Global and International Studies (BA Program)

Paul Bowles, Professor Emeritus

Heather Smith, Professor and Acting Chair
Fiona MacDonald, Associate Professor
Agnieszka Pawlowska-Mainville, Associate Professor
Gabrielle Daoust, Assistant Professor
Luna KC, Assistant Professor
Ami Hagiwara, Senior Instructor

Website: www.unbc.ca/international-studies

Major in Global and International Studies (BA)
Joint Major in Economics and Global and International Studies (BA)
Joint Major in Global and International Studies and Political Science (BA)
Minor in Global and International Studies
Minor in Global Sustainability
Minor in Japanese Language and Culture

Our world is rapidly globalizing, bringing exciting opportunities and daunting challenges. Global and International Studies, hereafter referred to as Global Studies, seeks to tackle this brave new world in all its complexity. We train students to be global citizens, global thinkers, and global problem-solvers, and prepare them for global careers in academia, business, government, and the non-profit sector, among others. A unique feature of our program is that we train students in foreign languages.

Global Studies is a holistic and timely field of study whose scope is the whole Earth and whose eyes are on the future, aiding a global transformation toward healthy, just, peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable societies for all. The focus of our program is on the ‘big picture,’ international to global. Using multi-disciplinary, multi-perspective, local-to-global, and critical ways of thinking, students emerge from our program with knowledge of the macro-level structures, actors, processes, ideas, issues, and events shaping our planet and its societies.

Language Study in the Global and International Studies Department
Global and International Studies is the home of global language learning at UNBC. Join us for regularly scheduled courses in French, Japanese, and Spanish, and for beginner programming in other languages. Students may also minor in Japanese language and culture.

Introductory language courses offered by the Department of Global and International Studies are not designed for heritage speakers (speakers who have learned a given language at home or during childhood) or for students who have prior knowledge of the language in question. To ensure proper placement, such students must consult with the instructor, complete a language skill evaluation, and receive the permission of the instructor before registering for a language course.

French

INTS 171-3 Beginning French I
INTS 172-3 Beginning French II
INTS 271-3 Intermediate French I
INTS 272-3 Intermediate French II

Japanese

INTS 121-3 Beginning Japanese I
INTS 122-3 Beginning Japanese II
INTS 221-3 Intermediate Japanese I
INTS 222-3 Intermediate Japanese II
INTS 321-3 Japanese Conversation and Composition I
INTS 322-3 Japanese Conversation and Composition II

Spanish

INTS 181-3 Beginning Spanish I
INTS 182-3 Beginning Spanish II
INTS 281-3 Intermediate Spanish I

Other

INTS 151-3 Beginning International Language I

Major in Global and International Studies

The Global and International Studies major requires 57 credit hours of Global and International Studies coursework of which 21 credit hours are at the lower level, 30 credit hours at the upper level, and 6 credit hours from the Cultures and Regions requirement at either second- or third-year levels.

The minimum requirement for completion of a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Global and International Studies is 120 credit hours.

Program Requirements

Lower-Division Requirement

100 and 200 Level

ANTH 213-3 Peoples and Cultures
HIST 240-3 The Global Age of Expansion
INTS 100-3 Introduction to Global Studies
INTS 210-3 Globalizations
INTS 211-3 Contemporary Economic Issues
INTS 225-3 Global Environmental Change
POLS 202-3 Canada in Comparative Perspective

Cultures and Regions Requirement

Two of the following:

GEOG 220-3 World Regions: Latin America and the Caribbean
HIST 281-3 Republican Latin America
INTS 208-3 Japanese Culture and Society
INTS 234-3 Islamic Civilizations
INTS 240-3 Contemporary Circumpolar North
INTS 311-3 Russian Politics and Society
INTS 312-3 Chinese Politics and Society
INTS 314-3 European Politics and Society
INTS 315-3 American Politics and Society
INTS 340-3 Changing Arctic: Human and Environment Systems

Upper Division Requirement

300 and 400 Level

At the upper-division level, students must take eight INTS upper-division courses and two non-INTS upper-division courses from the list of ancillary courses below.

INTS Upper-Division Courses (24 credit hours)

Twelve credit hours in 300-level INTS courses, not including any 300-level courses used to fulfil the Cultures and Regions Requirement.

Twelve credit hours in 400-level INTS courses, of which no more than 6 credit hours may be drawn from INTS 423-(3-9).

Non-INTS Upper-Division Courses (6 credit hours)

Students must take two courses (6 credit hours) from the list of courses below.

Note: Some of these courses have prerequisites that are not met by INTS lower-division required courses. Students must ensure that all prerequisites are fulfilled prior to registering in any course.

ANTH 305-3 Circumpolar Ethnography
ANTH 404-3 Comparative Study of Indigenous Peoples of the World
ANTH 410-3 Theory of Nation and State
ECON 308-3 International Economic Relations
ECON 321-3 Economics of Developing Countries
ECON 404-3 Poverty, Inequality and Development
ECON 425-3 Trade and the Environment
ENVS 309-3 Gender, Environment and Sustainability
ENVS 431-3 Global Environmental Policy: Energy and Climate
FNST 416-3 Indigenous Issues in International Perspective
GEOG 306-3 Critical Development Geographies
GEOG 420-3 Environmental Justice
GEOG 426-3 Geographies of Culture, Rights and Power
HIST 335-3 Global History of Public Health
NORS 321-3 Peoples and Cultures of the Circumpolar World 1
NORS 322-3 Peoples and Cultures of the Circumpolar World 2
NREM 303-3 Aboriginal Perspectives on Land and Resource Management
NREM 306-3 Society, Policy and Administration
POLS 303-3 Democracy and Democratization
POLS 372-3 Theories of Justice
POLS 377-3 Politics of Climate Change
POLS 413-3 Democracy and Diversity
POLS 414-3 Comparative Federalism
POLS 415-3 Comparative Northern Development
WMST 306-3 Indigenous Women: Perspectives
WMST 311-3 History of Feminism
WMST 411-3 Contemporary Feminist Theories

Elective and Academic Breadth
Electives at any level in any subject sufficient to ensure completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours, including any additional credits necessary to meet the Academic Breadth requirement of the University (see Academic Regulation on Academic Breadth).

Joint Major in Economics and Global and International Studies (BA)

See Calendar entry under Economics

Joint Major in Global and International Studies and Political Science (BA)

The minimum requirement for completion of a Bachelor of Arts with a joint major in Global and International Studies and Political Science is 120 credit hours.

Lower-Division Requirement

ECON 100-3 Microeconomics
ECON 101-3 Macroeconomics
ECON 205-3 Statistics for Business and the Social Sciences
    or STAT 240-3    Basic Statistics 
INTS 100-3 Introduction to Global Studies
INTS 210-3 Globalizations
POLS 100-3 Contemporary Political Issues
POLS 200-3 Canadian Government and Politics
POLS 202-3 Canada in Comparative Perspective
POLS 230-3 International Relations
POLS 270-3 Political Philosophy: Antiquity to Early Modernity

Upper-Division Requirement

INTS 310-3 Origins and Evolution of Our Globalizing World
INTS 490-3 Global Capstone
POLS 303-3 Democracy and Democratization
POLS 370-3 Political Philosophy: Early Modernity to Post-Modernity

One of the following:

POLS 305-3 American Politics and Society
POLS 309-3 Chinese Politics and Society
POLS 311-3 Russian Politics and Society
POLS 314-3 European Politics and Society
POLS 315-3 Contemporary Issues in the Circumpolar World
POLS 380-3 Law and Indigenous Peoples

One of the following:

POLS 414-3 Comparative Federalism
POLS 415-3 Comparative Northern Development
POLS 480-3 Law and Politics in the Arctic

Nine additional credit hours of upper division Global and International Studies (INTS) courses.

Six additional credit hours of 400-level Political Science (POLS) courses.

Six additional credit hours of 300- or 400-level Global and International Studies (INTS) or Political Science (POLS) courses.

Language and Regional Studies Requirement

One of the following:

GEOG 220-3 World Regions: Latin America and the Caribbean
HIST 281-3 Republican Latin America
INTS 240-3 Contemporary Circumpolar North

Twelve credit hours of Global and International Studies (INTS) language courses. At least 6 credit hours must be in one language.

Elective and Academic Breadth
Electives at any level in any subject sufficient to ensure completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours, including any additional credits necessary to meet the Academic Breadth requirement of the University (see Academic Regulation on Academic Breadth).

Minor in Global and International Studies

Students must complete a total of 21 credit hours of Global and International Studies course work, of which 6 credit hours are INTS 100-3 and INTS 210-3.

Students must complete:

INTS 100-3 Introduction to Global Studies
INTS 210-3 Globalizations

Three additional credit hours of lower-level Global and International Studies coursework.

Twelve additional credit hours of upper-level Global and International Studies (INTS) courses.

A maximum of two courses (6 credit hours) used to fulfill the requirements for a major (or another minor) may also be used to fulfill the requirements for the minor in Global and International Studies.

Minor in Global Sustainability

Students must complete a total of 21 credit hours of Global and International Studies coursework:

INTS 210-3 Globalizations
INTS 211-3 Contemporary Economic Issues
INTS 225-3 Global Environmental Change
INTS 304-3 International Development
INTS 340-3 Changing Arctic: Human and Environment Systems
INTS 421-3 The Political Economy of Natural Resource Extraction
INTS 425-3 Sustainability Problem-Solving

Minor in Japanese Language and Culture

Students must complete a total of 21 credit hours of Global and International Studies coursework:

INTS 121-3 Beginning Japanese I
INTS 122-3 Beginning Japanese II
INTS 208-3 Japanese Culture and Society
INTS 221-3 Intermediate Japanese I
INTS 222-3 Intermediate Japanese II
INTS 321-3 Japanese Conversation and Composition I
INTS 322-3 Japanese Conversation and Composition II


Updated: June 26, 2024