International Studies

International Studies is an inter-and-multidisciplinary major that integrates the perspectives of the social sciences, the arts and humanities, and, to some extent, the natural sciences. This approach provides our majors with an ethical and critically engaged understanding of the complex and interdependent character of our globalized world.

Our curriculum prepares students for a wide range of professional paths, which include: law and policy, advocacy, diplomacy, and international business. Recent graduates have successfully pursued careers in foreign service, the intelligence community, non-profit organizations, the international policy-making community, and international NGOs [non governmental organizations] concentrating on development and public health. Graduates have also been admitted to competitive graduate programs domestically and internationally, such as international studies, law, global public health, environmental policy, and international business.

Program Director: Dr. Casey James Miller, Associate Professor of Anthropology

IST Core Faculty
Professors: Chi, Hashim, Ouellette
Associate Professors: Ray-Chaudhuri
Assistant Professor: Le, Runcie
IST Affiliate Faculty: campus wide with specific curricular contributions

Types of Opportunities

National delegations to the United Nations (Dominican Republic, Jamaica, etc.)
- two each summer on a competitive basis through Muhlenberg’s HDI affiliation
United Nations Washington Office
- fall and spring options through Muhlenberg’s Lutheran College Washington Semester
- direct application for summer internships
Federal Government
- State Department, Commerce Department, EPA, White House, Congress, etc. through Muhlenberg’s Lutheran College Washington Semester
International Opportunities
- Australia, the UK, Germany, South Africa, China, Japan, etc. through Muhlenberg’s affiliated study abroad programs
State and Local offices associated with international trade promotion

Practical Skills Development

Examples of Relevant Written Work to present in conjunction with job applications/interviews

Policy Memos

– in the American Foreign Policy course prepare two policy memos following standard US government guidelines

Policy Analysis

– students in the American Foreign Policy course and the Comparative National Security Policy course prepare full policy analyses including policy options and cost-benefit analyses of these options together with a final policy recommendation and 2- page Executive Summary

Position Statements and Negotiating Text

- International Environmental Policy - students prepare position statements and develop negotiating text in support of their assigned roles as they participate in a simulation of international negotiations regarding climate change

- International Political Economy students prepare position statements and develop negotiating text in support of their assigned roles as they participate in a simulation of international negotiations regarding a Bangladeshi application to the World Bank to fund a development project

-International Relations Theory- students prepare position statements and develop position statements and policy recommendations for their assigned roles within federal government during an international crisis

International Legal Research

- International Law and Organization course - students undertake legal research to support their argument regarding the solution to multiple hypothetical cases involving issues such as human rights, environmental accidents, and intellectual property rights

Research Proposal

-International Relations Theory course-students develop a research proposal for testing the validity of hypotheses regarding some area of international relations such as the outbreak of internal conflict, success in economic development, etc.

Independent Research-examples of student research projects

-analysis of national claims to the South China Sea

-development of a methodology to identify potential terrorists

-development of a methodology to identify the probability that art treasures will be subject to looting or destruction