The mission of the Department of International Studies is to enable students to use the liberal arts to understand and navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected global society. We seek for students to develop the ability to think rigorously across relevant disciplinary boundaries, to situate their knowledge in local, regional and global contexts, to communicate effectively with and learn from others, and to view the human implications of a global society from different social and cultural perspectives.

Learning Goals

  1. Students will acquire the ability to integrate knowledge from at least two disciplines relevant to understanding the major problems and issues of their area of thematic specialization.
  2. Students will acquire foreign language skills sufficient to read, speak, and understand that language, as well as to navigate daily life in a country where that language is spoken.
  3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the historical, social, and cultural contexts of the geographic or cultural regions in which they specialize.
  4. Students will show the capacity to analyze problems or issues in ways that are clear, rigorous, and logically coherent.
  5. Students will demonstrate the ability to situate their knowledge and analyses in larger comparative or global contexts.
  6. Students will develop the capacity to effectively communicate their knowledge, ideas, and analyses in both speaking and writing.

Fall 2019