Global Studies
Program Overview
The minor in Global Studies equips our students with the expertise and the knowledge that specialists in politics, business, and culture can bring in tomorrow's workplace. The program offers quality instruction that reflects the increasingly interdependent and global nature of culture, knowledge and the world in the 21st century, as well as the growing inter-connectedness of peoples and places in the local, regional, national, and global communities. Students are required to demonstrate competence in at least one non-native language. Through interactive coursework at home and/or abroad, reflective papers, research, travel and presentations, the program enables students:
- To develop an understanding of cultures and history of the regions they have chosen to study;
- To gain a thorough knowledge of the corresponding countries, traditions and peoples in these regions.
The inherent multidisciplinary nature of global studies, as well as the geographic variety of areas to be covered, requires that the faculty work with other programs as well as similar programs in the neighboring universities.
Students pursuing a minor in Global Studies obtain a strong grounding in global affairs which teaches them how to engage in problem-solving across boundaries and cultures, and how to critically evaluate information from a comparative perspective. This training also involves learning how to become an effective communicator which includes learning how to argue and defend complex views before a variety of global audiences. Well-developed global awareness and communicative competence make students with a Global Studies minor very attractive to companies and organizations. A minor in Global Studies also offers excellent preparation for graduate school, law school, and careers in such global enterprises as U.S. Government Agencies and Organizations, the United Nations, Amnesty International, travel and tourism, Red Cross, and many others.
Outcomes
Minors in will be able to:
- Describe the world's economic, environmental, and political systems.
- Reflect comparatively and in depth on one's own and a second culture.
- Adapt in a second culture by working effectively with a counterpart in that culture.
- Demonstrate potential for distinctive leadership in a local community and internationally in the pursuit of a just, healthy, sustainable, and peaceful world.
Graduates
Our graduates are equipped to pursue careers in international education, business, law, diplomatic service, and journalism; and to work with international corporations, international service organizations, and non-profit organizations with global agendas and responsibilities.