The special strength of the Committee on International Relations (CIR), the first graduate program of its kind in the nation, lies in its interdisciplinary approach to a wide range of questions relating to international issues. The committee's faculty includes members of the various departments in the Division of the Social Sciences, as well as the Graduate School of Business, the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the Law School. Their expertise extends over a broad range of subjects: international relations theory, security studies, international political economy, international history, history and conduct of U.S. foreign policy, human rights, international law and organization, international development, and regional international relations.

Joint B.A./M.A. Program. Qualified students in the College interested in pursuing a joint Master of Arts degree in international relations should consult with their College advisers and with a CIR preceptor early in their third year of residence in the College. They are expected to have a grade point average of at least 3.7, to have met most of their general education requirements, and to have chosen their College concentration program. By the end of their third year, students should also have completed at least three courses that qualify as CIR requirements.

Application. Interested students should submit their formal application to the program by the January 5 deadline for regular graduate admissions. Applications should be submitted to the dean of students of the Division of the Social Sciences (F 105). Space in the CIR B.A./M.A. program is limited and admission is very competitive. The application is evaluated by the CIR chairman and preceptors on the basis of the student's academic record, letters of recommendation, GRE scores if available, a ten- to twenty-page term or research paper, and a personal statement of intellectual and academic goals. Admission to the M.A. program is also subject to approval by the College. B.A./M.A. students enter joint residence status for the three quarters preceding the anticipated quarter of graduation, during which time they are charged tuition at graduate rates.

Students selected to participate in the joint degree program meet all the normal B.A. requirements for their particular field of concentration, as well as all the general education requirements. In addition, joint degree students in international relations need to meet the following requirements:

1. Completion of nine graduate-level courses for quality grades, including seven CIR-approved courses. Students may petition the CIR to count toward their M.A. degree up to three appropriate graduate-level courses taken for their B.A. degree.

2. Fulfillment of the CIR distribution requirement that is designed to ensure that, within the nine required courses for the M.A. degree, students achieve sufficient depth and breadth in the study of international relations. Currently, each student must pass two courses in each of three fields of international relations:

a. International Relations Theory (Subfields: international relations theory, security studies, and international political economy)

b. International History and Law (Subfields: international history, history and conduct of U.S. foreign policy, human rights, and international law and organization)

c. International Development and Regional Studies (Subfields: international development and regional international relations, including such areas as Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America)

3. Fulfillment of the CIR language requirement.

4. A passing grade in the Committee's M.A. Paper Workshop.

5. Completion of an M.A. paper that is approved by a faculty adviser.

6. Completion of both B.A. and M.A. degrees within a quarter of each other.

Further information and program brochures are available in the committee office (P 307).