International Relations
Honors Specialization - Offered jointly through History and Political Science
International relations have had a profound impact on the world in which we live. While international relations sometimes seem remote and rarified - diplomats sending dispatches to their home governments and summit meetings between heads of government - they are a part of people's daily consciousness and experience. Canadian peacekeepers in Afghanistan; global warming; nuclear weapons testing in North Korea; global initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS; earthquakes in South America; the World Wide Web; spring break in the Dominican Republic; SARS; the dizzying price of filling your gas tank: in the 21st century people around the world are connected in so many ways. These kinds of connections have long existed - although not always in such an instantaneous or intensive way - in an international environment marked by conflict, cooperation, and change. The joint honours specialization in international relations examines the connections between peoples and states in historical and contemporary contexts. It is an interdisciplinary program - unique in Canada - between Political Science and History. It is also a rigorous program for high achieving students. The study of international relations prepares students for careers in the field of international relations, including international development, international law, foreign affairs reporting, and the foreign service.
Graduates of the International Relations Program
Students graduating from the International Relations Program have gone on to study in post-graduate programs in law, journalism, history, public history, political science, development studies, security studies, global migration, and global studies. They attend universities in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain and have been the recipients of prestigious grants and awards.
International Relations News & Announcements
*Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada is now hiring entry level foreign service officers.*
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Call for Applications: Columbia-LSE Dual MA/MSc in International and World History
The Columbia-LSE Dual Degree Program seeks talented applicants for its Fall 2011 entry. Over the course of the two-year research oriented program, students work with preeminent historians at Columbia University and the London School of Economics to explore the forces that have shaped and continue to remake our world: migration, trade, technology, religion, epidemic disease, the environment, war, interventions and diplomacy.
At the heart of the program is a two-year dissertation component comprised of three supporting core courses taken at Columbia (first year) and LSE (second year), as well as a large range of electives that allow for specialization. By the end of their second year students produce an original 15,000-word dissertation based on detailed empirical research, much of which is collected during the summer between the first and second years. The students acquire an understanding of the conceptual possibilities and problems associated with international and world history, practical methodological training in the use of archives and oral history, and professional guidance on the presentation and dissemination of their findings.
For more about the program, visit worldhistory.columbia.edu