Concentrations in IR | International Relations

International Relations is a broad field. It encompasses the entire world, and covers a diverse set of policy areas (national security, international political economy, development, environmental policy, human rights, etc.). Students should choose a concentration within the major—we want you start developing a specific area of expertise within the field of international relations, and build an intellectual foundation for the senior thesis. Students should use the following as a guide to structuring their studies in International Relations, and select a minimum of 4 courses in the concentration.

If a student's interest in IR does not fit within these concentrations, students may develop a concentration of their own devising after consulting with an academic advisor in the program.

Students may use the remaining elective coursework in the major to develop a secondary field of focus. For example, a student concentrating on National and International Security may choose to also develop an expertise in East Asia.

The list will be kept as up to date as possible. However, often there will be new courses or one-time course offerings that are not included in this list. Students may always petition to have a course that is not listed as counting towards their concentration. (As always, relevant courses not tagged as AIRE in Path@Penn may be petitioned for IR elective credit, as well.)

Concentrations:

National and International Security
American Foreign Policy
Globalization, International Economics, and Development
Human Rights, Ethics, and International Law
International Environmental Policy and Cooperation
Area Studies
Independent Concentration

National and International Security*

* PSCI 1401 is strongly recommended as a foundational course for students pursuing this concentration

AFRC 2321 War and Peace in Africa
ECON 0120 Strategic Reasoning
ECON 4100 Game Theory
ENGL 2415 Fascism and Anti-Fascism
HIST 1120 Yellow Peril, Red Scare: Cold War Asia in America
HIST 1190 American Diplomatic History Since 1776'
HIST 1191 US Empire in the Twentieth Century
HIST 1260 Tolstoy's War and Peace and the Age of Napoleon
HIST 1270 World War I
HIST 1362 The Making of Modern Israel and Palestine
HIST 1708 Revolutionary Ideas, Ideologies of Revolution
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 1785 American Expansion in the Pacific
HIST 2706 Wastes of War: A Century of Destruction
HIST 3159 The Homefront: America at Home During World War II
HIST 3160 The Vietnam War
MMES 2400 The Iranian Nuclear Program
PSCI 1100 Ethnic Conflict
PSCI 1101 Politics of Slow Moving Crises
PSCI 1191 Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy
PSCI 1401 International Security
PSCI 1408 War, Strategy and Politics
PSCI 4450 Chinese Foreign Policy
PSCI 4994 International Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
PSCI 5170 Territorial Restructuring
PSCI 5400 Borders and Boundaries in International and Comparative Politics
RELS 1370 Religion and the Global Future

American Foreign Policy*

* PSCI 1200 and HIST 1190 is strongly recommended for students pursuing this concentration.

AFRC 1177 Afro-American History 1876 to Present
AFRC 4200 The US and Human Rights
BEPP 4010 Public Policy Analysis
ENVS 5600 Developing Environmental Policy
HIST 1120 Yellow Peril, Red Scare: Cold War Asia in America
HIST 1190 American Diplomatic History Since 1776
HIST 1191 US Empire in the Twentieth Century
HIST 1362 The Making of Modern Israel and Palestine
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 1785 American Expansion in the Pacific
HIST 3150 The Wartime Incarceration of Japanese Americans
HIST 3159 The Homefront: America at Home During World War II
HIST 3160 The Vietnam War
HIST 3965 The International Monetary System from Sterling to Cryptocurrency (1720-2020)
LALS 2680 Contemporary Immigration in the US
MMES 2400 The Iranian Nuclear Program
PSCI 1105 Networks and NGOs in World Politics
PSCI 1121 US Interventionin Latin America
PSCI 1200 Public Policy Process
PSCI 1401 International Security
PSCI 1402 International Political Economy
PSCI 1404 American Foreign Policy
PSCI 1408 War, Strategy, and Politics
PSCI 2211 (PIW) The Mechanics of American Foreign Policy
PSCI 2420 Diplomacy in the Americas
PSCI 3992 How Washington Works

Globalization, International Economics and Development*

* ECON 0500 and/or ECON 0510 is strongly recommended for students pursuing this concentration to provide a firm foundation in economics.

AFRC 2219 Global Inequities: A Comparative History of Caste and Race
BEPP 2010 Economic Globalization: Policy, History and Contemporary Issues
BEPP 2030 Business in the Global Political Environment
BEPP 2630 Environmental & Energy Economics and Policy
BEPP 2890 Economic Globalization: Policy, History and Contemporary Issues
COML 2402 What is Capitalism? Theories of Marx and Marxism
ECON 0120 Strategic Reasoning
ECON 0500 International Economics
ECON 0510 Development Economics
ECON 0620 Financial Meltdown, Past and Present
ECON 0625 (HIST 3710) Introduction to Business, Economic and Financial History
ECON 4100 Game Theory
ECON 4200 Economic Growth
ECON 4230 Macro Perspectives on Challenges for Economic Policy
ECON 4340 Empirical Economics of Climate Change
ECON 4510 International Trade
ECON 4520 International Finance
ECON 4530 Topics in Development
ECON 4540 China: Institutions and the Economy
ECON 4545 Finance and Growth from a Historical Perspective
ECON 4560 History of Economic Thought
ECON 4610 Foundations of Market Economies
FNCE 1010 Monetary Economics and the Global Economy
FNCE 2320 International Banking
HIST 1740 Capitalism, Socialism and Crisis in the 20th Century Americas
HIST 2710 Inflationary Times: Money, Currency, and Debt in History
HIST 2733 Taking Off: How Some Economies Get Rich
HIST 3965 The International Monetary System from Sterling to Cryptocurrency (1720-2020)
LGST 2140 International Business Transactions
LGST 2160 Emerging Economies
LGST 2190 Law and Policy in International Business
LGST 2200 International Business Ethics
LGST 2240 Human Rights and Globalization
LGST 2610 Emerging Economies
MGMT 1170 Global Growth of Emerging Firms
NURS 3160 Social Determinants of Global Food Insecurity
PPE 3001 Strategic Reasoning
PSCI 1101 Politics of Slow Moving Crises
PSCI 1102 Global Development: Data, Politics and Practice
PSCI 1102 Political Economy of Development
PSCI 1160 Democracy and Development in India
PSCI 1171 International Political Economy and the European Eunion
PSCI 1402 International Political Economy
PSCI 3150 Chinese Political Economy
PSCI 3200 Global Development: Intermediate Topics in Politics, Policy and Data
PSCI 4120 Oil to Diamonds: The Political Economy of Natural Resources in Africa
PSCI 5400 Borders and Boundaries in International and Comparative Politics
SAST 0057 Planning to be Off-Shore?

Human Rights, Ethics and International Law*

* PSCI 1403 or PSCI 1406 is recommended as a foundational course for all students who are pursuing this concentration.

* Students pursuing the Undergraduate Certificate in Global Human Rights must complete a total of 5 CUs to satisfy the requirements of that certificate.

AFRC 4200 The US and Human Rights: Policies and Practices
HIST 2350 Migration and Refugees in African History
HIST 3150 The Wartime Incarceration of Japanese Americans
HIST 3910 Immigration and the Making of US Law
LGST 2200 International Business Ethics
LGST 2240 Human Rights and Globalization
NURS 3160 Social Determinants of Global Food Insecurity
PHIL 2430 Global Justice
PSCI 1105 Networks and NGOs in World Politics
PSCI 1403 International Law and Organizations
PSCI 1406 International Human Rights
PSCI 1407 Ethics and International Relations
PSCI 2420 (LALS 3020) Diplomacy in the Americas
PSCI 2421 (LALS 2020) International Organization in Latin America
PSCI 3401 International Law
Graduate level courses offered in the Law, Education, Social Policy and Practice may be appropriate, and applied by petition.

International Environmental Policy and Cooperation*

* Both PSCI 1402 International Political Economy and ECON 0500 is highly encouraged for students undertaking this concentration. ENVS 1000 Introduction to Environmental Science, while it will not count towards the IR Major (though it will count as the Physical World Sector) is strongly recommended as foundational course for students pursuing this concentration.

BEPP 2610 Risk Analysis and Environmental Management
BEPP 2630 Environmental & Energy Economics and Policy
EAS 4030 Energy Systems and Policy
ECON 4340 Empirical Economics of Climate Change
EESC 3300 Glaciers, Ice & Climate
ENGR 2500 Energy Systems, Resources and Technology
ENVS 1043 Reparing the Plante; Tools for the Climate Emergency
ENVS 3100 Environmental Case Studies
ENVS 4200 The Anthropocene: Human-dominated Earth
ENVS 4250 Our Water Planet
ENVS 5220 Sustainable Agriculture and Product Stewardship
ENVS 5600 Developing Environmental Policy
HIST 1706 Global Environmental History from the Paleolithic to the Present
LALS 0091 Sustainable Development and Culture in Latin America
LGST 2600 Climate & Environmental Leadership in Action: Building a Sustainable Future
MELC 0365 Water in the Middle East Throughout History
PHYS 0016 Energy, Oil and Global Warming
PSCI 1101 Politics of Slow Moving Crises

Area Studies*

* For students pursuing an area studies concentration, we will allow one CU of advanced language training to count towards the IR major.

East Asia

EALC 0500 East Asian Religions
EALC 1701 Economic History of East Asia, 600-1900
EALC 1731 20th Century China: Democracy, Constitutions, and States
EALC 2502 Science and Technology in Modern East Asia
EALC 3531 Chinese Law and Society
EALC 3731 China's Ethnic Frontiers: Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and beyond
ECON 4540 China: Institutions and the Economy
HIST 0550 History of Modern China
HIST 0560 Modern Japanese History
HIST 0860 Introduction to Korean Civilization
HIST 1120 Yellow Peril, Red Scare: Cold War Asia in America
HIST 1191 US Empire in the Twentieth Century
HIST 1550 East Asian Diplomacy
HIST 1551 History of US-China Relations
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 1785 American Expansion in the Pacific
HIST 2733 Taking Off: How Some Economies Get Rich
HIST 3150 The Wartime Incarceration of Japanese Americans
HIST 3160 The Vietnam War
PSCI 1150 Chinese Politics
PSCI 1191 Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy
PSCI 3150 Chinese Political Economy
PSCI 4450 Chinese Foreign Policy
SAST 2550 Modern Southeast Asia

South Asia

AFRC 2219 Global Inequities: A Comparative History of Caste and Race
AFRC 2232 Africa in India and Arabia
HIST 0850 Introduction to Modern India
HIST 1540 Religion and Politics in South Asia 1000-2000
HIST 1560 Economic Histories of Modern South Asia, 1600-Present
PSCI 1160 Democracy and Development in India
PSCI 2160 Modern India
PSCI 5160 Society and Politics in India
SAST 0002 The City in South Asia
SAST 0057 Planning to be Off-Shore?
SAST 1169 Merchants, Saints, Slaves, and Sojourners: The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
SAST 2550 Modern Southeast Asia
SAST 2554 Religion and Resistance in South Asia
SAST 5860 History of Islam in Asia

Middle East and North Africa

AFRC 2219 Global Inequities: A Comparative History of Caste and Race
AFRC 2232 Africa in India and Arabia
HIST 0310 Warriors, Concubines & Converts: The Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and Europe
HIST 0360 History of the Middle East Since 1800
HIST 0830 The Making of the Middle East
HIST 1191 US Empire in the Twentieth Century
HIST 1350 Faces of Jihad in African Islam
HIST 1362 The Making of Modern Israel and Palestine
HIST 1382 Modern Iran
HIST 1388 From Oil Fields to Soccer Fields: The Middle East in the 20th Century
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 2353 Sex and Power in the Middle East: Unveiling Women's Lives
MELC 0365 Water in the Middle East Throughout History
MELC 1610 Nationalism and Communal Identity int he Middle East
MMES 2400 The Iranian Nuclear Program
MELC 0675 Arab Israeli Conflict in Literature
PSCI 1140 Politics in the Contemporary Middle East
PSCI 4994 International Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
PSCI 5685 Modern Islamic Political Thought
SAST 1169 Merchants, Saints, Slaves, and Sojourners: The Worlds of the Indian Ocean

Africa

AFRC 1002 Introduction to Africa
AFRC 1177 Afro-American History 1876 to Present
AFRC 1310 Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
AFRC 2219 Global Inequities: A Comparative History of Caste and Race
AFRC 2232 Africa in India and Arabia
AFRC 2321 War and Peace in Africa
AFRC 4200 The US and Human Rights
HIST 0350 Africa Since 1800
HIST 0837 Religion and Society in Africa
HIST 1350 Faces of Jihad in African Islam
HIST 1370 African Environmental History
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 2350 Migration and Refugees in African History
HISt 3350 Religion and Colonial Rule in Africa
HIST 3700 Abolitionism: A Global History
PSCI 1130 Contemporary African Politics
PSCI 4120 Oil to Diamonds: The Political Economy of Natural Resources in Africa
PSCI 5685 Modern Islamic Political Thought

Russia and Eastern Europe

COML 2402 What is Capitalism? Theories of Marx and Marxism
HIST 0240 The Rise and Fall of the Russian Empire, 1552-1917
HIST 0290 The Soviet Century, 1917-1991
HIST 0310 Warriors, Concubines & Converts: The Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and Europe
HIST 0724 Portraits of Old Rus: Myth, Icon, Chronicle
HIST 0824 Russia and the West
HIST 1260 Tolstoy's War and Peace and the Age of Napoleon
HIST 1708 Revolutionary Ideas, Ideologies of Revolution
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 2256 The Russian Revolutions, 1905-1924: Brave New World?
HIST 2257 Russia's 20th Century: History Through Literature
PSCI 1172 Russian Politics
PSCI 5172 Russian Politics in Comparative-Historical Perspective

Europe

HIST 0250 The Ascent of Europe
HIST 0310 Warriors, Concubines & Converts: The Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and Europe
HIST 0824 Russia and the West
HIST 1260 Tolstoy's War and Peace and the Age of Napoleon
HIST 1270 World War I
HIST 1275 Spain: From Civil War to Post-Francoism 1930-2020
HIST 1280 Origins of Nazism: From Democracy to Race War and Genocide
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 2733 Taking Off: How Some Economies Get Rich
HIST 3920 European Diplomatic History 1789-1914
HIST 3921 European International Relations 1914-Present
HIST 3965 The International Monetary System from Sterling to Cryptocurrency (1720-2020)
PSCI 1171 International Political Economy and the European Eunion

Latin America

HIST 0400 Colonial Latin America
HIST 0450 Modern Latin America 1808–Present
HIST 1475 History of Brazil: Slavery, Inequality, Development
HIST 1702 Introduction to Latin American and Latino Studies
HIST 1735 Cold War: Global History
HIST 1740 Capitalism, Socialism and Crisis in teh 20th Century Americas
LALS 0091 Sustainable Development and Culture in Latin America
LALS 1191 US Empire in the Twentieth Century
LALS 2415 Fascism and Anti-Fascism
LALS 2680 Contemporary Immigration in the US
LALS 2710 Inflationary Times: Money, Currency, and Debt in History
LALS 3515 Race, Rights and Rebellion
LALS 3733 Locating the Andean Radical Tradition
LALS 3904 Latin American Marxisms
PSCI 1120 Latin American Politics
PSCI 1121 U.S. Intervention in Latin America
PSCI 2120 Democracy in Latin America
PSCI 2420 (LALS 3020) Diplomacy in the Americas
PSCI 2421 (LALS 2020) International Organization in Latin America
SPAN 3800 Creations of the Global. Global Awareness and Globalization in Latin American Cultures

Independent Concentration

Students whose interests are not captured by any of the above concentrations have the option of defining their own curriculum from scratch in consultation with an IR academic advisor