Students majoring in International Studies must complete a total of ten courses, which include a core of four courses, an elective track of four courses, and a senior capstone experience of either two courses (398 and 399) OR 398 and an additional 300 level course.
Please note that some of the courses listed in the core have prerequisites, which may increase the total number of courses for the major in International Studies to eleven. Also note that no more than two courses in an International Studies major work plan can be used to satisfy another major, minor, or concentration requirement.
The Core is a mix of 100-300 level courses in International fields. Students must choose one course from among four eligible courses in EACH of Politics, Economics, and Philosophy (at least one of which is at the 300 level). They must also choose one course from among ten in Culture and Interpretation, a requirement in the core that is unique to Bryn Mawr. The rationale for the two parts of the Core (Politics, Economics, and Philosophy and Culture and Interpretation) are given below along with corresponding lists of eligible courses under each.
The disciplines of Politics, Economics, and Philosophy have become central to International Studies programs since markets, conflicts, diplomacy and rules are nested in values and norms as much as in state territories and institutional framings. The program at Bryn Mawr is distinctive in having the requirement that students take an ethics course in which they study topics in areas such as global ethical issues, development ethics, global justice, and human rights.
The eligible courses for the Politics, Economics, and Philosophy component of the core are:
If none of the eligible core courses from a particular discipline in the Politics, Economics, and Philosophy core are available in any given year, substitutions will be allowed with another allied course offered at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore or Penn, with the approval of an Advisor from the Center for International Studies.
Also in the core, and unique to Bryn Mawr, Culture and Interpretation teaches how language, aesthetics, beliefs, values, and customs can shape possibilities for cross-cultural understanding and dialogue in globalizing polities, economies and societies.
Courses satisfying this requirement cover a broad perspective that teaches students about differing cultures and what it means to interpret or make cross-cultural comparisons and engage in cross-cultural dialogue in the global context. The list of eligible courses is, therefore, drawn from courses taught by Advisors from a range of key disciplines in International Studies: Anthropology, Cities, Comparative Literature, History, Philosophy, Sociology, and Languages and Area Studies. The course is meant to be a broad analysis of culture and interpretation that does not focus on a country or region in isolation from this broad analysis. Each of the courses selected from the range of disciplines capture this breadth and depth. Students interested in studying a specific region of the world separate from its global implications can pursue this study in one of the tracks.
With the approval of an Advisor from the Center for International Studies, substitutions may be allowed in the case of the ten eligible courses for the Culture and Interpretation component of the core when none is available in any given year.
Elective Tracks allow students to focus on one theme or area in greater depth across four courses, one of which must be at the 300 level.
The electives continue to anchor the major in inter- and multidisciplinary work while also adding flexibility so that students may be creative and purposeful in structuring their own work. What makes International Studies at Bryn Mawr unique is that it draws upon its established faculty research, resources, and reputations in the individual tracks at the same time as it offers flexibility under clear advising for each of the individualized pathways of learning.
Students should choose the four electives from the approved lists under one of the tracks identified below.
Students should check the International Studies Web site or the Tri-College Course Guide for information about courses that are offered in the current year.
Students may choose one of the following tracks:
The FOUR elective courses are to be selected from (but are not limited to) the courses liisted below. The listed courses are a starting point for collaboration between the student and the major advisor.
The FOUR elective courses are to be selected from (but are not limited to) the courses liisted below. The listed courses are a starting point for collaboration between the student and the major advisor.
Perspectives on Social Welfare: Local and Global (SOWK B323)
The 398 seminar will have students do research, presentations, and final essays that delve deeper into topics from relevant courses in previously taken tracks and may incorporate experiences in Praxis courses, Summer internships, or Study Abroad. Should a student select to take 399 instead of an additional 300 level course, the 398 seminar could also be the basis for students to identify and begin preliminary work on research projects for 399 – including the exploration of theoretical perspectives and research methods that will provide a framework for their research and the matching of students with faculty serving as individual supervisors.
The Minor in International Studies has been in place since 2005. Students who have declared a Minor and have not yet graduated should consult with one of the Co-Directors of the Center for International Studies to determine whether to continue under the old requirements for the Minor, switch to doing a Major in International Studies, or make slight adjustments to the requirements for the Minor in light of revisions that now have the core requirements for the Minor in line with those for the Major.
The Minor has always attracted and will continue to attract students who major in a language, arts, an area study, Political Science, or Economics. It will be possible, however, for select students to pursue one of the tracks in the major under consultation with an Advisor from International Studies.
Students minoring in International Studies must complete a total of seven courses, which include a required core of four courses and an elective track of three courses. Please note that some of the courses listed in the core have prerequisites, which may increase the total number of courses for the minor in International Studies to eight.
The Core is a mix of 100-300 level courses in International fields. Students must choose one course from among four eligible courses in EACH of Politics, Economics, and Philosophy (at least one of which is at the 300 level). They must also choose one course from among ten in Culture and Interpretation, a requirement in the core that is unique to Bryn Mawr. The rationale for the two parts of the core (Politics, Economics, and Philosophy and Culture and Interpretation) are given below along with corresponding lists of eligible courses under each.
The disciplines of Politics, Economics, and Philosophy have become central to International Studies programs since markets, conflicts, diplomacy and rules are nested in values and norms as much as in state territories and institutional framings. The program at Bryn Mawr is distinctive in having the requirement that students take an ethics course in which they study topics in global ethical issues, development ethics, global justice, or human rights.
The eligible courses for the Politics, Economics, and Philosophy component of the core are:
NOTE: Introduction to Economics (ECON B105) is a prerequisite for all other Economics courses.
If none of the eligible core courses from a particular discipline in the Politics, Economics, and Philosophy core is available in any given year, substitutions will be allowed with another allied course offered at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore or Penn, with the approval of an Advisor from the Center for International Studies.
Also in the core, and unique to Bryn Mawr, Culture and Interpretation teaches how language, aesthetics, beliefs, values, and customs can shape possibilities for cross-cultural understanding and dialogue in globalizing polities, economies and societies.
Courses satisfying this requirement cover a broad perspective that teaches students about differing cultures and what it means to interpret or make cross-cultural comparisons and engage in cross-cultural dialogue in the global context. The list of eligible courses is, therefore, drawn from courses taught by Advisors from a range of key disciplines in International Studies: Anthropology, Cities, Comparative Literature, History, Philosophy, Sociology, and Languages and Area Studies. The course is meant to be a broad analysis of culture and interpretation that does not focus on a country or region in isolation from this broad analysis. Each of the courses selected from the range of disciplines captures this breadth and depth. Students interested in studying a specific region of the world separate from its global implications can pursue this study in one of the tracks.
With the approval of an Advisor from the Center for International Studies, substitutions may be allowed in the case of the ten eligible courses for the Culture and Interpretation component of the core when none is available in any given year.
In addition to the four core courses listed, three electives are required. Each of the four tracks identifies a major topic or theme in International Studies that builds on or develops the core. The tracks under the minor will allow students who major in a discipline such as Political Science or Economics or in one of the Languages or Area Studies to have a minor that focuses their disciplinary work on International Studies.
Students should choose the three electives from the approved lists under one of the tracks identified below. Electives should demonstrate coherence and be approved by an advisor.
Students should check the Tri-College Course Guide for information about courses that are offered in the current year.
This track allows students to focus on the dynamics and structures of intergovernmental and transnational relationships from the perspective of the discipline of Political Science. Through engagement with the most salient theoretical and policy debates, students may focus upon such themes as globalization and resistance to it, development and sustainability, nationalism and sovereignty, human rights, conflict and peace, public international law and institutions, and non-governmental or civil society organizations and movements at regional, trans-regional and global levels.
The three elective courses are to be selected in consultation with an Advisor from the Center for International Studies.
This track allows students to focus on various theoretical, empirical, and policy issues in international economics. Each of the courses in the track – trade, open-economy macroeconomics, development, and environmental economics – focuses on different economic aspects of the international or global economy. International trade looks at the major theories offered to explain trade and examines the effects of trade barriers and trade liberalization on welfare. International macroeconomics and international finance examines policy-making in open economies, exchange rate systems, exchange rate behavior, and financial integration and financial crises. Development economics is concerned, among other things, with understanding how developing countries can structure their participation in the global economy so as to benefit their development. Environmental economics uses economic analysis to examine the behavioral causes of local, regional, and global environmental and natural resource problems and to evaluate policy responses to them
The three elective courses are to be selected in consultation with an Advisor from the Center for International Studies.
This track allows students to situate and apply the economic, political, and social theory provided in the core to the study of a particular geopolitical area. It provides students with a global frame of reference from which to examine issues such as history, migration, colonization, modernization, social change, and development through an area study.
A coherent set of courses can be achieved by selecting the three electives from one of the following area studies: Africana, European, East Asian, and Latin American, Latino and Iberian Peoples and Cultures. The three elective courses are to be selected in consultation with an Advisor from the Center for International Studies.
This track allows students to explore human interaction at the global level through language, literature, music, and the arts. Students in this track focus their studies on the forms of language and the arts that are generated through global processes and in turn affect the generation and exchange of ideas in and between different societies and cultures.
A coherent set of courses can be achieved by selecting the three electives from one of the following: English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Dance and Music. The three elective courses are to be selected in consultation with an Advisor from the Center for International Studies.