What You Will Learn Studying International Relations

As a student you will learn to recognize the supplementary and complementary aspects of your study abroad experience to your Rollins' course work with a specific focus on concepts such as globalization, differential impacts, inequality, transnationalism, globality, and cosmopolitanism. Further political, economic, and cultural theories and concepts are emphasized throughout courses to prompt and assist you to think and write critically about significant global issues, and to prepare you to become an active, thoughtful, and responsible citizen.

The International Relations major will introduce you to diverse perspectives on humanity, identity, rights and responsibilities, universality and cultural specificity, and individual autonomy, state sovereignty, and transcendent authority. You will grapple with these themes and associated debates in disciplinary and interdisciplinary fashion. The major will expose you to both Western and Global South views.

Faculty members will expect you to understand the underlying assumptions of contending perspectives, particularly perspectives which are globally prominent. We believe that you cannot be a global citizens or a responsible leader unless you minimally understand such perspectives. Political science and economics courses will also offer you the opportunity to obtain important skills, ranging from conflict mediation to econometric analysis, from knowledge of the global financial system to that of sustainable development, which can facilitate your ability to be a responsible leader and enjoy a productive career.

International internships will introduce you to various global issues and provide you with experience addressing concerns through governments, corporations, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. You will be encouraged to consider post-graduate opportunities of service through Fulbright, the Peace Corps, and non-profits, realizing that these experiences are of intrinsic value and also will further educate you as a graduate, so you may develop and enhance your ability to contribute as a local, national, or global public servant, leader, and citizen.

Given this background, you will be positioned for meaningful and productive lives, prepared to live harmoniously and compassionately in a complex and diverse world.