The Bachelor of Arts in International Relations provides students with a solid basis in two political science subfields—comparative politics and international relations. Students gain an understanding of international interactions, such as conflict and trade, as well as the politics of other nations, such as alternative government forms. Students are exposed to the politics of the world’s major regions through region specific courses. International relations students excel in many professions but are especially well suited for domestic and international work in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Grading Requirement
All courses taken to fulfill program course requirements must be taken for a letter grade except those courses specified by the department as credit/no credit grading only.
Course Requirements for the Major: 38 units
Completion of the following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, is required of all candidates for this degree. Courses in this program may complete more than one graduation requirement.
3-4 units of any Arabic (ARAB), French (FREN), German (GERM), Italian (ITAL), Japanese (JAPN), or Spanish (SPAN) language courses may be used towards this requirement.
No more than three units may be counted toward the major.
Electives Requirement
To complete the total units required for the bachelor's degree, select additional elective courses from the total University offerings. You should consult with an advisor regarding the selection of courses which will provide breadth to your University experience and possibly apply to a supportive second major or minor.
See Bachelor's Degree Requirements for complete details on general degree requirements. A minimum of 39 units, including those required for the major, must be upper division.
General Education Requirements: 48 units
See General Education and the Class Schedule for the most current information on General Education Requirements and course offerings.
One of the following GE Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (B4) courses is recommended to support the student in the international relations major:
You must complete a minimum of two courses that focus primarily on cultural diversity. At least one course must be in US Diversity (USD) and at least one in Global Cultures (GC). See Diversity Requirements for a full list of courses. Most courses taken to satisfy these requirements may also apply to General Education.
Upper-Division Writing Requirement
Writing Across the Curriculum (EM 17-009) is a graduation requirement and may be demonstrated through satisfactory completion of four Writing (W) courses, two of which are designated by the major department. See Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning and Writing Requirements for more details on the four courses. The first of the major designated Writing (W) courses is listed below.
INTR 441W Capstone in Comparative Politics and International Relations (W)
The second major-designated Writing course is the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GW) (EO 665). Students must earn a C- or higher to receive GW credit. The GE Written Communication (A2) requirement must be completed before a student is permitted to register for a GW course.
