International Affairs Major (B.A.)

International Affairs Major (B.A.)
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The International Affairs major at UNH explores global issues through disciplines such as political science, history, economics, and sociology. Students gain knowledge, practical skills, and experience to address key topics such as war, diplomacy, climate change, human rights, migration and many others. Concentration areas include global development and environment; international security; global ethnic, race, and diversity studies; global health and education; regional or transnational studies. Faculty expertise spans regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia. All students study abroad or complete an international capstone experience. 


What is international affairs?

International affairs is the study of global issues through the disciplines of political science, history, economics, geography, sociology, and anthropology. Students acquire the substantive knowledge, practical skills, and real-world experience to address critical issues in international affairs, including: war and diplomacy; trade; climate change and biodiversity; human rights; women’s rights; refugees and migration; inequality and poverty. This major provides students with theoretical approaches grounded in the study of real places and peoples. Students concentrate in one of the following areas: global development and environment; international security; global ethnic, race, and diversity studies; global health and education; regional or transnational studies.

Why study international affairs at UNH?

International Affairs faculty at UNH have expertise in crime and migration in Latin America; international security and foreign policy; gender and the military; environment and politics in the Middle East and South America; ethnic conflict in South Asia; the United Nations system; energy and environmental history; and the rise of China. All international affairs students study abroad or complete an internship with an international focus. Study abroad locations have included Costa Rica, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, Switzerland, and China. Students pursue additional foreign language training or economics and quantitative reasoning, which adds tools to their skillset for studying international affairs.

Potential Career Areas

  • Foreign Policy Analyst
  • Human rights & non-governmental organizations
  • International consulting firms
  • USAID, International Rescue Committee, or other aid organizations
  • US State Dept/Government agencies
  • Researcher (think tanks)
  • International business
  • Journalism
  • Peace Corps or other service organizations
Contact
POLT/IA Advisor and Academic Department Coordinator
Phone: (603) 862-1767
Office: Political Science, Horton Social Science Center Rm 312C, Durham, NH 03824
Contact
Assistant Professor & Program Director International Affairs
Phone: (603) 862-3356
Office: UNH Political Science, Horton Social Science Center, Durham, NH 03824

Curriculum & Requirements

International affairs is the focused study of global issues, drawing on approaches from political science, history, economics, anthropology and related fields. Students acquire the substantive knowledge, practical skills, and real-world experience to address critical issues in international affairs, such as war and diplomacy, climate change and biodiversity, human rights and women’s rights, refugees and migration, and inequality and poverty. 

Students can focus their studies in one of the following thematic tracks: global development and environment; international security; global ethnic, race, and diversity studies; global health and education; regional or transnational studies in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, or Asia.  The major in IA thus provides students theoretical approaches grounded in the empirical study of places and peoples.

Sample Degree Plan

This sample degree plan serves as a general guide; students collaborate with their academic advisor to develop a personalized degree plan to meet their academic goals and program requirements.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
FallCredits
ENGL 401 First-Year Writing 4
Language 401 4
IA 401 International Perspectives 4
Discovery Course 4
First Year Seminar 1
 Credits17
Spring
Language 402 4
Introductory Course from a discipline 4
Discovery Course 4
Discovery Course 4
 Credits16
Second Year
Fall
Option A or B Course 4
IA 501 Global Issues in International Affairs 4
IA Elective 1 4
Elective 1 4
 Credits16
Spring
Option A or B Course 4
IA Elective 2 4
Discovery Course 4
Discovery Course 4
 Credits16
Third Year
Fall
IA Elective 3 4
Elective 1 4
Elective 1 4
Discovery Course 4
 Credits16
Spring
IA 701 Exploring International Challenges and Opportunities 4
Discovery Course 4
Elective 1 4
Elective 1 4
 Credits16
Fourth Year
Fall
IA Capstone 2 4
Discovery Course 4
Elective 1 4
Elective 1 4
 Credits16
Spring
Elective 1 4
Elective 1 4
Elective 1 4
Discovery Course 4
 Credits16
 Total Credits129
1

Electives can be courses towards a minor, second major, or other experiences to supplement the primary major and should be selected in consultation with an advisor.

2

IA Capstone can be an internship, study abroad, or an addition 700-level course, depending on the student's interests and timeline, and are selected in consultation with an advisor. The exact timing of an IA Capstone often varies depending on these factors.

Degree Requirements

Minimum Credit Requirement: 128 credits
Minimum Residency Requirement: 32 credits must be taken at UNH
Minimum GPA: 2.0 required for conferral*
Core Curriculum Required: Discovery & Writing Program Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement: Yes

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

All majors must complete 40 hours of IA core courses and departmentally approved IA electives, with a grade of C or better and a grade point average of 2.5 or better.

International Affairs majors may use two major-required courses to satisfy two Discovery Program category requirements.

Core Courses
IA 401International Perspectives4
IA 501Global Issues in International Affairs4
IA 701Exploring International Challenges and Opportunities4
Select one introductory course from the following: 4
ANTH 411
Global Perspectives on the Human Condition: An Introduction to Anthropology
EDUC 402
Introduction to Educational Studies: Social Change and Education in Local and Global Contexts
GEOG 401
World Regions: Europe and the Americas
GEOG 402
World Regions: Asia and Africa
HIST 421
World History to the 16th Century
HIST 422
World History in the Modern Era
POLT 403
United States in World Affairs
Select one of the following options:8
Option A:
Two courses in a world language 1
Option B:
One course in Quantitative Reasoning and one course in Economics from the below
Quantitative Reasoning courses
NR 525
Statistical Methods and Applications
MATH 439
Statistical Discovery for Everyone
POLT 595
Smart Politics
PSYC 402
Statistics in Psychology
SOC 402
Statistics
Economics courses
ECON 401
Principles of Economics (Macro)
ECON 402
Principles of Economics (Micro)
NR 411
Environmental and Resource Economics Perspectives
Electives
Select three courses in a specific regional or thematic track from the below elective course list. 212
Capstone
Select one of the following: variable
Study Abroad
Internship with International Dimension
600/700 level course from one of the thematic tracks
**********************************************
ELECTIVE COURSES AND THEMATIC TRACKS
Regional and Transnational Studies Track
Select three courses in a COLA interdisciplinary area studies minor from the following:
-Africana Studies Minor
-Asian Studies Minor
-Latin American, Latinx and Caribbean Studies Minor
-Middle Eastern Studies Minor
Global Development and Environment Track
Select three courses from the following:
CMN 670
From Silicon Valley to Foxconn: Global Digital Capitalism
EDUC 520
Education, Poverty, and Development
ENGL 736
Environmental Theory
GEOG 550
Sub-Saharan Africa: Environmental Politics and Development
GEOG 560
Natural Hazards and Human Disasters
HIST 609
Special Topics in American Legal History
HIST 690
Seminar: Historical Expl
HIST 797
Colloquium
POLT 546
Wealth and Politics in Asia
POLT 549
The Politics of Markets
POLT 550
Comparative Government and Society
POLT 556
Politics in China
POLT 751
Comparative Environmental Politics and Policy
POLT 762
International Political Economy
SOC 693
Global Change and Social Sustainability
Global Ethnic, Race, and Diversity Studies Track
Select three courses from the following:
ANTH 500
Peoples and Cultures of the World
ANTH 513
Ethnographic Methods
CLAS 550B
Identities and Difference in the Ancient World: Slaves and Masters
CMN 620W
Global Media, Culture, and Power
CMN 596
Special Topics in Media Studies
CMN 772
Seminar in Media Theory
EDUC 550
Language and Linguistic Diversity in Schools
EDUC 525
Teaching Race
ENGL 581
Reading the Postcolonial Experience
HIST 483
History of World Religions
HIST 588
History of Modern Africa: 1870 to the Present
POLT 440A
Honors/Global Justice
POLT 551
Ethnicity ,Violence, Democracy
International Security Track
Select three courses from the following:
HIST 498
Explorations of Historical Perspectives
HIST 537
Espionage and History
HIST 609
Special Topics in American Legal History
HIST 620
Foreign Relations of the United States
HUMA 525
Humanities and the Law
POLT 545
People and Politics in Asia
POLT 559
Comparative Politics of the Middle East
POLT 560
World Politics
POLT 562
Strategy and National Security Policy
POLT 566
International Security in Asia
POLT 568
International Security
POLT 569
The Rise of China
POLT 592
Selected Topics in International Politics
POLT 740
States and Societies in the Middle East
POLT 742
Beyond Bollywood: Politics of India & South Asia
POLT 760
Theories of International Relations
POLT 778
International Organization
POLT 797E
Seminar in International Politics
Global Health and Education Track
Select three courses from the following:
ANTH 685
Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS in Africa
EDUC 520
Education, Poverty, and Development
EDUC 525
Teaching Race
EDUC 550
Language and Linguistic Diversity in Schools
EDUC 605
Educational Perspectives in Critical Times
HIST 437H
Honors/The Mad Among Us: A Global History of Mental Disorder
HIST 440E
Honors/Drugs and Addiction in World History
HIST 498
Explorations of Historical Perspectives
POLT 548
Drug Wars
1

International Affairs Language Requirement
Students must take a minimum of two language courses and reach level 504 (intermediate II) in the language of their choosing. Students who have reached level 504 with one language course must substitute another course (from the approved list) in order to fulfill the required 40 credit hours for the major.  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.  Native speakers of a language other than English may fulfill this requirement with alternative classes by permission - please discuss with an IA advisor.

2

We highly recommend that students select all three elective courses within the same track to develop a more focused and cohesive area of study. However, students with diverse interests in international affairs may choose electives from different tracks to broaden their academic experience.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • 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.

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