International Studies Program

The International Studies (INTL) program is an interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary international program housed in the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs (LCWA).  The International Studies Program has offered a minor since the early 1980's, but a major was not added until after the establishment of the LCWA in 2006.  This decision was made with the consensus that a major in International Studies was both viable and necessary for furthering the internationalization goals of the School and College.  The major was designed to be quite rigorous and competitive, it requires that students complete three years of a foreign language, engage in a study or internship abroad experience, and that they select an area of concentration in which to specialize.  There are five areas of concentration to select from, four of these are region specific (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean); the fifth is in International Comparative Literature.  The goal of this program is to provide students with the skills needed to become global citizens.

The importance and popularity of the International Studies program was made apparent when after just two full semesters the first student graduated with an INTL major.  The success of the program was further demonstrated when it was reported that International Studies was the fastest growing major from 2010-2011 after only its first year.  The program has now grown to include over 220 declared majors and 91 minors in International Studies program.  For current students who stand out academically in the International Studies program, there is now the option to join the Charleston Chapter of Sigma Iota Rho, the National Honor Society for International Studies. And, for the first time this year, incoming Honors students with an interest in International Studies had the opportunity to become International Scholars. Through a competitive process, twelve Scholars out of 400 applicants were selected to join the program in the Fall 2012 term. In May they will be participating in a May Away study abroad experience in Cuba.  In May 2013 we will graduate 40 majors whose average Cumulative GPA is 3.278 and Major GPA is 3.326.  Among our graduates, we have one who participated in the inGenius! event, a winner of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a Finalist for the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay award, a recipient of the Freeman - ASIA scholarship, and a Truman Scholarship Finalist and 10 Sigma Iota Rho members.