Global Studies (B.A.)
The Global Studies program is an interdisciplinary major that offers capable and motivated students a unique academic program tailored to their creative and career interests. Global Studies recognizes that overcoming the most significant challenges facing the world today - such as climate change, resource scarcity, violent conflict and discrimination - requires the understanding of multiple perspectives and the integration of knowledge. To gain the skills needed to address these challenges, students in the Global Studies program draw on the expertise of faculty in a number of carefully selected fields. These faculty help students develop a coherent and balanced plan for learning.
Our alumni have entered graduate degree programs in urban planning, human rights, and global governance, become interpreters, served overseas in the Peace Corps, and worked in the U.S. Department of State.
The Global Studies program consists of:
- An introduction to globalization and the methods used for discovering solutions to contemporary global problems.
- A four-course concentration that reflects a student's research interests.
- Foreign language training to achieve intermediate proficiency.
- A culminating project in the senior year that proposes solutions to a global problem within a local context. The project delivers a defined outcome with a measurable impact and incorporates leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills. The topic of the senior project relates to the location of a student's study abroad experience.
Global Studies majors participate in at least one semester of a study abroad or other international experience, selected in conjunction with guidance from the Center for Global Education & Fellowships and program faculty. This experience can be used to fulfill course requirements in the major and in the university's general curriculum.
Global Studies majors complete a minimum of 120 credits to earn a bachelor’s degree: 49–51 credits of core courses, 27–41 elective credits, and 42 credits of major courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required courses | ||
| CEG-222 | Research Methods | 3 |
| CEG-390 | Current Issues | 3 |
| CEG-450 | Capstone | 3 |
| ECN-101 | Introductory Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ENV-334 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| GLO-100 | Introduction to Global Studies | 3 |
| POL-345 | International Environment and Development | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Humans and their Environment | ||
| The Sociological Imagination | ||
| Anthropology: Interpreting Cultural Differences | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Thesis Cultural, Environmental & Global Studies | ||
| Contemporary Global Literature | ||
| Modern Global History | ||
| Comparative Politics | ||
| Four Concentration Courses | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 42 | |
Concentration (12 credits)
Students take at least four courses to form a concentration related to one of the five Mercy critical concerns (immigration, the environment, violence, racism, and gendered injustice) or some other aspect of socioeconomic inequality. Concentrations include the following:
- Socio-cultural Identity
- International Development
- Regional
- Mercy Critical Concern
Concentrations should be designed by the end of sophomore year and before the semester of study abroad. They are planned in consultation with faculty in the Global Studies program and are approved by the chairperson of the Department of Cultural, Environmental, and Global Studies. Courses taken during study abroad can be used to complete or complement the concentration.
Foreign Language Study
Global Studies majors must be able to read, write, and speak at an intermediate level of proficiency in a language other than English, demonstrated by completion of SPA-206 Intermediate Spanish II, FRN-241 Communication and Cultures I, FRN-242 Communication and Cultures II, ITL-206 Intermediate Italian II or an equivalent language course offered as part of a study abroad program or through the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island (AICU Rhode Island) Language Consortium. During their study abroad programs, Global Studies majors are required to study the native language of their study abroad destinations if the native language is not English. This requirement is waived for native speakers of languages other than English who decide to work on issues related to a region/problem in which they would not need further language study. Courses taken abroad may fulfill the Global Studies language requirement with the approval of the Chair of the Modern Languages department.
Degree Plan for Global Studies (B.A.)
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| UNV-101 & FYT-100 |
University Seminar and First Year Transitions |
4 |
| Core Course 1 | 3 | |
| Foreign Language | 3 | |
| ECN-101 | Introductory Macroeconomics | 3 |
| Core Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| UNV-102 | University Seminar II | 3 |
| Foreign Language II | 3 | |
| GLO-100 | Introduction to Global Studies | 3 |
| MTH Core 2 | 3 | |
| Science Core 3 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| RTS-225 or PHL-225 |
The Quest for the Ultimate: Dialogue with Global Religious Traditions 4 or Quest for the Good Life |
3 |
| HIS Core 5 | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Core Course | 3 | |
| ENG Core 6 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| RTS-225 or PHL-225 |
The Quest for the Ultimate: Dialogue with Global Religious Traditions 4 or Quest for the Good Life |
3 |
| Core Course | 3 | |
| Core Course 7 | 3 | |
| CEG-222 | Research Methods | 3 |
| ENV-334 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| POL-345 | International Environment and Development | 3 |
| CEG-390 | Current Issues | 3 |
| GLO Concentration Course | 3 | |
| GLO Concentration Course | 3 | |
| GLO Concentration Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Study Abroad- Consult with Center for Global Education & Fellowships in Spring of Year 2 | 12 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| CEG-450 | Capstone | 3 |
| Art Core (3 credits) 8 | 3 | |
| Elective workshop | 1 | |
| GLO Concentration Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| Elective Workshop | 1 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
- 1
SOA-130 Anthropology: Interpreting Cultural Differences or SOA-110 The Sociological Imagination recommended.
- 2
MTH-171 Mathematics in Social Sciences recommended.
- 3
BIO-140 Humans and their Environment & BIO-140L Humans and their Environment Lab recommended.
- 4
One each semester.
- 5
HIS-265 Modern Global History recommended.
- 6
ENG-205 Contemporary Global Literature recommended.
- 7
POL-240 Comparative Politics recommended.
- 8
ART-202 Sculptural Concepts recommended.