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International Affairs (IA)

International Affairs (IA) is an interdisciplinary major (13 courses) or minor (6 courses) that stresses the importance of a broad-based international education. The major culminates in a senior capstone experience. The IA Program examines the relations between and among nation-states, regions, and other international actors as influenced by politics, economics, culture, and the physical environment. Students majoring in International Affairs must also successfully complete an approved 2nd major (strongly recommended), minor, or regional concentration to provide depth of knowledge in a discipline or geographic region of the world. Skidmore's IA Program draws on the expertise of over 85 Skidmore faculty members from over 20 academic disciplines.  

International Affairs majors are required and IA minors are encouraged to study abroad in order to learn about the world beyond the borders of the United States, recognize their own cultural biases, and develop skills to communicate with people from other cultures. Studying abroad enables students to gain foreign language proficiency and first-hand experience of the ways different political, economic, social, and environmental systems function. The opportunity to live in another country for an extended period of time allows students to develop a deeper appreciation for cultural diversity and an understanding of the influence of globalization in different regions of the world.

In addition to being anchored in the richness and variety of more than 200 IA course offerings, faculty scholarship, and study abroad opportunities, the International Affairs program also stresses other related and reinforcing components: colloquia, faculty/student collaborative projects, guest lecturers, study in Washington, internships, and co-curricular activities including the student International Affairs Club and the United Nations and European Union simulations of international negotiations.