About the Program Home Welcome Overview Awards and Honors Faculty and Staff Contact Us For Students The IR Major & Minor The Curriculum The Old Curriculum Preapproved Courses Study Abroad For Thesis Writers The Senior Thesis Guidelines for the Senior Thesis A Few Thoughts on the Thesis Research Grants Editing for Effective Writing Formatting Requirements Thesis Prizes Past Theses Events and Resources Calendar of Events Resources for IR Students Career Resources Career Reflections Useful Links

The Requirements of the Major & Minor in IR

The IR Major

There are three components to the IR Major.

• The core curriculum
• The electives in the major
• The senior thesis

All IR majors are required to complete a core-curriculum consisting of international relations theory, history, security and international economics. In addition, IR majors are required to complete a series of electives in the major chosen from a list of courses approved by the IR program. Finally all IR majors are required to successfully complete an independent senior thesis project.

As outlined in greater detail in the curriculum page the major requires you to successfully complete 12 CUs of study. In addition, we require 4 CUs of prerequisite work before admission to the major. Thus, the Program in International Relations is considered a 16 CU major, and accordingly, IR majors will be required to complete a total of 36 CUs in order to graduate from the College.

The specific requirements for the major are outlined on the curriculum page.

Admission to the Major

Admission to the major is by application. All prospective majors must come in for a pre-admission interview with an International Relations Program advisor to discuss the completion of prerequisites, as well as your overall plan of study in the program.

Prospective majors are required by the college to declare their major by the end of sophomore year. Students are encouraged to come meet with our advisors earlier---freshmen are welcome, and sophomores seriously thinking about the major should come in during the fall semester (preferably by preregistration). IR is a demanding major, and getting the most out of the program requires careful planning. This is particularly the case if you plan to study abroad during your junior year.

Students who are changing majors or adding a second major are urged to file an application with the IR office and College Advising no later than the first semester of their junior year - preferably prior to the end of the drop/add period. Because of staffing and enrollment contingencies pertaining to the Senior Seminar for Thesis Research no one will be admitted to the major after their junior year or after they have reached senior status.

The curriculum

The International Relations Program has a long history of offering rigorous and well rounded academic training to our majors. However, we are always looking for opportunities to improve our program, and are constantly engaging in dialog both within and with those outside the program on ways to make the program even stronger. As a result of such deliberations, we are putting into effect a new curriculum for the program effective the 2006-2007 academic year. Members of the class of 2008 have the option of selecting the new curriculum, or being grandfathered in to the old one. All students beginning with the class of 2009 will take the new curriculum.

• Curriculum effective AY2006-2007
• Old curriculum

The IR Minor

To achieve a minor in IR, a student must do passing work in six (6) courses:

• PSCI 150 or IR 101: International Relations in Theory and Practice
• PSCI 151: International Security or HIST 395: East Asian Diplomacy or HIST 420: European Diplomatic History or HIST 421: International Politics
• PSCI 131: American Foreign Policy or HIST 331: American Diplomatic History or HIST 451: US War and Diplomacy
• ECON 50: International Economics or ECON 251& 252: International Trade & International Monetary economics
• Two (2) electives.
  

Only one non-College course may be applied to the minor. These courses cannot be taken Pass/Fail, but can be double-counted for other majors.

Students wishing to do a minor in international relations need only complete the ECON 1& 2 prerequisites. The application form for the IR minor is available from the IR Program office.