Core Courses

Students pursuing a masters degree or graduate certificate in International Studies take the following core courses. The core curriculum is designed to ensure a broad understanding of international problems and issues.

Master’s degree candidates must complete four of the eight core courses listed below. Students must also complete three semesters of the one hour course, INTL 5010 Contemporary Issues.

Certificate candidates must complete three core courses. (But are not required to take INTL 5010.)

INTL 5010: Contemporary Issues: 1 credit (must be taken 3 times)

Study of contemporary international issues including news reports, speeches from foreign dignitaries, political leaders and/or experts in selected international fields. The Contemporary Issues course may be offered through on-campus seminars and off campus viewing through various means of telecommunications. (Fall/Spring)

INTL 5213: International Relations, Affairs and Policy: 3 credits.

Study of the politics of international economic relations, addressing the major theories of international politics and their interaction with major, market-based theories of value allocation. Particular attention will be devoted to three primary areas: assessments of the politics shaping multilateral international economic institutions; articulation between states and international economic forces; and theoretical evaluations of cooperative and conflictual behavior in the international arena. (Fall))

INTL 5233: Global Competitive Environment: 3 credits.

Development of a global business strategy for the organization. Issues of highly diversified markets and business environments, global competition, financial markets and complex organizational relationships. (Fall)

SOC 5333: Global Populations and Social Problems: 3 credits.

Prerequisite: graduate standing. Study in world, regional and national population characteristics, changes and associated problems and cultural influences. (Fall)

AGEC 5343: International Agricultural Markets and Trade: 3 credits.

Contemporary international agricultural trade theory and applications. Broadens students’ understanding of contemporary cultural economic issues outside the U.S. that affect global demand. Gains from trade and the theory of comparative advantage. (Fall)

SOC 5950: Globalization and Culture: 3 credits.

Critical assessment of 20th century social scientific theories of development culminating in current theories of globalization. Exploration of capitalism’s antecedents, origin, and proliferation. Evaluation of global inequity from a cross-cultural perspective. Utility of anthropological theories of culture, ideology and hegemony in assessing local responses to globalization.

REMS 5013: Research, Design, and Methodology: 3 credits.

Required of all graduate students in education. An introduction to the concepts of research design, methodology, sampling techniques, internal and external validity and the scientific method in educational problem solving. Critical analysis of educational proposals. No credit for student with credit in 5015.

ECON 5603 Research and Independent Studies: 1-3 credits, maximum 10.

Prerequisites: consent of departmental committee under a workshop arrangement of supervised independent studies.