Major

international studies program

   Many students choose to pursue an International Studies 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:

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 October.

Curriculum

IS Major Course Plan

   International Studies Core -- seven courses

  • IN 500/PO 500 Introduction to International Studies 
  • EC 131 Microeconomics 
  • EC 132 Macroeconomics 
  • 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:
    • HS 005-006 Asia 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

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   Disciplinary Base -- six courses

Select a Disciplinary Base in Economics, Political Science, or History, Culture, and Society:

Economics
  • EC 201 Microeconomic Theory or preferably EC 203 Honors Microeconomic Theory 
  • EC 202 Macroeconomic Theory or preferably EC 204 Honors Macroeconomic Theory 
  • EC 151 Statistics or preferably EC 157 Honors Statistics
  • EC 228 Econometrics or EC 308 Game Theory in Economics 
  • Two electives chosen from the following:
    • EC 271 International Economic Relations
    • EC 371 International Trade
    • EC 372 International Finance
    • EC/IN 374 Development Economics and Policy
    • EC 375 Economic Growth and Development
Political Science
  • PO 041-042 Fundamentals of Politics I & II 
  • 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
History, Culture, and Society

Choose either the Ethics and International Social Justice or the Global Cultural Studies option.

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 & 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 093 Comparative Social Change
    • SC 215 Social Theory

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.
  • Area option. Four electives focusing on the study of questions of social justice in one geographical region.

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 551 Intro to Literary and Cultural Theory
    • EN 232 Literature and Social Change
    • FA 109 Aspects of Art
    • FM 381 Propaganda Film
    • PS 254 Cultural Psychology
    • SC 003 Introductory Anthropology
    • SC 093 Comparative Social Change
    • HP 134 Twentieth Century and the Tradition II
      (only available to students enrolled in the Honors Program)
    • CO 442 International & 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 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.

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   Senior Year Requirements -- one or two courses

  • 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; IN497 can count as an elective if needed)

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