Students considering a major in International Relations are strongly advised to take IR 10: Introduction to World Politics and ECO 1: Principles of Economics as early as possible. We also recommend that IR majors fulfill the mathematics portion of their college distribution requirement with MATH 12: Basic Statistics. This is not, however, a requirement for the major. For full explanation of the structure of the curriculum, or to declare a major or minor, please visit the IR Department.
Course catalog pages present brief course descriptions and syllabi, but check with individual instructors for the most recent version because some of these may be preliminary versions originally placed here during last semester's registration. Any further information available for the course—such as an individual course website, instructor comments, or additional documents—will be linked to that schedule.
Completing the IR major requires a grade-point average of 2.0 or better in the courses that make up the major.
Explore IR Majors & Minor Curricula
Joint IR/Economics Major Curriculum
Honors Thesis
International relations majors with senior standing may undertake an intensive, two-semester project under the direct guidance of a faculty member in the student's special area of interest. Students who successfully complete the thesis and whose GPA in the major at the time of graduation is 3.5 or higher receive Departmental Honors.
Students considering an honors thesis should begin thinking about possible topics for their project and should contact possible faculty advisers during the spring semester of their junior year.