International Relations Major

Major Requirements

The major in international relations requires at least 10 courses, distributed as follows:

1. Government Core (2 courses)

These courses should be taken in the first or second year:

2. Foreign Policy (1 course)

This course should be taken in the first or second year.

One course in foreign policy selected from:

GOVT125 CM - The President and U.S. Foreign Policy (Washington Program course)
GOVT149 CM - Foreign Relations of the United States
GOVT150 CM - U.S. National Security Policy
an alternative foreign relations course with approval of the International Relations Committee

3. Economics Core (1 course)

One course selected from:

4. World Economy (1 course)

One world economy course selected from:

ECON140 CM - The World Economy
ECON141 CM - International Economics
GOVT139 CM - Development, Power, and Globalization
GOVT143C CM - International Political Economy of Money and Finance
an alternative international economics or international political economy course with approval of the International Relations Committee

5. Electives Requirement (5 courses)

These courses should be beyond the introductory level and may be selected from any relevant discipline in consultation with a faculty advisor and with the approval of the International Relations Committee.

4 additional international relations courses with a particular thematic (e.g. strategic studies, international public health, or international development) or regional (e.g. Latin America, East Asia) focus
1 additional international relations course outside the thematic or regional focus

6. Foreign Language Competency

All students must show proficiency in a modern language other than English by completing a minimum of 4 semester courses at the college level, or the equivalent. Language courses may be used to fulfill general education requirements in foreign language (3^rd semester) and in foreign literature (equivalent to the 4^th semester of a European language); they may not be counted as electives for the international relations major.

7. Study Abroad

All majors, including dual majors, must spend at least 1 semester in study abroad in a program including foreign language study. Other foreign experiences may be substituted with the approval of the chair of the International Relations Committee. Students receiving education benefits through the Veterans Administration are not required to study abroad if the VA benefits would not apply.

No more than 2 courses per semester taken in study abroad (not more than 4 altogether) may be counted to meet requirements for the international relations major.

Notes:

The general education requirements GOVT 020 CM and ECON 050 CM are prerequisites to all subsequent government and economics courses, so should be taken in the first year.
Students normally take at least 6 courses, including the required core courses, at CMC.

Senior Thesis in International Relations

The senior thesis is a general education requirement and the capstone experience of a student’s undergraduate education. International Relations majors must complete a senior thesis under the supervision of a faculty reader from a relevant discipline selected with the approval of the International Relations Committee Chair. International Relations dual majors are required to write their senior thesis about an international topic.

Special Options for Majors

Dual Major

The dual major in international relations requires a minimum of 8 courses. Dual majors in international relations may waive 2 elective course requirements from the full major. Dual majors’ 3 elective courses must be chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor and approved by the International Relations Committee Chair.

Notes:

Dual majors in economics and international relations may not count ECON 101 CM or ECON 102 CM for both the economics and international relations majors. They will be required to complete additional electives as substitutes for these requirements.
Students with a dual major including international relations may choose to write a thesis in either major or write a thesis that covers both majors. To earn honors in international relations, students with a dual major must complete all the requirements for an international relations honors thesis. For further information, see Senior Thesis in International Relations above.

Honors in International Relations

To receive honors in International Relations, a student must:

Have attained at least a 3.5 GPA in the major by graduation,
Attend a specified number of thesis preparation seminars in the fall and spring semesters,
Complete a 2-semester, 2-credit international relations thesis,
Defend the thesis and attend a specified number of thesis defenses,
Earn no less than a A- (3.67) on the thesis.

General Education Requirements for International Relations Majors

International Relations majors must take courses in all four fields of the social sciences (economics, government, history, and psychology) and in two of the four fields of the humanities (literature, philosophy, religious studies, and literature in a foreign language). International relations majors with a dual or double major in the humanities will be required to take an additional course in the humanities.

Foreign language requirements are the one set of courses that can count both towards the major requirements and GEs. International relations majors are required to complete four semesters of a foreign language or demonstrate at least equivalent competency. Their third semester counts towards the foreign language GE and their fourth (in European languages - this varies for other languages) counts towards the foreign literature requirement.

Learning Goals and Student Learning Outcomes of the Program in International Relations

Learning Goals

The learning goals of the international relations program are:

To understand theories of international relations, comparative politics, and other fields relevant to other nations and international interactions, and use them to analyze significant international problems.
To communicate effectively orally and in writing.

Student Learning Outcomes

The student learning outcomes of the international relations program are:

Students will be able to demonstrate thorough knowledge of major theories related to other nations and international interactions.
Students will be able to develop a hypothesis from one or more of these theories and be able to substantiate their arguments with logic, normative insights, and quantitative evidence when appropriate.
Students will be able to express themselves effectively orally and in writing.

The faculty of the program has set up assessment methods.