International Relations Major
International Relations is an interdisciplinary major administered by the Department of Government and International Relations. It consists of ten or more semester courses, seven of which are taken in the Government and International Relations Department, and three of which are taken in other social-science departments. Of these three, one must be in Economics, and one must be in History. The third course must be taken outside the department from the approved list of social-science courses below (or with the permission of the department). At least eight of the ten must be at the 200 level or above. Two GOV courses must be at the 300 level or above, at least one of which must be a 400-level Government seminar taken at Connecticut College in the junior or senior year. A 300- or 400-level individual study can also satisfy one of these requirements, except for the 400-level seminar, which is a required course. At least seven courses (eight for honors) must be taken at Connecticut College. Students writing an Honors Thesis will complete twelve courses in the major for graduation.
The required Government courses are Government 113 and six others, of which at least two shall be at the 300-level or above (including a 400-level seminar), selected from the following categories: international politics, comparative politics, and foreign policy.
In addition to the College language requirement, majors must take at least one course in a modern foreign language beyond the intermediate level. For five of the languages taught at the College -- French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish -- the IRL major requires at least one course beyond their standard two-semester intermediate level. Relevant courses are identified in the next paragraph. Students taking Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic must complete the 200-level intermediate series. To become and remain fluent in the language, as well as to be competitive for certain graduate programs, students are encouraged to take language courses through the senior year.
Students taking French, German or Russian need a 300-level course that requires course 202. For Italian, any course that requires 202 would satisfy the requirement. Students studying Spanish must take a course beyond SPA 201
Students are also encouraged to study abroad, especially if language immersion is involved. To gain practical experience and to make professional contacts, students are encouraged to do an internship with a governmental or non-governmental organization concerned with international affairs.
Students are encouraged to work with their major advisor to develop a particular focus in the major, such as foreign policy analysis, international political economy, the developing world, environmental politics, security studies, international relations theory, human rights, politics or international politics of a region, ethnic conflict, terrorism, conflict and conflict resolution, or other topic.
In planning a schedule of courses, check the Catalog for prerequisites to courses. For example, almost all of the Economics courses listed below require both Economics 111 and 112.
Requirements
Required Courses
One course in Comparative Politics:
One course in Foreign Policy:
One course in International Politics:
Two other 200-, 300-, or 400-level Government course in the International Politics, Foreign Policy, or Comparative fields noted above.
A Government seminar taken at Connecticut College during the junior or senior year: A 400-level Government International Politics, Foreign Policy, or Comparative Politics seminar.
Appropriate 400-level courses include:
Three additional, non-Government courses selected as follows:
One additional course selected from the following:
One course in Economics selected from:
One course in History selected from:
Advisers: T. Borer, E. Fleury, A. Levin, D. Patton, C. Sayej, J. Tian