The International Studies major is situated in the College of Arts and Sciences and is only available to students in the Huntsman Program. The major is designed in such a way that students develop specialized knowledge in the area of the world in which their target language is spoken and graduate with a nuanced understanding of the political, economic, and cultural complexities in a changing world. It is an integrated curriculum that encompasses the examination of international studies through a social science lens, the study of international business perspectives, and deep engagement with a region of the world through advanced language acquisition and area studies courses that are usually taken during the semester abroad.
Advanced Language
Huntsman students specialize in one of the following 11 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Area Studies
Area Studies courses provide an in-depth understanding of the region of the world in which a student is specializing and are frequently taken during the semester or year abroad. They range from literature and cultural studies to history and socio-political topics, and students have considerable flexibility in choosing these courses. Since students often fulfill these requirements at universities in other countries, the range of courses would be difficult to capture in any list. In the past, students have fulfilled this requirement by taking classes of interest to them, such as “Cuban Cinema and the Revolution” at the Universidad de la Habana, “History of France: 1940 to the Present” at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lyon, and “Japanese Business Culture” at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.
International Studies
International Studies courses provide the social science foundation to enable students to do meaningful comparative work. The required freshmen seminar, History 107: the History of Capitalist Systems, fulfills one of the three courses for International Studies requirement of the major. Examples of courses that fulfill this requirement include: International Relations Theory and Practice, International Political Economy, Globalization in the City, Latin American Politics, Law and Social Change, Political Change in the Third World, and Contemporary Issues in African Society.
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill the International Studies requirement.
International Business
International Business courses help students learn how business is conducted in an international context by taking International Business courses. Examples of courses that fulfill this requirement, which may be rostered by either the College or Wharton, include: International Corporate Finance, International Financial Markets, International Business Ethics, International Political Economy, Human Rights and Globalization, Anthropology of Corporations, Comparative Health Care Systems, and Technology in Global Markets.
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill the International Business requirement.
Senior Thesis/Senior Seminar
Huntsman students complete a thesis during their senior year under the supervision of a member of the faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences or the Wharton School (or in other schools, as appropriate.) The purpose of the thesis is research by the student, and the writing of the results of this research in the form of a substantial formal research paper.
