Academic Advising

A Partnership For Success

In the College of Arts and Sciences, we believe the student/advisor partnership is vital to success.

International Studies Advising Information

All questions regarding advising for International Studies majors should be directed to:

    • Vickie Stone
    • International Studies Academic Advisor

* If you're undeclared or have fewer than 27 hours, you'll need to see an Arts & Sciences Advising Center Advisor.)

UNO's International Studies Major (INST), an interdisciplinary bachelor of arts degree program, provides undergraduate students with a background in international relations and intercultural communications, as well as career-focused concentrations. The degree is individualized, flexible and marketable. 

Requirements

Follow these guidelines for planning your International Studies degree program. If you have questions, contact Vickie Stone.

General Requirements

The International Studies Major at UNO is an interdisciplinary program that provides a substantial international focus and foundation for professional careers in both the private and public sectors. Among these careers are international management, trade and business, government service, national security and intelligence, nonprofit organizations, and teaching. The program also prepares students for graduate study in a variety of professions, including international business, trade, management, law, teaching, and public affairs.

Foreign Languages:

Members of the International Studies Faculty encourage students majoring in International Studies to place significant emphasis on foreign language and the study of other cultures. Many INST majors have a double major or a minor in a foreign language. At a minimum, in order to satisfy the INST foreign language requirement, majors must complete the equivalent of three years of university-level foreign language study, or two years each of two foreign languages.

Core Curriculum:

INST majors must also complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in approved International Studies courses including the following core curriculum: INST 2130 and 4140 (Introduction to International Studies and Topics in International Studies), Geography 1020 (Introduction to Human Geography), PSCI 2210 (International Relations), Economics 2200 (Principles of Micro Economics), and Economics 2220 (Principles of Macro Economics).

College of Arts & Sciences Requirements:

A major in International Studies must meet or exceed the requirements for a major as specified by the College of Arts & Sciences, including at least 18 upper division credit hours. Beyond the core courses and foreign language classes, the curriculum for INST majors is constructed of those courses that have an international focus in disciplines such as history, political science, geography/geology, sociology, management, trade and economics, philosophy and religion, English and related courses in the fine arts and humanities.

Personal Professional Portfolio

The INST Personal Professional Portfolio is designed to help majors focus in their preparation for entering the workforce upon graduation. It must contain a one-page resume and biographical data sheet. It might contain any one of the following, which should expand or amplify the information provided on the resume:

  • Employment history with description of salient experience, such as management or leadership roles, key competencies, areas of responsibility, and major accomplishments
  • A senior or honors thesis or another significant writing effort for an INST course
  • Description of internships or study abroad experiences
  • Description of outstanding classes and classroom experiences
  • Other experiences that have influenced your decision to seek an international career
  • Volunteer and service learning experiences
  • Other resources that illustrate your talents, such as results from the Gallup StrengthsQuest.
  • Link to an electronic portfolio, such as one posted via the myWeb feature at my.unomaha.edu

Make sure to discuss the development of your portfolio with your INST advisor and bring it to every advising meeting.

Suggested Courses

The following are suggested courses for meeting the INST graduation requirements. Make sure to discuss your academic plan with an INST advisor. Meet Your Adviser.

Fundamental Competencies:

English (6 hours and proficiency): ENGL 1150, ENGL 1160. If a student tests out of one or both of these composition courses, the student must take other English courses to satisfy the 6-hour requirement.

Writing (3 hours): ENGL 2400 (Advanced Composition) is strongly recommended. Those students who take FREN, GERM or SPAN 4040 in completion of their foreign language requirement for the INST major may count it as both a humanities and a writing requirement. Note that if FREN, GERM or SPAN 4040 is used to satisfy both a writing and humanities requirement, two separate courses must be taken to fulfill each of the U.S. minority culture and humanities requirements, and visa versa.

Verbal communication (3 hours): SPCH 1110 (Public Speaking Fundamentals) is strongly recommended.

Math (3 hours): MATH 1310 (Intermediate Algebra) or MATH 1320 (College Algebra), depending math placement exam results.

General Understanding:

World Civilizations I and II: HIST 1000 and 1010 are required.

Foreign language: INST majors must take three years of one foreign language or two years of two separate foreign languages. International students may be exempt from this requirement if English is not their first language.

Cultural Diversity: 

U.S. minority culture- It is suggested that the course chosen in satisfaction of the cultural diversity requirement also be a humanities course, since taking a course in this manner may satisfy two requirements at the same time. Courses that count as both a U.S. minority culture and a humanities course are:

  • BLST 1100, 1260, 2260, 2360, 2510, 2730, and 2830
  • CLS 1020
  • ENGL 2230, 2260, 2350, 2360, and 2470
  • NAMS 1100
Distribution Requirements:

Humanities (12 hour minimum): 3 hours of humanities requirements can be satisfied with a foreign language class after two years of language study are completed. 3 hours may come from the cultural diversity/U.S. minority culture category if the U.S. minority culture requirement has been satisfied with a Humanities course. Additional suggestions for the remaining six hours follow: ART 2050 or 2060, RELI 1010, MUS 1080.

Social sciences (12 hour minimum): All of the INST major core courses count as social science classes (INST 2130; INST 4140; PSCI 2210; GEOG 1020; and ECON 2200). No additional social science courses should be necessary to fulfill the College of Arts & Sciences requirements.

Natural sciences (11 hour minimum): The preferred course sequence for the INST major follows: GEOG 1030 (5 hours); PHYS 1350 and 1354 (4 hours) or CHEM 1010 and 1034 (4 hours); and BIOL 1330 (3 hours).

Other options are: BIOL 1020 (5 hours); PHYS 1030 and 1034 (4 hours); and GEOL 1010 (3 hours).

If your course plan has deviated from the above, please see an INST advisor to be certain that the requirements are being fulfilled in a timely manner.