Undergraduate Programs Available in International Studies
Why Study International Studies?
Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent due to rapid political, technological, economic, and environmental changes. Today's careers in the public, private, and non-profit sectors demand graduates who can reflect and understand how to solve global challenges created by the digital revolution, global supply chain structures, migration, and climate instability. The International Studies (INST) major at UNO is a program that weaves these different strands together and sets you apart from other candidates. It is an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree program that is individualized, flexible, and marketable, with a curriculum that focuses on developing cross-cultural competence, gaining foreign language proficiency, and cultivating an awareness and understanding of different regions and issues around the world. In addition to a set of core International Studies courses, students can tailor their individual career paths by selecting either thematic concentrations or developing a regional focus.
What Can I Do With my International Studies Degree?
International Studies majors find meaningful careers with government agencies, multinational corporations, and international non-profit organizations that seek to solve global challenges through diplomacy, economic development intelligence, communications, media, tourism, international education, and law.
Area Studies Concentration (AS)
Area Studies introduces students to the academic study of geographic regions of the world (e.g., Latin America, the Middle East, Western Europe, East Asia) and offers the opportunity to focus on one or more areas of regional interest. As a place-based, interdisciplinary approach to learning about the world, the Area Studies Concentration emphasizes developing regional expertise in language, customs, history, art, literature, media, food, business, economics, and politics, all of which inform the understanding of the place and its people. The Area Studies approach includes critically evaluating what regions are, how they are socially constructed, and how they matter, analytically. Students opting for the Area Studies Concentration must complete at least 15 credit hours of upper division courses on the region they select. At least one foreign language studied must be associated with the area chosen (e.g., Spanish for Latin America, Japanese for East Asia).
Global Strategic Studies (GSS)
Global Strategic Studies introduces students to the academic study of strategy on a global scale and offers the opportunity to learn about international peace, conflict, and diplomacy from an interdisciplinary perspective. The Global Strategic Studies Concentration emphasizes learning about fundamentals of the international system through courses in international law, international organizations, and intelligence and national security. Global Strategic Studies includes the study of technological change and cybersecurity, historical and contemporary mass violence, climate change, US foreign policy, civil-military relations, human rights, and geopolitics of specific regions of the world (e.g., Central and South Asia, Middle East, Latin America). This Concentration is designed for students interested in careers in national security and intelligence. Students opting for the Global Strategic Studies Concentration must complete at least 15 credit hours of upper division courses, with coursework coming from at least two different disciplines (e.g., Geography, History, Political Science).
Global Management & Business Leadership (GMB)
International Management and Business Leadership introduces students to the academic study of global management and business. Utilizing the framework of International Studies, the International Management and Business Leadership Concentration emphasizes learning about global economics, including fundamentals of macro-economics and micro-economics, monetary systems, international trade, and financial management. Delivering on the global, place-based approach of International Studies, the International Management and Business Leadership Concentration offers students the opportunity to study economic geography, natural resource economics, business law, global business management, and international marketing. This Concentration is designed for students interested in careers in international management and business, economics, and international organizations. Students opting for the International Management and Business Leadership Concentration must complete ECON 2200 and ECON 2220 and at least 15 credit hours of upper division coursework in Business.
Global Religious Studies (GRS)
Global Religious Studies introduces students to the academic study of religion and spirituality as well as the variety of religious traditions around the world (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Chinese religious traditions; Indigenous religious traditions in North America and in Africa; atheism and agnosticism, pagan and other nature-based traditions). Because religion is deeply implicated in history, culture, politics, literature, and medicine, the study of religion is critical to understanding and explaining complex global issues in both the past and the present. One does not have to be “religious” or “spiritual” to study religion, nor is the study of religion directed toward establishing the truth of one religion over another. We pursue the academic study of religion and spirituality from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, including anthropology, archaeology, cognitive sciences, fine arts, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and textual analysis. The basic intellectual purpose of religious studies is to develop an understanding of, and a critical insight into, the rich variety of the world's religious and spiritual traditions in the complex global realities (cultural, social, economic, political, and environmental) of the twenty-first century.