Dec 20, 2024  
Undergraduate Record 2024-2025 
    
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Undergraduate Record 2024-2025

Interdisciplinary Major - Global Studies

 Return to: College of Arts & Sciences: Degree Programs  

Overview

Global Studies is an interdisciplinary major composed of six concentrations or tracks:

- Global Development Studies is an undergraduate interdisciplinary program with a focus on social justice, sustainable economic development, public health, global interconnection, and public service

- Global Public Health explores the cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental conditions, factors and pathways that affect health, health care, access, and quality of life around the world.

- Environments & Sustainability prepares students to understand the physical environment and to transform it in sustainable ways.

- Middle East & South Asia explores the complex cultural, historical, literary, and political context of the Middle East and South Asia, marrying the depth of perspective gained from sustained attention to particular world areas (MESALC) with the Global Studies Program’s distinctive attention to critical global inquiry.

- Security & Justice allows students to explore both empirical and ethical aspects of conflict in the world today.

- Global Commerce in Culture and Society examines the social, cultural, and historical dimensions of business, trade, finance, organizations, property systems, and work.


Admissions
Admission to the Global Studies major is by Application.  This is a process that takes into account the student’s GPA, intellectual interests, and plans for study. Undergraduate students from across the University may apply for entrance to the Global Studies program in spring semester of their second year. Please see the Global Studies website for up to date application deadlines: https://globalstudies.as.virginia.edu/admissions.

Students may apply to two Global Studies tracks (but no more); if accepted into both tracks, a student can accept only one. 

Newly admitted transfer students who will begin their third year in the fall semester can apply for entrance to the major in May, as soon as they have been notified of their admission to the University. We will not accept transfer applications after June 1.

Policy on Double Majors 
Students may double major in Global Studies and other majors across the University, including students studying in the Schools of Architecture, Commerce, Education, Engineering, Nursing, and Public Policy. 

Universal Curriculum Requirements

To be awarded a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, students are required to complete universal curriculum requirements in addition to the program requirements provided below. The school universal curriculum requirements can be found on the school Degree Programs page .

Program Requirements

The Interdisciplinary Major in Global Studies requires 30 total credits as defined below. 

Requirements for the Global Development Studies Concentration

Prerequisites (6 credits)

  • One approved Methods/Quantitative course
  • One approved Social Theory course

Core Courses (9 credits)

Capstone Seminar (3 credits)

  • Credits: 3

  •       Note: To be taken in the second semester of the students’s fourth year.

          Note: Each student will complete a major research paper. 

Elective Courses (18 credits)

Six electives will be chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor, who will help the student put together a suite of courses that will culminate in a research paper prepared for GDS 4991. All courses must be at or above the 3000 level. Below is a starting list of approved/common electives:

Language Competency

One (1) course beyond the 2020 level of any language taught at UVA (or in an approved study-abroad program).

      -OR-

If a student has reached the 2020 level in one language but does not want to go further with that language, the student can satisfy the requirement by studying a second language and reaching the 1020 level. 

Requirements for the Global Public Health Concentration

Core Courses (9 credits)

Three Global Studies core courses drawn from these areas: Global History, Global Humanities, Global Social Sciences, and Quantitative Skills, which are selected thoughtfully in consultation with a GS-GPH advisor, taking into account the student’s individualized global health focus; titles and course numbers vary from semester to semester. 

Required Courses (9 credits)

Capstone Seminar (3 credits)

Elective Courses (9 credits)

Three electives that must be preapproved for each student.

  • These courses will be selected thoughtfully in consultation with a GS-GPH advisor, taking into account the student’s individualized global health focus. Students are also encouraged to take another available PHS course to fulfill an elective requirement. Titles and course numbers vary from semester to semester.

Language Competency

One (1) course beyond the 2020 level of any language taught at UVA (or in an approved study-abroad program).

      -OR-

If a student has reached the 2020 level in one language but does not want to go further with that language, the student can satisfy the requirement by studying a second language and reaching the 1020 level. 

Requirements for the Environments & Sustainability Concentration

Prerequisites (6 credits)

One Humanities, History or Culture approved elective; specific titles and course numbers vary from semester to semester, but below are accepted options:

Foundation Course (3 credits)

Core Courses (9 credits)

Three core courses in Global Studies: 

Elective Courses (15 credits)

Five electives from the list below, as well as student-proposed electives. At least 3 of the 5 required electives must be at the 3000 level or above. 

Environment
Equity
Economy & Policy
Other

Capstone Seminar (3 credits)

Language Competency (3 or 6 credits)

One (1) course beyond the 2020 level of any language taught at UVA (or in an approved study-abroad program).

      -OR-

If a student has reached the 2020 level in one language but does not want to go further with that language, the student can satisfy the requirement by studying a second language and reaching the 1020 level. 

Requirements for the Middle East and South Asia Concentration

Prerequisites

Completion of a 2020 or equivalent Middle Eastern (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian) or South Asian (Hindi, Urdu) language.

Co-requisite

Completion of a 3010 or equivalent Middle Eastern (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian) or South Asian (Hindi, Urdu) language.

Requirements (30 credits total)

A total of ten courses (5 Global Studies courses, 5 MESALC courses)

Global Studies Courses (contributing 15 credits)
MESALC Courses (contributing 15 credits)
  • Completion of a 3020 or equivalent Middle Eastern (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian) or South Asian (Hindi, Urdu) language. (3 Credits)
  • Four non-language courses (12 Credits) from MESALC, Religious Studies, Plitical Science, Sociology, Anthroplogy, and Media Studies amonth others. Two of these courses (6 Credits) must be 3000 level or above. Additional courses may be approved with advisor permission.

Other Requirements

  • A maximum of 12 study abroad and domestic transfer credits are allowed, with the permission of the major advisor.
  • USEM credits do not count toward major requirements.
  • Students who declare a major in any of the Global Studies tracks may not declare a major in another Global Studies track.
  • Students may declare a major in both Global MESALC and any other MESALC degree (Middle East Studies, Middle Eastern Language & Literature, South Asian Studies, or South Asian Language & Literature).

Requirements for the Security and Justice Concentration

Foundation Course (3 credits)

Core Courses (9 credits)

Choose one course from each of the following categories: Global Societies & Cultures, Global History, and Global Diagnostics; titles and course numbers vary from semester to semester.

Global Societies & Cultures
Global History
Global Diagnostics

Electives (15 credits)

Five electives from the following list of courses, as well as student-proposed electives. 

Capstone Seminar (3 credits)

Language Competency

One (1) course beyond the 2020 level of any language taught at UVA (or in an approved study-abroad program).

     -OR-

If a student has reached the 2020 level in one language but does not want to go further with that language, the student can satisfy the requirement by completing at least one additional semester of a second language at UVA or by otherwise demonstrating proficiency and/or immersion in that second language.

 

*** Students considering GSSJ are encouraged to enroll in one or more Global Studies core courses and/or GSSJ electives.

Requirements for the Global Commerce in Culture and Society Concentration

The concentration in Global Commerce in Culture and Society requires 30 total credits plus two prerequisite courses and language competency as defined below.

Prerequisites (6 credits)

Core Courses (12 credits)

Methodologies Courses (6 credits)

Two courses in Business and Professional Writing, Statistics, Accounting, Quantitative Analysis, or Computer Programming; titles and course numbers vary from semester to semester. See below for some accepted courses:

Electives (12 credits)

4 SOC, ANTH, HIXX or other College courses to be chosen in consultation with an advisor, who will help the student put together a suite of courses that will give the student background on a topic or geographic area to be pursued as a research project culminating in the research paper for GCCS 4991. Two of these courses must be at the 3000-level or above.

Language Competency

1 course beyond the 2020-level of a language taught at UVA (or in an approved study abroad program). This requirement can also be fulfilled by fluency in a world language other than English.

      -OR-

If a student has reached the 2020 level in one language but does not want to go further with that language, the student can satisfy the requirement by studying a second language and reaching the 1020 level.