Bachelor of Arts In International Affairs

"Participating in the International Diplomacy Forum has empowered me to take a more universal, culturally-sensitive, and adaptive perspective when thinking about world problems," said Keyri Ambrocio ’21. "This experience made me more well-rounded and culturally competent."

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Navigate global, economic, political, and social challenges

Through this interdisciplinary major, you’ll take courses in political science, economics, national security, legal studies, and history, studying conflict, development, and diplomacy. You will examine the resolutions of international conflicts, the role of inequality as a cause of conflict – and a critical component of its resolution – and explore post-conflict peace-making. You’ll do all this while learning from professors who have extensive international experience.

As an International Affairs major, you will also:
  • Explore post-conflict reconstruction, foreign policy, and the international political economy
  • Focus your studies on regions of rapid social change and economic development
  • Study the necessity of sustainable socio-political systems
  • Participate in high-impact activities such as the University’s award-winning Model United Nations team
  • Develop communication, leadership, and organization skills and resiliency
  • Pursue the federal government’s benchmark foreign language competency exam (ACTFL)

You will have the chance to apply what you learn by completing at least two internships and studying abroad. As a result of your classroom learning, capstone project, and internship experiences in the U.S. or abroad, you will be positioned to work with national governments and international governmental organizations, or to engage in further graduate study in top-tier programs worldwide.

One of the goals of this program is to help students develop a comfort level with international travel and participate in cross-cultural experiences. Students with international experiences are twice as likely to be employed within six months of graduating because employers seek employees who are comfortable traveling and working abroad.

Envision Your Future

The information below is designed to show the many possible careers you could pursue with your major. The research is provided by Encoura, the leading research and advisory firm focused exclusively on higher education. It includes median national salaries and industry growth projections over the next decade. Click here to view the full report.

$127K

Lawyers

6% Growth 2021-2030

$125K

Political Scientists

5% Growth 2021-2030

$108K

Economists

13% Growth 2021-2030

Selected Courses and Programs

  • Preferred preparation in American Government or International Relations. Traditional and modern approaches to international law and organization; major emphasis on the contribution of law and organization to the establishment of a world of law and world peace. The League of Nations system and the United Nations system are analyzed.

  • The course is an introduction to the politics of state-to-state economic relations. Political economy, as the name suggests, is a marriage between politics and economics, and as such is a multi-faceted discipline incorporating the study of economics, political science, sociology, law and geography. In this course, however, we will focus on the broad-scale trade between states, the politics of major economic unions like the European Union, large-scale regional trade agreements like NAFTA and the TPP, and key institutions of global system like the World Bank and IMF. In doing so we will focus on the role these systems play in the global political economy and analyze its future in the context of historical and current debates about optimal economic policies for different political constituencies.

  • Students in this course will examine the root causes, patterns, and outcomes of political conflict, approaches to conflict resolution, the role of international organizations and major powers in conflict resolution, enforcement and prevention methods, as well as negotiation and peace building techniques. The following questions will be addressed: Why can some conflicts be managed in a peaceful way, while others end in violence?

    What are origins, stages, and causes of conflict? What role does the cultural context, the state, the military, the economy, the gender order and ethnicity and nationalism play in conflicts? How can we bring adversaries to the negotiating table? What mediation tactics are used in resolving a conflict? And how in the aftermath of a conflict, can peace be made sustainable?

  • A study of the formation of the United Nations system, the drafting of the United Nations Charter, function of it principal organs, evolution of the role and structure of the organization from 1945 to present day, and its impact on international relations and conflict resolution.

  • The University of New Haven offers a wide variety of in-depth courses that create a transformational educational experience for our students. To view the complete list of courses you'll take while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs, check out the Academic Catalog:

Learn from professors who are dedicated to your success.

Our faculty are leaders and innovators in their fields, bringing both deep professional experience and academic rigor to the classroom.

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International Affairs Major ‘I Feel Endlessly Grateful for All of the Ways the University Has Prepared Me’

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  • Whether you're still in high school or are transferring from another college, we offer full- and part-time opportunities for undergraduates from inside the U.S. and abroad. The admission process can begin as early as the end of your high school junior year.

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  • We offer a comprehensive financial aid program, with students receiving assistance in the form of grants, scholarships, student loans, and part-time employment. Funds are available from federal and state governments, private sponsors, and from university resources. More than 85 percent of the University's full-time undergraduate students receive some form of financial assistance.

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