor. Occasionally, up to nine credit hours are possible for supervised tours or overseas work with rigorous academic expectations. Such a tour must have the approval of an International Studies Minor Committee faculty advisor and the Center for International Education Abroad. Generally, overseas tours or courses taken at other domestic institutions of higher learning may earn no more than six credit hours. Substitutions occur at the discretion of International Studies Minor Committee faculty advisor and other signatories required per the standard Substitution Card.