THE MAJOR IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
International Studies is an interdisciplinary major in the College of Liberal Arts. It focuses on the connections between politics, economics, culture, and international relations. Students in the major are exposed to broad surveys of East Asia, Latin America, and Europe but also have an opportunity to study a variety of more specialized topics, such as the war on drugs in Latin America; globalization and religion in East Asia; the rise and meaning of the European Union; the role of poverty, gender, ethnicity, and inequality in international politics; economic dependency and underdevelopment; national and international energy policies; the principles of international trade; the challenges of national security in an age of globalization; and many other problems of an international nature.
Most Croft courses are taught in small classes by the Institute's professors. Other courses are taught by the larger community of the faculty in the University's different schools and departments.
To fulfill the major's requirements, Croft students take courses both in the Institute and in the Departments of Political Science, Economics, History, Sociology and Anthropology, Philosophy and Religion, and from the School of Business. Croft students also do intensive foreign language training by taking courses in the Department of Modern Languages. They study abroad for one or two semesters, typically in the junior year. In the senior year, Croft students take a two-semester, capstone sequence of two courses to research and write their senior thesis under the guidance of an individual faculty mentor. Croft students also take a certain number of other courses to fulfill the general education requirements set by the College of Liberal Arts. Graduation with a B.A. in International Studies does not require that Croft students have a minor.
Croft students select their program of study in individual consultation sessions with their Croft academic advisor. Together with the advisor, with whom they meet at least once a semester (but frequently more often), students decide on the appropriate courses and course load for their particular situation.
The International Studies major offers three regional concentrations:
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EAST ASIA
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EUROPE
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LATIN AMERICA
and three thematic concentrations:
- GLOBAL ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
- INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE AND POLITICS
- SOCIAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
Croft students typically select a regional concentration and foreign language before starting their first semester in the program. The thematic concentration is selected no later than the second semester of the sophomore year.
Croft freshmen start the fall semester with International Studies (Inst) 101, and typically follow up in the spring with one or two of the other required core courses at the lower division level: Inst 203 Introduction to East Asia, Inst 205 Introduction to Europe, and Inst 207 Introduction to Latin America. Other required freshmen classes include Mathematics 271 Calculus of Decision Making, English 101 and 102 (or Honors 101 and 102 for students in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College), Economics 202 Introduction to Microeconomics, one or more of the general education requirements specified by the College of Liberal Arts, and their second semester of foreign language course work.
During the sophomore year, students continue their foreign language training, complete the required 200-level core course work in the major and Economics 203 Introduction to Macroeconomics, and start taking upper-division courses counting toward the regional and thematic concentrations.
In the junior year, Croft students continue with their course work in the major and with their foreign language classes, both during their study-abroad period and in the semester they are on campus at Oxford (if they study abroad one semester). The most important event of the junior year is the study abroad experience.
In the senior year, students continue with their language courses, complete course work in the major, and research and write the senior thesis in the two capstone courses, Inst 421 in the fall, and Inst 422 in the spring. In addition, they enroll in Inst 431, which is the required Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) course that tests their level of fluency in their foreign language.
The International Studies major requires a total of 44 credit hours, consisting of the following courses:
Lower-Division core courses (12 hours)
Inst 101 Introduction to International Studies (3)
Inst 203 Introduction to East Asian Studies (3)
Inst 205 Introduction to European Studies (3)
Inst 207 Introduction to Latin American Studies (3)
Study abroad preparation and debriefing courses (2 hours)
Inst 110 Intercultural Communication: Pre-departure) (1)
Inst 111 Intercultural Communication: Re-entry (1)
Regional and thematic courses (18 hours)
Three 300-level courses in the regional concentration (9)
Three 300-level courses in the thematic concentration (9)
Research methods course and elective course (6 hours)
One approved research methods course (3)
One approved, 300-level elective course (3)
Upper-Division core courses (6 hours)
Inst 421 Senior Thesis: part 1 (3)
Inst 422 Senior Thesis: part 2 (3)
Inst 431 OPI course (pass/fail) (0)
