Specific intern assignments will be worked out on an individual basis by the department's International Relations Intern Advisor. Hours earned will not reduce the minimum 35 required to satisfy the major. Successful completion of the major does not assure job placement in an international career. It does offer a number of advantages to students seeking entry placement in domestic and overseas private-sector firms and nongovernmental organizations where a premium is placed on the ability to interact successfully with people and economic and political practices in other cultures. It also provides an excellent foundation for more specialized graduate study in international studies, and for taking entry-level examinations into international service.
All students follow a series of core courses in political science and economics.
In addition, students choose from one of a number of concentrations in the areas of international business and economics, Western European studies, Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, Asia, and a combined concentration in Africa and the Middle East. For each of these concentrations students take four courses from a recommended list. Students, with the agreement of the IR Director, may also design their own concentration if a grouping of appropriate courses is available. In addition to the analytic tools of political science and economics, all International Relations majors are required to demonstrate competence in at least one major world foreign language at a level comparable to two years of college instruction. Competence may be demonstrated either by completing course work or passing an examination.