BA in International Studies

Area of Study Overview

Return to the Heavin School of Arts and Sciences Homepage

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree program in International Studies degree provides an interdisciplinary curriculum where students complete course work across the broad range of social, political, cultural, and economic disciplines to prepare them for an increasingly interdependent world.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 18 credits must be upper level 300 level or above within the area of study.

NOTE: Because this area of study is interdisciplinary, it must be planned closely with a BA degree program advisor.

Credit Distribution

I. General Education Featured Courses (45 Credits)

TESU Featured Courses are listed as a guide. Other courses may satisfy the areas and can be viewed on our website under General Education Courses. For more information see About Our General Education Program. To plan your program please contact an Advisor.

A. Intellectual and Practical Skills (15 Credits)

ENC-101	English Composition I	3
ENC-102	English Composition II	3
COM-209	Public Speaking	3
MAT-105	Applied Liberal Arts Mathematics	3
SOS-110	Critical Information Literacy	3

For all TESU course options that will satisfy this area of the degree, go to Intellectual and Practical Skills.

B. Civic and Global Leadership (9 Credits)

SOC-101	Our Changing World An Introduction to Sociology	3
ETH-230	Ethics in the Digital Age	3
POS-110	American Government	3

For additional TESU course options that will satisfy this area of the degree, go to Civic and Global Leadership.

C. Knowledge of Human Cultures (15 Credits)

SOC-210	Marriage and the Family	3
HIS-113	American History I	3
FIL-110	American Cinema	3

Select two featured courses from the list below

SOC-291	Criminology	3
HIS-114	American History II	3
HIS-121	Introduction to World History I	3
HUM-103	Introduction to the Humanities III: Music	3
PHI-130	Introduction to Critical Reasoning	3

For additional TESU course options that will satisfy this area of the degree, go to Knowledge of Human Cultures.

D. Scientific Knowledge (6 Credits)

EAS-101	General Earth Science	3
BIO-208	The Science of Nutrition	3

For additional TESU course options that will satisfy this area of the degree, go to Scientific Knowledge.

II. Area of Study (45 Credits)

A. Required Courses (21 Credits)

HIS-101	Western Civilization I	3
HIS-102	Western Civilization II	3
GOG-230	World Geography	3
POS-315	International Relations I	3
POS-420	Conflict in International Relations	3
-TRSFR REQ.	Foreign Language course	6

B. Global Electives (Select 9 Credits)

COM-335	Intercultural Communication	3
ECO-490	International Economics	3
ENS-314	Global Environmental Change	6
GLB-301	Global Issues and Society	3
LIT-460	Non-Western Literature	3
SOS-440	Terrorism	3
REL-405	World Religions: Exploring Diversity	3

C. Regional Electives (Select 9 Credits)

HIS-301	African History and Culture	3
HIS-310	The Middle East	3

D. Social Science Electives (3 Credits)

Social Science Electives

Complete any 3 credits in the Social Science area.

E. Capstone (3 Credits)

LIB-495

Liberal Arts Capstone

III. Electives (30 Credits)

For TESU course options, go to Elective Courses.

TESU accepts credits in transfer from accredited institutions as well as non-collegiate providers. View information and resources on where you may find additional learning experiences.

Total Credit Hours: 120

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the International Studies program will be able to:

demonstrate global and regional understanding of international studies from multiple academic disciplines;
analyze international and global issues through multiple perspectives;
demonstrate understanding of the connections between global cultures and politics;
develop introductory level communicative skills in a foreign language; and
critically analyze and evaluate globalization processes at local, national, and international levels.