Undergraduate Course Catalog 2008-2009
Special University Programs
International Affairs* (IA)
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The Center for International Education offers undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue a dual major in international affairs. The dual major requires completion of the interdisciplinary international affairs program and any other major.
The purpose of the program is to expand students’ global horizons, enhance their disciplinary major, and expand their career opportunities into the international arena.
Required Core Courses
IA 401, International Perspectives: Science, Business, and Politics
IA 501, Global Issues in International Affairs
IA 701, Seminar in International Affairs
Four Electives
Choose one from each of the program’s four electives:
Foreign Area (to be taken prior to foreign experience)
Science, technology, and the private sector
Public policy
Theory in international affairs
Competency in Geography
Satisfactory score on geography exam, administered once a semester
Competency in a Foreign Language
Functional reading, writing, and speaking ability equivalent to the third-year, second-semester level
Foreign Experience
Minimum of eight weeks in a non-English speaking country
The courses in the dual major program are multidisciplinary, taught by faculty from many different departments in the University. They are designed to help students appreciate the complex interrelationships and interdependencies among nations and peoples and to equip students with the analytical skills and broad perspectives necessary for both public- and private-sector international careers.
Students who wish to declare international affairs must earn a C or better in IA 401, have declared (or be prepared to declare) a disciplinary major, and have a 2.50 cumulative grade-point average. After declaration, students are expected to maintain at least a 2.50 grade-point average, which is the minimum required for study abroad at UNH.
IA 401, a prerequisite for IA 501, should be taken no later than spring of the sophomore year. IA 501 should be taken prior to foreign experience. The geography exam is offered every semester. Students may take the exam three times, but must pass it before taking IA 701.
The foreign experience (usually completed during the junior year), the geography exam, and the foreign language requirement are completed before taking IA 701 in the senior year. To acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience that come from residence in a foreign culture, students may spend an academic year, semester, or summer in an academic institution, in an internship with a private or public organization, or in purposeful travel/research. All foreign experiences must be pre-approved by the IA major adviser or the University Committee on International Studies.
The completion of the dual major requires no additional credits for graduation beyond the 128 required of all UNH students. All coursework required for international affairs must be completed with a grade of C or better. For information, contact the Center for International Education, Hood House, (603) 862-2398, www.unh.edu/cie.
