Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign offers a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences Major in Political Science with an International Relations Concentration. This program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of international relations, including the study of interactions across borders of nation-states.

Program Description

International relations (IR) is the study of interactions across borders of nation-states. Students explore how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations among states as well as non-state actors across the interstate system. The program requires students to take advanced courses in two or more of the following topics: international law and organization, international cooperation, international political economy, globalization, foreign policy, diplomacy, political strategy in IR, conflict, interstate war, civil war, terrorism, global environmental politics, and international human rights.

Degree Requirements

• The degree requires a minimum of 120 hours.
• Students must complete the Campus General Education requirements, including the campus general education language requirement.
• A minimum of 70 hours of major and supporting course work is required.
• Twelve hours of 300- and 400-level courses in the major must be taken on campus.

International Relations Concentration Requirements

• Course List Code | Title | Hours
  • PS 100 | Intro to Political Science | 3
  • Select at least one course from the following: | 3
    • PS 280 | Intro to Intl Relations
    • PS 281 | Intro to Intl Relations-ACP
    • PS 282 | Governing Globalization
  • Select any additional 100- or 200-level Political Science courses | 6
  • Select 300- or 400-level Political Science courses, at least nine hours of which come from the International Relations Concentration list | 15
  • Select any additional Political Science courses at any level | 6
  • Students will select a second major, or a minor, or a set of courses of at least 12 hours of thematically-related coursework outside political science, developed in conjunction with an academic advisor | 12
• Total Hours | 45

International Relations Course List

• PS 180 | IntroPolitics of Globalization | 3
• PS 230 | Intro to Pol Research | 3
• PS 231 | Strategic Models | 3
• PS 280 | Intro to Intl Relations | 3
• PS 281 | Intro to Intl Relations-ACP | 3
• PS 282 | Governing Globalization | 3
• PS 283 | Intro to Intl Security | 3
• PS 300 | Special Topics (as appropriate) | 3
• PS 340 | Politics in Intl Development | 3
• PS 379 | Intl Rel & Domestic Politics | 3
• PS 380 | International Cooperation | 3
• PS 382 | Intl Political Economy | 3
• PS 384 | Politics of Globalization | 3
• PS 386 | International Law | 3
• PS 387 | National Security Policy | 3
• PS 390 | American Foreign Policy | 3
• PS 391 | Soviet & Post-Sov Foreign Pol | 3
• PS 392 | Intl Organizations&Regionalism | 3
• PS 393 | Diplomatic Studies Practicum | 4
• PS 394 | Crisis Diplomacy | 3
• PS 395 | International Organization | 3
• PS 396 | International Conflict | 3
• PS 398 | Strategic Interntl Relations | 3
• PS 399 | Politics of International Treaties | 3
• PS 457 | Dem Gov in a Global Setting | 3 or 4
• PS 480 | Energy and Security | 3
• PS 494 | Junior Honors Seminar (as appropriate) | 3

Sample Sequence

This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals.

• First Year
  • First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours
    • Free elective course | 1 | PS 280 (or PS 281 or PS 282) | 3
    • PS 100 | 3 | PS 100- or 200-level course | 3
    • General Education course | 3 | Language Other than English (4th level) | 4
    • Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 | General Education course or Composition I | 3
    • Composition I or General Education course | 4 | Free elective course | 2
    • | 15 | | 15
• Second Year
  • First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours
    • PS 100- or 200-level course | 3 | PS 100-400 level course | 3
    • Thematic related coursework | 3 | PS 100-400 level course | 3
    • General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3
    • General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3
    • Free elective course | 3 | Free elective course | 3
    • | 15 | | 15
• Third Year
  • First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours
    • PS International Relations 300- or 400 level course | 3 | PS International Relations 300- or 400- level course | 3
    • PS 300- or 400- level course | 3 | Thematic related coursework | 3
    • General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3
    • Free elective course | 3 | General Education course | 3
    • Free elective course | 3 | Free elective course | 3
    • | 15 | | 15
• Fourth Year
  • First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours
    • PS 300- or 400- level course | 3 | PS International Relations 300- or 400- level course | 3
    • Thematic related coursework | 3 | Thematic related coursework | 3
    • General Education course | 3 | Free elective course | 3
    • Free elective course | 3 | Free elective course | 3
    • Free elective course | 3 | Free elective course | 3
    • | 15 | | 15
• Total Hours 120

Additional Information

• Students may count a maximum of six (6) hours of credit of any combination of hours from PS 494 toward the advanced hours requirement.
• Not more than 6 hours of individual study courses in political science (PS 490) or 6 hours of internships (PS 491) or 6 hours of supervised research (PS 492) may be included in the major; a student with any mix of independent study hours and internship hours and supervised research hours may include a maximum of 9 hours of such credit in the major.
• (PS 496) is reserved for those seniors doing honors theses for distinction in political science and may not be counted in the 45-hour minimum required for the major.