The World Politics and Global Governance (WPGG) track with International Studies is ideal for students pursuing careers or graduate studies in diplomacy, international law, global policy, humanitarian work, or academic research, and combines broad global perspectives with a deep understanding of international relations and comparative politics. Students pursuing the WPGG track will have the possibility to double major in International Studies and Political Science.
As part of the program, students must declare a focus area—a thematic or regional specialization—that allows them to tailor their studies to their interests and career goals.
Examples of focus areas include (but are not limited to):
- Conflict and Security
- International Political Economy
- Global Justice and Human Rights
- Regional Politics (e.g., East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East)
- Environmental Politics and Global Policy
How to Declare the World Politics and Global Governance Track
International Studies students wishing to declare the track must complete the following steps:
- Meet with the Political Science Undergraduate Coordinator and the International Studies Program Director or Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies to let them know your intent to pursue the double major.
- Declare Political Science as your second major by completing the electronic major/minor declaration form located in SIS under the Registration tab and Online Forms.
Requirements
Along with the International Studies major requirements, students following the World Politics and Global Governance track must complete four courses (12 credits) from the subfields of International Relations (POLS-IR) and/or Comparative Politics (POLS-CP) in the Political Science Department. Other political science courses or those from other departments or study abroad may be used with permission.
Honors
To receive honors in political science, students must write a senior research thesis. After the student has obtained approval from a faculty sponsor to supervise the project, the student will enroll in a three-credit thesis colloquium course during the fall semester of their senior year. If at the end of the fall semester adequate progress has been made and the project warrants further work, the student must enroll in a three-credit independent study supervised by the faculty sponsor.
Students who complete a distinguished senior thesis and have a final major GPA (including final semester grades) of 3.7 will be awarded departmental honors. All students may choose to write a thesis, regardless of GPA, provided they have a detailed proposal approved by a faculty member at the beginning of the fall semester of their senior year.
All thesis-related courses apply to a total of 12 political science courses required for graduation in the major.
Contact
Rachel Zhou
PhD Candidate and Undergraduate Coordinator, Department of Political Science
[email protected]