International studies are founded on the values of tolerance and respect for racial and cultural differences. People in the discipline and profession of international studies are peace loving. The purpose of this field is to learn how people from different races and cultures can work together to attain harmonious coexistence. Students are expected to develop an appreciation of the diversity of the human culture, get an understanding of the many ways through which people live together in an organised manner and be able to speak another language.
Major Requirements
Most often, to get the bachelor of arts degree majoring in international studies, you will need to get a second disciplinary major because it is an interdisciplinary major. Usually, you are required to have an advisor for these two majors. A student will focus on one geographic region which can be a certain continent like Africa or Europe for example or a major division of a continent like, for example, East Asia or Latin America.
Specific Course Subjects
Majoring in international studies almost always requires you to study around eight courses or a minimum credit hours of around 32. You start with an introductory course which is generally about global perspectives. Then you will need to study two international courses focusing on global issues and the approaches used in different academic disciplines in studying international topics.
Choices
The most widely available choices include international business, the macroeconomics study of the US economy’s role in the economy of the world, comparative economic systems, economic and social development, international economics, international development, human rights, economics and social justice in globalisation, international relations, comparative politics, challenges of global deomcratisation, globalisation and its discontents, cultural anthropology, the anthropology of colonialism and development anthropology.
Regional and Academic
You will also need to complete regional courses which can reach up to the count of around three to five. They should include at least one historical survey and one cultural foundations class in the geographic region you are studying. Academic disciplines courses and advanced or specialised courses are also required. You may need to take up at least two for each which will constitute as part of the minimum requirement of usually four regional courses.
Example
In African Studies, for example, you may be required to get four choices from courses on African women writers which is an English subject, The Francophone World in French, history of Africa up to 1800, history of women in modern Africa, gender and development in Africa, African government and politics, anthropology of slavery, culture and sexuality in Africa, African families in transition and African cultures in film.
Practical Knowledge and Skills
Aside from the theoretical knowledge in international studies, students will also acquire the knowledge and skills in applied tasks like travel writing, cultural context translation and interpreting. There are also internships in jobs in and related to international studies. As a highly academic and investigative discipline, students are also trained in performing independent study which is applied in writing analytical papers. If you want to enter this kind of field, you have to show that you have what it takes. Whether you use an example of personal statement writing to help you write your own or go into a symposium on how to do so, you have to show that you are truly interested in doing the work in this discipline.
Career
Graduates from the international studies bachelors degree programme enter to fulfilling, prestigious and stable career as teachers, writers or authors, translators and interpreters. Some of them proceed to masters degree studies. Wherever they go, especially to countries which they have studied about and language of which they have learned, they bring with them their grasp of the culture, history and uniqueness of these countries which were once “foreign” to them.
