International Affairs Dual Major
International Affairs Dual Major

What is international affairs?
The most pressing matters of our time —migration, climate change, violent conflict, human rights, economic globalization, health pandemics—transcend national boundaries and require a global response. The international affairs degree program will equip you to take on these worldwide challenges through rigorous interdisciplinary coursework, language studies and a rich international experience. Combine the dual major with any other major at UNH and graduate as a critically minded and responsible global citizen ready to contribute meaningfully to the world.
Why study international affairs at UNH?
Our international affairs dual-major is available to all UNH students, allowing you to combine your studies with disciplines ranging from business and natural resources to political science and the arts. You’ll gain international experience through your choice of a study-abroad program, directed research, an internship or a service opportunity. You’ll also participate in a capstone research project drawing on your experience abroad, typically presenting at UNH’s annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Explore additional opportunities in the college’s study abroad programs and the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research. Connect with fellow students through the UNH Model United Nations team.
Potential career areas
- Education
- Foreign service
- Global development and aid
- Global health
- Global intelligence
- Human rights
- International business
- International environmental policy
- International trade and policy
- Journalism
- Peace Corps
- Public relations
Contact
Heather Austin
Michael Cole
Curriculum & Requirements
The international affairs (IA) dual major can complement and add a global dimension to any other major at UNH. The completion of the dual major requires no additional credits for graduation beyond the 128 required of all UNH students. All coursework required for international affairs must be completed with a grade of C or better. For more information, contact the international affairs senior program assistant.
Students who wish to declare the international affairs dual major must earn a C or better in IA 401, have declared a primary major, and have a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average. Students are expected to maintain at least a 2.5 grade-point average, the minimum required for study abroad at UNH.
Note:
Participation in the international affairs dual major and minor is open to ALL students at UNH. For instance, the Department of Civil Engineering has developed a dual-major program in civil engineering and international affairs. Students do not need to have pre-existing skills in a foreign language before coming to UNH. For more information about the civil engineering/IA program, contact Ray Cook at ray.cook@unh.edu.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required Core Courses | ||
IA 401 | International Perspectives | 4 |
IA 501 | Global Issues in International Affairs | 4 |
IA 701 | Exploring International Challenges and Opportunities | 4 |
Select one of the following: | 4 | |
ECON 401 | Principles of Economics (Macro) | |
ECON 402 | Principles of Economics (Micro) | |
EREC 411 | Environmental and Resource Economics Perspectives | |
International Affairs Language Requirement 1 | variable | |
International Experience - Study Abroad 2 | variable | |
Electives - see list below | ||
Select one course from each category list, plus one more course from either category (3 courses total): | 12 | |
Politics, Culture, & History | ||
Science, Environment, Economy, & Health |
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International Affairs Language Requirement
IA majors must demonstrate functional reading, writing, and speaking ability equivalent to a second-year, second-semester college level (504). Students may take placement tests to establish proficiency. Native second language speakers are exempt from this requirement - speak to an IA advisor. Language study may be pursued at UNH; through study abroad in the summer, J-term, or academic year; or through transfer credits from other institutions with the permission of an IA advisor.- 2
International Experience - Study Abroad
Minimum of eight weeks. The IA international experience is typically conducted in a country or region that uses the student’s second language. Students may pursue their international experience elsewhere after consultation with an IA advisor.The international experience (typically completed in the junior year) is completed before taking IA 701 in the senior year. Students may spend an academic year, semester, or summer in an academic institution, in an internship with a private or public organization, or in purposeful travel/research. Students must meet with the Study Abroad Advisors at the Global Education Center to plan their international experience, typically a year in advance of study abroad.
Electives (three total)
IA Dual Majors take three electives, one course from each category list: Politics, Culture, and History and from Science, Environment, Economy and Health. IA dual majors choose their 3rd elective from either list.
IA electives are offered across the university and may be used to fulfill Discovery, Honors Program and/or other minor requirements. Up to 8 credits may be double counted between your primary major and IA. Additional courses taken in the primary major may count for IA if these courses do not count toward your primary major requirements. Electives may be taken at UNH, on the international experience, or transferred from another university with the permission of your IA advisor.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Politics, Culture, & History Electives | ||
ANTH 411 | Global Perspectives on the Human Condition: An Introduction to Anthropology (or ANTH 411H) | |
or ANTH 411W | Global Perspectives on the Human Condition: An Introduction to Anthropology | |
ANTH 500 | Peoples and Cultures of the World (area specific) 1 | |
ANTH 501 | World Archaeological Cultures | |
ANTH #616 | Religion, Culture, and Society | |
ANTH 640 | Anthropology of Islam: Muslims' Everyday Lives in Contemporary Communities | |
ANTH 697 | Special Topics | |
ANTH 750 | Islam and Gender: Gendered Lives of Muslims | |
ARTH 674 | Greek Art and Architecture | |
ARTH 675 | Roman Art and Architecture | |
ARTH 678 | Romanesque and Gothic Art | |
ARTH 679 | Northern Renaissance Art I | |
ARTH 680 | Iconoclasm and Collecting: The Art of Early Modern Northern Europe | |
ARTH 681 | Early Renaissance Art | |
ARTH 682 | The High Renaissance | |
ARTH 684 | Baroque Art in Northern Europe | |
ARTH 688 | Histories of Late 19th & 20th Century European Modernism | |
ARTH 695 | Topics in Art History | |
CHIN 425 | Introduction to Chinese Culture | |
CHIN 521 | What does it Mean to be Modern? Lenses of Modern Chinese Literature and Film | |
CLAS 403 | Introduction to Greek Civilization | |
CLAS 404 | Introduction to Roman Civilization | |
CLAS 510 | Building Rome | |
CLAS 520D | Classical Society, Politics and Ethics: Greek and Roman Religion | |
CLAS 550A | Identities and Difference in the Ancient World: Greek and Roman Women | |
FREN 525 | A Road Trip Through France: Baguette, Brie, Bordeaux, and Beyond | |
FREN 651 | Love, War, and Power in French Literature | |
FREN 652 | Greatest Hits of French | |
FREN 676 | Topics in Francophone Culture | |
FREN #677 | France in the European Union | |
FREN 765 | Rebellion and Upheaval in 18th-Century Literature and Culture | |
GCHS 710 | Conflict & Human Security | |
GCHS 720 | Global Governance | |
GEOG 401 | World Regions: Europe and the Americas | |
GEOG 402 | World Regions: Asia and Africa | |
GEOG 530 | China: People, Politics and Economy | |
GEOG 540 | Geography of the Middle East | |
GEOG 550 | Sub-Saharan Africa: Environmental Politics and Development | |
GEOG 584 | Political Geography | |
GERM 521 | Major German Authors in English | |
GERM 525 | Introduction to German Culture and Civilization | |
GERM 797 | Special Studies in German Language and Literature | |
GERM 798 | Special Studies in German Language and Literature | |
HIST 421 | World History to the 16th Century | |
HIST 422 | World History in the Modern Era | |
HIST 425 | Foreign Cultures (area specific; or HIST 425H) 1 | |
HIST 435 | Origins of European Society (or HIST 435H) | |
or HIST 435W | Origins of European Society | |
HIST 436 | Europe and the Modern World (or HIST 436H) | |
or HIST 436W | Europe and the Modern World | |
HIST 440D | Honors/Citizens and Persons | |
HIST 440F | Honors/Islam, Art, and the Past | |
HIST 444D | Slavery and Society in Pre-Colonial Africa | |
HIST 444J | Honors/Global Citizenship: In Pursuit of Liberty | |
HIST 483 | History of World Religions | |
HIST 498 | Explorations of Historical Perspectives | |
HIST 532 | Modern Latin America | |
HIST 537 | Espionage and History | |
HIST 538 | Modern European War and Society: The Napoleonic Wars to World War II | |
HIST 560 | Modern Britain | |
HIST 563 | Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization | |
HIST #564 | Russia and the Soviet Union in World War II | |
HIST 565 | Women in Modern Europe | |
HIST 566 | Comparative Revolutions: How to Make a Revolution in the World before Marx | |
HIST 575 | Ancient Near East | |
HIST 579 | History of China in Modern Times | |
HIST 580 | History of Japan in Modern Times | |
HIST 585 | Medieval Islam | |
HIST 586 | Islam in the Modern Age, 15th Century to present | |
HIST 587 | History of Africa from the Earliest Times to 1870 | |
HIST 588 | History of Modern Africa: 1870 to the Present | |
HIST 595 | Explorations | |
HIST 600 | Explorations 1 | |
HIST 609 | Special Topics in American Legal History | |
HIST 619 | Foreign Relations of the United States | |
HIST 620 | Foreign Relations of the United States | |
HIST 632 | Latin American History: Topics 1 | |
HIST 633 | Medieval England 800-1300 | |
HIST 640 | Holy War in the Holy Land: The Medieval Crusades | |
HIST 641 | Europe after the Black Death | |
HIST 642 | Saints, Sinners, and Heretics: Europe in the Age of Religious Reform | |
HIST #656 | Twentieth Century Europe | |
HIST 662 | England in the Tudor and Stuart Periods | |
HIST #664 | Russia: Modernization through Soviet Empire | |
HIST 675 | History of Ancient Greece | |
HIST 676 | Topics in Ancient Greek History | |
HIST 677 | History of Ancient Rome | |
HIST 678 | Topics in Ancient Roman History | |
HIST 690 | Seminar: Historical Expl | |
HIST 797 | Colloquium | |
HUMA 510A | Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires | |
HUMA 510B | Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires | |
HUMA 510C | Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires | |
HUMA 510D | Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires | |
HUMA 511A | Medieval Humanities: Rise of Global Empires | |
HUMA 511B | Medieval Humanities: Rise of Global Empires | |
HUMA 511C | Medieval Humanities: Rise of Global Empires | |
HUMA 512A | Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital | |
HUMA 512B | Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital | |
HUMA 512C | Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital | |
HUMA 512D | Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital | |
HUMA 513A | Global Humanities | |
HUMA 513B | Global Humanities | |
HUMA 513C | Global Humanities | |
HUMA 513D | Global Humanities | |
HUMA 700 | Seminar | |
ITAL 425 | Introduction to Italian Studies | |
ITAL 444A | Italians Come to America: Representing Emigration and Immigration on Both Sides of the Atlantic | |
ITAL 444B | Mamma Mia! Italian Motherhood from the Virgin Mary to Carmela Soprano | |
ITAL 521 | Medieval and Renaissance Italian Culture | |
ITAL 522 | Modern and Contemporary Italian Culture | |
ITAL 525 | Italian Cinema | |
ITAL 651 | Introduction to Italian Culture and Civilization I: Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque | |
ITAL 652 | Introduction to Italian Culture and Civilization II: Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism, Modernism | |
ITAL 681A | Ancient and Medieval Italy | |
ITAL 681B | Ancient and Medieval Italy | |
LING 606 | Languages of the World | |
LLC 535A | Professional Culture in European Union - - Case Study: Germany | |
LLC 535B | Professional Culture in Latin America - Case Study:Mexico and Brazil | |
LLC #535C | Professional Culture in Asia -- Case Study: China and Japan | |
PHIL 520 | Introduction to Eastern Philosophy | |
PHIL #620 | 20th Century European Philosophy | |
POLT 403 | United States in World Affairs | |
POLT 544 | Of Dictators and Democrats | |
POLT 545 | People and Politics in Asia | |
POLT 546 | Wealth and Politics in Asia | |
POLT 550 | Comparative Government and Society | |
POLT 552 | Contemporary European Politics | |
POLT 554 | Revolution and Protest in Latin America | |
POLT 556 | Politics in China | |
POLT 559 | Comparative Politics of the Middle East | |
POLT 560 | World Politics | |
POLT 562 | Strategy and National Security Policy | |
POLT 565 | United States Policy in Latin America | |
POLT 569 | The Rise of China | |
POLT #570 | Counterterrorism: Nation states' responses to terrorist activity | |
POLT #588 | Selected Topics in Comparative Politics | |
POLT 592 | Selected Topics in International Politics | |
POLT 740 | States and Societies in the Middle East | |
POLT 748 | Food and Wine Politics | |
POLT 760 | Theories of International Relations | |
POLT 778 | International Organization | |
POLT 797E | Seminar in International Politics | |
RUSS 521W | Devils, Deities, and Madness in Russian Literature | |
RUSS 525 | Russia: Mythology and Propaganda | |
or RUSS #525M | Russia:Mythology and Propaganda in Moscow | |
SOC 444A | Honors/Society in the Arctic | |
SOC #656 | Terrorism | |
SOC 693 | Global Social Change | |
SPAN 525 | Introduction to Spanish Cultures | |
SPAN 526 | Introduction to Latin American Cultures | |
SPAN 647 | Topics in Hispanic Cultural Studies | |
SPAN 651 | Introduction to Spanish Literature and Thought | |
SPAN #652 | Introduction to Spanish Literature and Thought | |
SPAN 653 | Introduction to Latin American Literature and Thought | |
SPAN 654 | Introduction to Latin American Literature and Thought | |
Science, Environment, Economy, & Health Electives | ||
ANTH 440A | Honors/Medicine and Culture: Science, Technology and the Body | |
ANTH 610 | Medical Anthropology: Illness and Healing | |
ANTH 685 | Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa | |
ANTH 695 | Globalization and Global Population Health | |
BIOL 520 | Our Changing Planet | |
CEE 520 | Environmental Pollution and Protection: A Global Context | |
CHE 410 | Energy and Environment | |
CLAS 540A | Environment, Technology and Ancient Society: Sustaining Ancient Rome Ecology and Empire | |
CLAS 540B | Environment, Technology and Ancient Society: Roman Houses, Domestic Space and Public Life | |
CLAS 540C | Environment, Technology and Ancient Society: Tech, Tools and Engineering in the Ancient World | |
CMN 670 | From Silicon Valley to Foxconn: Global Digital Capitalism | |
CMN 696W | Seminar in Media Studies | |
ECON 645 | International Economics | |
ECON 655 | Innovation in the Global Economy | |
ECON 668 | Economic Development | |
ECON #746 | International Finance | |
ENGL/LING 606 | Languages of the World | |
EREC 444 | The New Pirates of the Caribbean | |
ESCI 405 | Global Environmental Change | |
GEOG 560 | Natural Hazards and Human Disasters | |
GEOG 581 | Society, Environment and Justice | |
GEOG 582 | Global Trade and Local Development | |
or GEOG #582W | Global Trade and Local Development | |
GEOG 590 | Field Research | |
GEOG #595 | Statistics for Spatial Science | |
GEOG 670 | Climate and Society | |
GEOG 673 | Political Ecology | |
GEOG 685 | Population and Development | |
GEOG #686 | World Economy and Globalization | |
HIST 522 | Science in the Modern World | |
HIST 654 | Topics in History of Science | |
HMGT 570 | International Food and Culture | |
HMGT/MKTG 756 | International Franchising | |
HMGT 771 | International Wine and Beverage | |
HMP #440A | Honors/Global Public Health Issues | |
HMP #444A | Global Public Health Issues | |
HMP 715 | Environmental Health | |
ITAL 635 | Italian Food Studies | |
ITAL 675 | Special Topics in Italian Studies | |
JUST 405 | Technology, Crime, and Society: A Forensic Exploration of High-Tech and Digital Crime | |
LING 779 | Linguistic Field Methods | |
MGT 755 | Global Mindset for Sustainable Business | |
MKTG/HMGT 756 | International Franchising | |
MKTG 760 | International Marketing | |
NR 415 | Natural Resources Field Methods | |
NR 435 | Contemporary Conservation Issues and Environmental Awareness | |
or NR 435H | Honors/Contemporary Conservation Issues and Environmental Awareness | |
NR 502 | Forest Ecosystems and Environmental Change | |
NR 606 | International Energy Topics | |
NR 720 | International Environmental Politics and Policies for the 21st Century | |
NR 784 | Sustainable Living - Global Perspectives | |
NURS 794 | Special Topics | |
or NURS 794W | Special Topics | |
PHIL 424 | The Future of Humanity: Science, Technology, and Society | |
or PHIL 424H | Honors/The Future of Humanity: Science, Technology, and Society | |
POLT #444 | Politics and Policy in a Warming World | |
POLT #561 | Introduction to International Political Economy | |
POLT #563 | The Global Information Grid's Disruptive Impact on Government, Politics, and Society | |
POLT 568 | International Security | |
POLT 592 | Selected Topics in International Politics | |
POLT 751 | Comparative Environmental Politics and Policy | |
POLT 762 | International Political Economy | |
SOC 565 | Environment and Society | |
SOC 665 | Environmental Sociology | |
SW 625 | Social Welfare Policy in a Global Context | |
TOUR 510 | Tourism and Global Understanding |
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Check with IA Program Assistant
- Demonstrate intermediate level proficiency in a foreign language;
- Apply different disciplinary approaches to the study of international affairs, including key themes and theoretical frameworks employed in these disciplines;
- Use critical thinking skills to analyze and discuss important global issues;
- Engage with cultural diversity and complexity through the international experience;
- Demonstrate familiarity with different types of data and sources and their appropriate use in analyzing selected topics in international affairs;
- Demonstrate competence in research design. Students will develop inquiry-based research questions, conduct a literature review, employ appropriate methods and data collection, and interpret their findings accurately.