International Relations majors learn to embrace diverse perspectives, explain and analyze problems, to cultivate empathy and cross-cultural understanding, and to design policies to address complex problems.

IR alums put their skills to work in careers such as journalism, humanitarian aid, global health, education, human rights, international business, and environmental activism.

Learn how the world works.

What causes war? What fosters peace? What drives economic development? How can we promote human rights and protect the environment?

Our IR curriculum prepares you to grapple with the causes and consequences of some of the world’s most pressing questions.

Cross boundaries – both disciplinary and geographic.

The international relations degree is grounded in the core disciplines of political science and language supplemented with courses from other relevant fields, including economics, anthropology, history, and religious studies.

Many IR students take advantage of off-campus opportunities, spending a semester or a year studying off-campus, or complete an international focused internship. Analyze foreign policy in Washington, D.C., research water scarcity in Botswana, study the EU in Brussels, work with refugees in France or migrants in Mexico, intern with a community health organization in Senegal or a children’s rights organization in Jordan, or hone your language skills at a night market in China. Plus many majors are international students themselves!