As the world becomes more interdependent, leaders need to understand and respond to global trends. With the right skills, a career in global affairs can open up a variety of opportunities, at home and abroad.
Global Affairs majors develop an understanding of the complex relationships among countries. They learn to identify and analyze a wide range of international issues, from foreign policy and diplomacy to economic development and poverty, global health, conflict and peacekeeping, the environment, and the role of nongovernmental organizations and multinational corporations.
Through capstone projects, students apply their academic training to a real-world problem. These projects often take the form of policy task forces, where small groups work together to design and implement solutions to a problem. Students can choose to fulfill this requirement in a substantive seminar of their choice, the Global Affairs senior essay course (GLBL 4500), or a project with a public service organization or government agency. They are responsible for securing their own academic advisor and secondary reader in either case.
The world faces daunting challenges that transcend national boundaries and afflict all people, rich and poor. Those include climate-driven instability that has turned millions of people against one another, the escalation of hostilities in Syria, and a tense standoff between China and the United States that could escalate into a full-blown trade war. With a multidisciplinary education in global affairs, you’ll be equipped to tackle these problems and make a difference.