Courses

The diversity of courses within the global studies discipline means that students are as likely to learn from a biology or literature professor as they are to learn from an economics, history or political science professor. Students make contact daily with faculty from across a large number of departments and fields. In doing so, they get the best of all academic worlds. They are exposed to varied classroom environments, from open discussions to hands-on field work, and they experience a range of different approaches to teaching since their professors have scholarly specializations that are as far flung as the African novel, Russian cinema, symbolism in world religions, human rights in Central America, Arab politics, world hunger, Asia security and international relations.

In addition to the courses offered under global studies, additional coursework is required in other departments. Check the major requirements and concentration requirements for more information.

Global Studies

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  • GS 210 Planet Earth: People and Place

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): FSSA

    Description
    Introduction to our earth as home to people and place through geographic approaches that analyze cultural, societal, economic, political, and environmental change. Topics include: human dimensions of climate change; sustainability; spatial analysis techniques and theories; population distributions and migration; cultural geographies; global economic development and its distribution; urbanization; political geography; and human-environment relations. (Same as Geography 210.)
  • GS 250 Selected Topics

    Units: 1

    Description
    Topics and issues in international studies. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
  • GS 290 Introduction to Global Studies

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): AI-Social Inquiry (AISO), IF-Power/Equity/Identity/Cult (IFPE)

    Description
    Introduces methods and questions of the international studies field through regionally diverse case studies and analyses. Topics may include identity, culture, geopolitics, war, environment, health, media, migration, and inequality.
  • GS 350 Selected Topics

    Units: 0.5-1

    Description
    Selected topics in related subjects as arranged by the program coordinator. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

     

    Prerequisites

    Permission of department

  • GS 388 Internship

    Units: 0.5-1

    Description
    May be taken for a grade or pass/fail. Up to one unit may be applied towards the major, only when a grade is awarded. No more than 1.5 units of internship in any one department and 3.5 units of internship overall may be counted toward required degree units.

     

    Prerequisites

    GS 290 and permission of department

  • GS 390 Independent Study

    Units: 0.25-1

    Description
    Topics independently pursued under supervision of faculty member.

     

    Prerequisites

    Permission of department

  • GS 400 Senior Seminar

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): IF-Written Communication (IFWC)

    Description
    Follow up on core concepts and approaches introduced in International Studies 290; sets of international issues and relationships are studied using tools and approaches of several disciplines. Seminar topics change from semester to semester. While readings are common, student's area of individual inquiry is, where possible, related to the concentration.

     

    Prerequisites

    GS 290

  • GS 406 Summer Undergraduate Research

    Units: 0

    Description
    Documentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 6 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at least 40 hours per week) during this period, and the student must be the recipient of a fellowship through the university. Graded S/U.

     

    Prerequisites

    Approval by a faculty member