Many students choose to pursue an International Studies (IS) major to prepare themselves to meet the challenges of the complex and interconnected world of the twenty-first century. The major consists of three elements:

• Seven courses in the International Studies Core;
• Six courses according to the student's chosen disciplinary base;
• Senior year requirements consisting of one or two courses.

The major is open to a select group of students after they have completed one year of study at Boston College. Admission is determined by the Academic Board of the International Studies program. Applications are submitted in early May, with sealed transcripts sent after all freshman grades are available. The IS office will request transcripts for students.

Curriculum

Major Course Plan

International Studies Core - seven courses (21 credits)

• IN 500/PO 500 Introduction to International Studies
• EC 131 Microeconomics
• EC 132 Macroeconomics
• PO 4xx One of the designated Comparative Politics courses
• TH 563 Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
• Two courses from the following list of History, Culture, and Society course options, or other courses approved by the International Studies Director or Academic Advisor:
  • IN/EN 503 Global Englishes
  • HS 005-006 Asia in the World I and II
  • HS 019-020 Democracy, Rights and Empire I and II
  • HS 023-024 Eurasia in the World I and II
  • HS 055-056 Globalization I and II
  • HS 059-060 Islam and Global Modernities I and II
  • HS 067-068 Latin America in the World I and II
  • HS 572 U.S. Foreign Policy II/1945-present
  • SC 003 Introductory Anthropology
  • SC 040 Global Sociology
  • TH 161-162 The Religious Quest
  • TH 386 Ethics in a Comparative Perspective
  • TH 507 Introduction to Comparative Theology

Disciplinary Base - six courses (18 Credits)

Select a Disciplinary Base in Economics, Political Science, Ethics and International Social Justice, or Global Cultural Studies:

Economics

• EC 201 Microeconomic Theory
  
• EC 202 Macroeconomic Theory
  
• EC 151 Statistics
  
• EC 228 Econometrics or EC 308 Game Theory in Economics
• Two electives chosen from the following:
  • EC 271 International Economic Relations
  • EC 273 Development Economics
  • EC 275 Economic Development: Experience of El Salvador
  • EC 371 International Trade
  • EC 372 International Finance
  • EC/IN 374 Development Economics and Policy
  • EC 375 Economic Growth and Development
  • EC 377 The World Economy from Gold Standard to Globalization

Political Science

• PO 041 Fundamentals of Politics I (PO 021 or any PO 6xx course may be substituted)
• PO 042 Fundamentals of Politics II (PO 061 or any PO 3xx course may be substituted)
• IN 540 Research Methods in International Studies or another methods course, generally PO 415 Models of Politics, or similar courses offered abroad
• Three electives in International or Comparative Politics (400 and 500 level courses)

Ethics and International Social Justice

Foundational courses - choose one course from each of the following two areas:

• Foundation in Moral Philosophy, Religious Ethics, or Political Theory - choose one of the following:
  • PL 440 Historical Intro. to Western Moral Theory
  • PL 500 Philosophy of Law
  • PL 524 Ethics: An Introduction
  • PL 594 Foundations of Ethics
  • PO 648 Natural Justice and Moral Relativism
  • TH 160 The Challenge of Justice
  • TH 373 Fundamental Moral Theology
  • TH 496 The Moral Dimensions of the Christian Life
  • TH 507 Introduction to Comparative Theology
• Foundation in the Social Sciences (providing an introduction to this approach) - choose one of the following:
  • HS 300 Study and Writing of History
  • IN 540 Research Methods in International Studies
  • PO 415 Models of Politics
  • PO 422 Comparative Social Movements
  • EC 234 Economics and Catholic Social Teaching
  • EC 271 International Economic Relations
  • SC 003 Introduction to Anthropology
  • SC 049 Social Problems
  • SC 093 Comparative Social Change
  • SC 210 Research Methods
  • SC 215 Social Theory
  • NU 210 Public Health (w/relevant concentration)

Electives - select electives according to one of the following options:

Normative option

Four electives in the area of normative philosophical, theological, or normative political approaches to international affairs.

Thematic option

Four electives in the social sciences, including history, focusing on a thematic topic in international affairs such as inequality, war and peace, global social institutions and movements, the pursuit of economic justice, racial justice, or gender justice.

Global Cultural Studies

Foundational courses - choose one course from each of the following two areas:

• Theoretical Perspectives on culture and/or the arts - choose one of the following:
  • EN/IN 503 Global Englishes
  • EN 551 Intro to Literary and Cultural Theory
  • EN 232 Literature and Social Change
  • FA 109 Clues to Seeing
    
  • FM 381 Propaganda Film
  • PS 254 Cultural Psychology
  • SC 003 Introductory Anthropology
  • SC 093 Comparative Social Change
  • CO 442 International and Intercultural Communication
• Research Strategies and Methods for the Study of Culture - choose one of the following:
  • HS 300 Study and Writing of History
  • IN 540 Research Methods in International Studies
  • SC 210 Research Methods
  • SC 215 Social Theory
  • SC 509 Feminist Approaches to Theory and Methodology
  • SC 511 Ethnography and Field Research
  • SL 279 Language and Ethnicity

Electives - select four courses according to one of the following options:

Global Culture and the Humanities option

Four electives that examine or compare cultures through works of literature, the fine arts, theology, and/or philosophy, involving themes such as a comparative study of artistic production, literature, religious belief, epistemology, or a study of the insights and cultural functions of literature and the arts.

Global Culture, History, and the Social Sciences option

Four electives in the social sciences, history, and/or communications that focus on a thematic topic such as the study of technology, race, sexuality, business, aging, myth and symbolism, identity, or kinship in an international context.

Area option

Four electives focusing on the study of culture in one geographic region.

Senior Year Requirements - one or two courses (3 credits)

Seniors have the option of doing either a one-semester Senior Seminar or a two-semester Senior Thesis:

• IN 530 International Studies Senior Seminar
• IN 497-498 Senior Thesis (six credits over two semesters; IN 497 can count as an elective if needed)