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International Relations Major

This information is part of the .

Major Requirements

The major program consists of the following requirements:

Foundational Course

Core Political Science Subfield Courses

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of IRCP in the course offerings.

At least two of the following POSC courses:

Economics Courses

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of IREC in the course offerings.

All of the following:

History Courses

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of IRHIÌýin the course offerings.

One of the following:

Elective Courses

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of IREL in the course offerings.

Two electives from the list below or students may substitute an additional core subfield course or IR seminar.

IR Seminar

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of IRSEÌýin the course offerings.

Unless the director grants specific permission, the seminar must be taken on campus. The seminar must be taken by the first term of the senior year, unless special permission of the IR director is granted in advance. Students pursuing honors must take an IR seminar in addition to the honors seminar.

One of the following:

Language Requirement

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of IRWL or IRNL in the course offerings.

Students who have already achieved oral and written proficiency in a language other than English may contact the IR program director with evidence of such proficiency. Appropriate evidentiary support of proficiency includes: a high school diploma from a school whose instructional language was not in English; evidence from the TOEFL exam; or evidence of other language exams with a B1 to B2 language level equivalency for Western European languages and A1.2 to A2 language level equivalency for non-Western European languages. Students with questions about their language level should contact Cory Duclos in the Keck Center (gduclos@colgate.edu).

Additional Stipulations

  • POSC 152 - Global Peace and War (IR), does not ordinarily count toward the IR major. Students who takeÌýPOSC 152Ìýbefore deciding on an IR major must also takeÌýPOSC 232, but may countÌýPOSC 152Ìýas one of the two IR electives with written permission from the IR program director.
  • Students who have AP credit for ECON 151Ìýmust take one additional elective course.
  • Students are strongly encouraged to complete most required courses by the end of the junior year.
  • For students seeking a major in International Relations and a minor in Political Science, no courses may be counted toward both.
  • As a general rule, the only requirements students can complete off campus are the elective and History courses as well as appropriate language courses; in all such cases, students must seek prior approval from the IR director.

GPA Requirement

Satisfactory completion of the IR major requires (1) a minimum GPA of 2.00 in the nine IR-designated courses, and (2) a grade of C or better in , , and the seminar.

Honors and High Honors

A candidate for honors in IR must choose an adviser for an honors paper and fulfill the honors requirements for the department of the faculty adviser. In addition, the honors student must (1) achieve a minimum GPA of 3.60 in the nine IR courses, (2) attain a minimum overall GPA of 3.25, (3) submit a substantial research paper that is judged superior (A– or higher) by two program faculty members.

A student whose adviser is a member of the Department of Political Science must enroll in the year-long honors colloquiumÌý(ÌýandÌý) in which each student writes an honors thesis.ÌýÌýwill be taken in the fall semester, followed byÌýÌýin the spring semester. A grade will be given in bothÌýÌýandÌý. Seniors who anticipate graduating with a GPA eligible for honors should speak with their advisers or the IR director in the semester prior to doing honors.Ìý

ÌýandÌýÌýare to be taken in addition to the nine courses counted toward the IR major.

A candidate for high honors in IR must fulfill the following additional requirements: (1) achieve a minimum GPA of 3.60 in IR courses, (2) attain an overall GPA of at least 3.40, (3) gain approval of the paper as superior by a third reader, and (4) pass with distinction an oral examination by the three readers of the submitted paper. As above, the professor supervising the research must give prior approval of the paper.

Students may choose whether the grades received in both ÌýandÌý, or neither, are to be counted toward their major GPA.

International Relations Program

For more information about the department, including Faculty,Ìýtransfer credit, awards, etc.,Ìýplease visit theÌýÌýcatalogÌýpage.