International Studies

Why International Studies at Coe?

International Studies is an innovative academic major at Coe that combines interdisciplinary coursework, foreign language skills and international study to develop your understanding of global issues.

We get you out of the classroom! International Studies students work with children of refugee families in Cedar Rapids. They tutor at the immigrant education agency. They do intake at the immigration legal clinic. They study abroad. And, as seniors, they design and implement their own community-based international projects.

Students of International Studies...

• Believe that contemporary global issues are best understood through an INTERDISCIPLINARY approach. Students gain foundational knowledge in political science, anthropology and economics; and may continue with advanced coursework in these areas as well as in history and many other disciplines. Because of its interdisciplinary framework, International Studies is a quintessentially liberal-arts discipline.
• EXPERIENCE global issues first-hand, on site. For this reason, students of International Studies spend at least one full term in a foreign country on an appropriate program studying international issues.
• SPECIALIZE by selecting a suite of advanced coursework in one of three interdisciplinary topical areas: The Global South, International Relations or Global Cultural Studies (Contemporary European Studies).
• INTEGRATE their learning in a senior "capstone" research project on a global issue of particular interest.
• Desire to make an IMPACT on their world through careers that include service in the Peace Corps, work for international non-governmental organizations, work in international government sectors such as the State Department or work with think tanks, foundations or other sorts of agencies.