Peace Through Education

Academics

The International & Global Studies program was first established in 1998 as a BA program in International Relations, beginning with 17 undergraduates pursuing diplomatic careers. Over the years, the program drew increasing numbers of students with broader interests in the impact of globalization and in a world changed by 9/11, overseas conflicts, and a global recession. In 2014, the program changed its profile to focus on International Studies, encompassing a wider range of political, economic, and cultural interactions. In 2018, students concerned about such growing challenges as climate change, global migration, and a shifting international order, convinced the faculty to expand the program once more to include the relatively new field of global studies, which brings together a number of humanities and social science fields to understand the processes of global integration and to assess a wide range of global issues. That same year, the program merged with the European Studies program, developed a concentration in Peace, Security, and Human Rights, and became one of the first public university programs to create a trans-regional focus on the Global South. In this way, students have the potential to encounter the latest scholarship on global affairs, gain experience negotiating intercultural environments, practice their foreign language skills, and emerge ready to engage a closely-connected world.

Today, our program hosts hundreds of undergraduate majors preparing for a wide range of careers in the public, non-profit, and corporate sectors. Their pathways have led them to work as academics, administrators, analysts, attorneys, educators, entrepreneurs, foreign service officers, intelligence agents, journalists, law enforcement agents, legislative aides, managers, military officers, missionaries, NGO leaders, physicians, policy experts, public health consultants, and study abroad coordinators, among others. In the last few years, the graduates of our expanded program have won a number of national and international fellowships, and have pursued advanced graduate or professional study in institutions around the country and around the world: 

  • American University of Rome
  • Arizona State University School of Global Management
  • Clinton School of Public Service
  • George Washington University
  • London School of Economics
  • Michigan State University School of Law
  • Northeastern University School of Law
  • University of Arkansas School of Law
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Kansas School of Medicine
  • University of Michigan School of Global Health
  • University of Oklahoma School of Law
  • University of Salamanca School of Medical Diplomacy
  • Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

Our students succeed in such a wide range of fields in part because our program is interdisciplinary. Nearly all of our majors complete a double major or multiple minors in related fields and pursue high-impact experiences to refine their interests and prepare for specific career sectors. Our professors prioritize mentorship and work one-on-one with students to build viable academic and career plans. We also maintain a robust alumni and student network, and we make career reflections a part of our courses in order to help students envision the fullest range of possible outcomes for their degrees.