International Studies

Minor Department of Global and International Studies · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog

The minor in International Studies provides an interdisciplinary perspective on contemporary global issues, societies, and cultures. International studies minors acquire knowledge that will enable them to understand and contribute to shaping the rapidly evolving global community. The minor in international studies helps prepare students for graduate study or professional careers in a variety of fields in the national and international job markets such as international affairs and public policy, international business and finance, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academic research and teaching.

Requirements

Requirements for the minor include a core set of courses: Introduction to Global Studies, Global Cultures and Society, Global Political Ideologies, Global Political Economy, Human Rights and Global Governance, and Global Environmental Issues. Students also choose both a geographic focus and a global focus to enable them to broaden and deepen areas of knowledge and topics of particular interest. The final requirement is one quarter of the Global and International Studies Forum.

International Studies Minor Requirements

CourseTitleUnits
A. Complete:
INTL ST 1Introduction to Global Studies
B. Select one of the following:
INTL ST 11Global Cultures and Society
INTL ST 12Global Political Ideologies
INTL ST 15Global Political Economy
INTL ST 16Human Rights and Global Governance
INTL ST 17Global Environmental Issues
C. Geographic Focus: Two upper-division courses in one geographic area
D. Global Focus: Three upper-division courses. At least one must be from Module A.
Module A:
INTL ST 100Global Trials
INTL ST 101AGlobal Social Movements
INTL ST 101BGlobal Cities and Slums
INTL ST 102AGlobal Refugees and Stateless People
INTL ST 103AGlobal Health
INTL ST 104AGlobal Trafficking
INTL ST 104BWGlobal Gender and Sexuality
INTL ST 106AGlobal Political Ecology
INTL ST 106BGlobal Food Environment
INTL ST 146Global Indigeneity
INTL ST 146WGlobal Indigeneity
INTL ST 148WGlobal Futures
INTL ST 150Racism and Global Apartheid
INTL ST 155Racial Capitalism
INTL ST 163Global Inequalities
Module B
Courses for Module B (Global Focus and Geographic Focus) are listed below.
E. One quarter of INTL ST 183A

Global Focus

CourseTitleUnits
INTL ST 112AInternational Business
INTL ST 115Global Poverty and Inequality in the 21st Century
INTL ST 122Nuclear Environments
INTL ST 124AIntroduction to the Comparative Study of Legal Cultures
INTL ST 130Transnational Gangs
INTL ST 141BHomeland Security
INTL ST 145AInternational Law
INTL ST 152ANon-Government Organization (NGO) Fundamentals
INTL ST 153FMilitarism and Gender
INTL ST 157CComparing European and US Societies
INTL ST 161APolitical Islam
INTL ST 165Introduction to Contemporary Middle East Politics
INTL ST 175AU.S. War on Terrorism
INTL ST 177GRevolution and Reaction in Cold War Latin America
INTL ST 183CWSeminar Conflict Resolution
INTL ST 183EConflict Resolution in Cross-Cultural Perspective
INTL ST 189Special Topics: Global Focus in International Studies

Geographic Focus

CourseTitleUnits
INTL ST 102BGlobal Asias and Orientalism
INTL ST 143AVietnam War
INTL ST 158BPeoples of the Pacific
INTL ST 158DChina in the Global Age
INTL ST 161APolitical Islam
INTL ST 162BPeoples and Cultures of Post-Soviet Eurasia
INTL ST 165Introduction to Contemporary Middle East Politics
INTL ST 176CPolitical Power in Contemporary China
INTL ST 177CRevolution in Latin America
INTL ST 177DU.S. Intervention in Latin America
INTL ST 177ECuban Society and Revolution
INTL ST 177GRevolution and Reaction in Cold War Latin America
INTL ST 179Special Topics: Geographic Focus in International Studies
ANTHRO 125ZArabs and Muslims in the US
ANTHRO 139Special Topics in Cultural and Psychological Anthropology
ANTHRO 141AAncient Civilization of Mexico and the Southwest
ART HIS 100Studies in Ancient Art
ART HIS 134ETopics in Modern European Art
ART HIS 150Studies in Asian Art
ART HIS 155BMedieval India
ART HIS 167Topics in the History of Modern Latin American and Latinx Art
CHC/LAT 121Latina/Latino Pop: Latina/Latino Popular Culture
CHC/LAT 129Special Topics in Literature, Arts, Media, Culture
COM LIT 100ANations, Regions, and Beyond
COM LIT 143Literature, Arts, and Media
COM LIT 150Literature in Translation
EAS 110Topics in Chinese Literature and Society
EAS 116Topics in East Asian Religions
EAS 120Topics in Japanese Literature and Society
EAS 126Topics in East Asian Linguistics
EAS 140Topics in Korean Literature and Society
EAS 150Topics in East Asian Literature in Translation
EAS 155Topics in Cultural Studies in East Asia
EAS 160Topics in East Asian Cinema
ENGLISH 103Topics in Literature, Theory, and Criticism
ENGLISH 105Multicultural Topics in Literatures in English
EURO ST 101BEuropean Studies Core II: Modern Europe (Post-1789)
EURO ST 102Topics in Early European History and Culture: Pre-1789
EURO ST 103Topics in Modern European History and Culture: Post-1789
FLM&MDA 130Multicultural Topics in the Media
FLM&MDA 160National/Regional Cinemas and Media
FRENCH 150Topics in French Literature and Culture
FRENCH 160French Cinema
GERMAN 150German Literature and Culture in Translation
GERMAN 160German Cinema
HISTORY 112DTopics in Early Modern Europe
HISTORY 114Topics in Modern European History
HISTORY 126BThe Era of World War II: 1933-45
HISTORY 130CTopics in the Jewish History
HISTORY 132DArmenians and Armenia in Ancient to Early Modern World History
HISTORY 132EArmenians and Armenia in Modern World History
HISTORY 132HTopics in Middle Eastern History
HISTORY 169Topics in Latin American History
HISTORY 171EChinese History: 1800-1949
HISTORY 175GTopics in the History of Southeast Asia
HISTORY 182Special Studies in Intellectual-Cultural History
ITALIAN 150Topics in Italian Literature and Culture
POL SCI 141CInternational Political Economy of East Asia
POL SCI 141EUS Foreign Policy Toward Asia
POL SCI 142BThe International Relations of East Asia
POL SCI 147ECritical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa
POL SCI 149Special Topics in International Relations
POL SCI 152KImmigration Politics
POL SCI 159Special Topics in Comparative Politics
RUSSIAN 150Topics in Russian Literature
SOC SCI 179Special Topics in Asian American Studies
  1. Although some courses are listed in more than one focus, students may not double count a course for both their geographic and global focus.

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