Undergraduate Program in International Studies

FAQs

Beginning with students graduating in Spring 2007, the thirteen-course International Studies major has the following five requirements:

1. IS Introductory Sequence. Students are required to take a two-quarter introductory sequence, taught annually, in the field of international studies. One quarter provides an overview of contemporary global issues (INST 23101); the other provides in-depth studies of selected issues (INST 23102). These courses are designed to be taken in sequence. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the sequence in their second year unless they plan to complete their civilization studies requirement by participating in one of the College's study abroad programs during an Autumn or Winter Quarter.
   
   
2. Course Distribution. Students are required to complete a total of ten courses in the following combination: six courses in the two thematic subfields (two in one and four in the other); and three courses in area and civilization studies, two of which must be in the same world region. The tenth course is an elective. Students may use a language course for this elective subject to the following: Language courses must be taken at the level of the third year or above. (To be considered "third year or above," a course must be at least the seventh quarter of a language sequence.) Language credit in the major is by course registration only.
   
   Students select their courses in consultation with IS program advisors. A list of classes accepted toward the major is selected by the IS faculty each year and is updated quarterly.
   
   IS course tracks:
• International Political Economy Thematic Track (2 or 4 courses): Nation-states and national sovereignty, relations between nation-states, political identity, development, conflict and security, and relations between states and international political (e.g., United Nations) and economic (World Bank, International Monetary Fund) organizations.
• Transnational Processes Thematic Track (2 or 4 courses): Courses appropriate for this track take up issues and processes that operate across the borders of nations. These include economic, political and cultural globalization, transnational and multi-national corporations and new patterns of consumption, non-governmental organizations, human rights, environment and ecology, media and the arts.
• Area and Civilization Track (3 courses): Either three courses in one area of the world; or two courses in one area and one course in another area. Students majoring in IS may count one civilization course that bears a University of Chicago course number that is not used to meet the general education requirement in civilization studies; or they may count two courses taken while participating in one of the study abroad programs that feature civilization studies that is not used to meet the general education requirement in civilization studies.
  
  
3. Foreign Language. Students can meet the program's foreign language requirement in one of two ways:
   
   (1) Students may complete the equivalent of seven quarters of language study in a single language. Students who elect this option may fulfill the first six quarters by University exam or by course work. The seventh and final quarter, however, may be fulfilled only by course registration. For information about the use of language as elective courses in the major, see "Course Distribution" above.
   
   (2) Students may obtain an Advanced Language Proficiency Certificate, which is documentation of advanced functional ability in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. To qualify to sit for the three-hour proficiency examination, students are required to complete a minimum of intermediate and advanced language study at levels set by the departments and spend a quarter abroad in a College-approved intensive language program.
   
   
4. Study Abroad. Students are required to study abroad for a minimum of eight weeks in an approved study abroad program. This requirement will be waived only by petition for those able to demonstrate a similarly significant, structured international education experience. Participation in any University of Chicago approved study abroad program will fulfill this requirement. Students should consult with the study abroad advisors for more information. If students seek to undertake a program outside of the University's offerings, they must have approval of the program director prior to departure on the program.
   
   B.A. Thesis. All students are required to complete a B.A. thesis. In consultation with IS preceptors, students prepare a topic page that is due eighth week of Spring Quarter in their third year. At this time students are also required to secure a faculty reader.
   
   In Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, students register for the B.A. Thesis Seminar (INST 29800), which is designed to teach research skills and more generally to aid the research and writing process. Upon successful completion of the work in Autumn Quarter, students are strongly encouraged to take the B.A. Thesis Seminar (INST 29801) in Winter Quarter of their fourth year; this course may not be counted toward the thirteen courses required for the major. While all students majoring in IS may participate in the Winter Quarter seminar, students completing two majors may not take the Winter Quarter course for credit. The final version of the B.A. thesis is due by the second Friday of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.
   
   The program may accept a B.A. paper or project used to satisfy the same requirement in another major if certain conditions are met and with the consent of the other program chair. Approval from both programs is required. Students should consult with the chairs by the earliest B.A. proposal deadline. A consent form, to be signed by the chairs, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student’s year or graduation.

Additional Information:

Honors. Students will be considered for honors on the basis of having earned an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and 3.5 or higher in the major, and on the basis of recommendations from the faculty and preceptor readers of the B.A. thesis.

Grading. Courses taken for P/N or P/F will not be accepted toward requirements for the IS major.

contact us | center for international studies | uchicago.edu