International Relations Major

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Major Requirements

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

Core Requirement of five required courses:
- GOVT 060 CM - Introduction to Comparative Government - to be taken in the freshman or sophomore year
- GOVT 070 CM - Introduction to International Politics - to be taken in the freshman or sophomore year
- GOVT 149 CM - Foreign Relations of the United States - to be taken in the freshman or sophomore year, or
  GOVT 125 CM - Readings in American National Politics
  - to be taken as part of the Washington DC Program
- ECON 101 CM - Intermediate Microeconomics , or ECON 102 CM - Intermediate Macroeconomics
- ECON 140 CM - The World Economy , or ECON 141 CM - International Economics
Electives Requirements: four additional international relations courses with a particular thematic (e.g. strategic studies or international economics) or regional (e.g. Latin America) focus and one additional elective course outside of the student’s regional or thematic focus. 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.
Foreign Language Competency: all students must show proficiency in a modern foreign language by completing a minimum of four 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 an European language); they may not be counted as electives for the international relations major.
Study Abroad: all majors, including dual majors, must spend at least one 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. No more than two courses per semester taken in study abroad (not more than four altogether) may be counted to meet requirements for the international relations major.

Note:

Students normally take at least six 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 Majors

Dual majors must complete the same core, language, and study abroad requirements as full majors. Dual majors must complete at least three elective courses chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor and approved by the International Relations Committee Chair. 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 are required to write their senior thesis about an international topic - from whatever disciplinary point of view is appropriate. For further information, see Senior Thesis in International Relations above.

Note the restrictions on honors in the major for students with a dual major under Honors in International Relations below. For further information on dual majors and the requirements for the other discipline of the dual major, check the appropriate sections of this catalog.

Honors in International Relations

To receive honors in International Relations, a student must:

Complete a two-semester, two-credit international relations thesis,
Attend a specified number of thesis preparation seminars in the fall and spring semesters,
Defend his/her thesis and attend a specified number of thesis defenses,
Earn no less than a A- on his/her thesis,
Have attained at least a 10.5 GPA in the major by graduation.

International Relations dual majors are only eligible for honors if they accomplish the above and also:

Have completed all requirements for a full major in international relations and are granted honors, or
Qualify and receive honors in both disciplines of their dual major.

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.

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.

International relations majors may use the third semester of a foreign language for the foreign language requirement; students who have completed the fourth semester of a European language for the major may use this course for the foreign literature requirement.

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