The College of Liberal Arts offers an interdepartmental degree program leading to a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. This program's core requirements draw upon course offerings in Anthropology, Economics, English, Fine Arts, Geography, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, and Foreign Languages. To complete a major area of concentration, students have two options: they can focus on any one of the College’s four area studies programs–Africana Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, or Latin American and Caribbean Studies–or they can focus on a topical concentration. These include, but are not restricted to, Diplomacy & International Organizations; Ethnicity, Nationalism, & Migration; Environmental Issues & Policy; and Peace & Justice Studies. In addition to its concentrations, the program also offers a Business Track for students who wish to combine serious study of world geography, international politics, global problems, and a second language, with a curriculum in the fundamentals of sound international business and financial practice.
Peace and Justice Studies
The global problems of war, violence, oppression and inequality are problems the human community can no longer afford to ignore. If peace is desired, justice must first pave the way. But how can this justice be achieved? The Peace & Justice Studies Concentration enables students to ask this question and challenges them in their pursuit of the answers. Through interdisciplinary study, students in this concentration will examine the cases and causes of injustice that lead to conflict and will become aware of the conditions necessary to promote peace in the world.
This concentration is designed to prepare students for careers primarily in International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) that require competency in working with and understanding people from diverse backgrounds.