There are many wonderful ways in which to prepare for an international career at the University of Arizona. A student can major in one of the excellent area study programs (East Asian Studies, Latin America Studies, Near Eastern Studies), work toward the International Business Certificate offered by the School of Business and Public Administration, or pursue a Political Science degree with an international politics concentration. A student could major in one of the fine language programs, anthropology, or linguistics, to name but a few options. The list of choices is impressive and growing. Why, given the many avenues to an international education, might a student enter the IDS/International Studies Concentration to earn an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree? Funny you should ask.

First, the IDS/IS program is just that: an interdisciplinary studies (IDS) program housed in University College. Though we have "pre-orchestrated" some of the intellectual mergers required of all IDS students and though the degree program is administered by the Office of International Studies and Fellowships in conjunction with a group of faculty mentors, the spirit of IDS is inherent in the program. Created long ago for students who sought to merge disparate fields for highly specific purposes, the IDS program gives us - in addition to a very cumbersome name - a mandate to train students in multiple disciplines. Global issues tend to require understanding from a number of perspectives, and we are problem-oriented and opportunity-oriented rather than focused on the methodologies and knowledge of a given discipline.

Secondly, IDS/IS offers a vehicle though which students can work closely with faculty mentors to customize a degree within guidelines specified by the University and our faculty mentors. Put directly, the program is not for everyone: there are advantages and disadvantages to customization. To succeed in such a program requires great self-discipline, a sense of initiative, and a willingness to undertake strenuous academic requirements. Fluency in a second language is stressed, overseas study is anticipated, extensive writing is normal, internet skills are essential, and a senior capstone thesis is mandatory. Yet most IDS/IS students are thriving, largely because they have worked hard to define their career path for the years immediately after college. By addressing questions easily postponed or entirely avoided, International Studies students have come to see the great paradox of an IDS/International Studies degree. Though we have a cumbersome name that is, by definition, the broadest name in the world, IDS/IS majors actually graduate having completed highly specific programs, degrees that are indeed very focused.

The merit of that strategy is twofold. First, specificity of direction, backed by courses integrated with logical intellectual and professional goals, is a solid career strategy. Secondly, and of greater importance, IDS/IS students normally feel a sense of ownership over their program. After all, they help to design the program. With that ownership come both responsible professionalism and high motivation. Equipped with those attributes, people succeed.

All IDS/IS majors are required to fulfill requirements (at least 21 credits, 12 of which must be upper-division) in three areas. First, students complete work in the international studies "core", courses on international systems from various disciplinary perspectives. Secondly, each student must complete a minimum of six university level semesters in a second language and extensive coursework in a given geographic region of the world. Lastly, IDS/IS majors complete the requirements for one of the four functional tracks. All three areas of study - the core courses, the language/area work and the track - offer great opportunities for individualization. More detailed explanation of the tracks may be helpful, as track selection is often the distinctive feature of an IDS/IS program.

Applied Political Economy:

This track is designed for those students seeking detailed knowledge of international politics and economics. The most structured track, APE (nice acronym, huh?) is intended for those students seeking careers in government, international business or other arenas in which the ability to understand the interface between the private sector and foreign policies is vital. Similar to a degree in international relations, students of applied political economy can go on to careers in international organizations, journalism, national security, law, international business, and foreign policy.

Culture:

The culture track requires that students combine two fields, each for a minimum of nine credits, in a creative yet very focused approach to international cultural issues. Culture track majors have used that flexibility to create imaginative programs generally falling into one of two categories. Those with strong backgrounds in the fine arts seek to explore the international issues of their art (for example, the political, economic, and social utility of photography in South America or political and economic strategies to preserve indigenous dance in Southeast Asia). Another group of IDS/IS majors has chosen to concentrate on specific applications of cross-cultural learning, building programs that have ranged from American-African cultural relations to the use of cross-cultural studies as a foundation for a career administering student exchanges.

Development:

Seeking to train people for "hands on" development work, careers with private volunteer organizations, disaster relief groups, and government development efforts, students in the development track invariably have a desire to directly assist those societies emerging from poverty. While some students concentrate heavily on economic strategies, others have created programs oriented toward public health, urbanization, or even the utility of the internet for specific development purposes.

Science and Technology:

The hard work and self-discipline required of those who choose to build skills in science and technology, along with the social sciences, language, and geographic area skills, is worth the effort. Many of the world's pressing issues are scientific and/or technological in both origins and solutions, and those who seek to enter the great debates over the global environment, arms control, resource management, digital governance or other arenas must prepare themselves with commensurate skills or be ignored. IDS/IS majors have already created solid programs in arms control (training in physics), land use management in South America (geographic information systems and remote sensing), and water resource management in China (hydrology).

While specific requirements for each functional track vary and, of course, language and area study coursework differs between student programs, each IDS/IS major must complete the following courses:

*Core International Units:

• International Studies 250 Introduction to International Studies
• Political Science 250 Contemporary International Politics
• Economics 200 Basic Economic Issues
• Geosciences 107 Global Change (to be altered/ now NATS 101, a Tier I
• course which cannot be required for a major)
• International Studies 396A Proseminar (1 credit)
• International Studies 498 Senior Capstone Thesis

Language and Area Studies:

Sixth-semester proficiency in a foreign language is required for the IDS/IS degree. Our expectation is fluency in that language, and it is wise to develop that level of skill in one language rather than partial ability in two languages. Many IDS/IS majors do become fully proficient in two foreign languages. Those students who enter the program already fluent in a second language are strongly encouraged to pursue a third language, especially if the third is important to the student's area of geographic specialization (for example, Portuguese and Spanish for work in South America). Area studies courses are often taken in the social sciences, humanities, or fine arts.

International Immersion Experience:

It is expected that each IDS/IS major will have an international immersion experience. Normally this is a study abroad experience, but it could also be an international internship, even one conducted in the United States. The IDS/IS Director can assist students in selecting a foreign study experience or in arranging an internship. Some IDS/IS majors have won grants to finance their study abroad. While our program is young, IDS/IS majors have already studied in Russia, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Senior Capstone Thesis:

The Captone Thesis, normally conducted in the student's last semester, should be the culminating and integrative experience for the individualized degree program. A proseminar, INTS 396, assists students in developing a thesis topic and in selecting a thesis advisor. Each senior thesis is presented to an open forum.

The best procedure is to clarify your progress toward the completion of General Education requirements with an Arts & Sciences advisor (347 Modern languages), and then to speak with the Director of International Studies and Fellowships. Once a preliminary choice of functional track is made, you will be referred to the appropriate International Studies Faculty Mentor. After a program is designed in consultation with Dr. Decker and the Mentor, the application can go ahead. A completed application consists of a Change of Major form, the IDS/IS application with your course plans, and a short but polished essay depicting your motivation, the logic of your proposed courses, and your career intentions. When these documents are approved by the Associate Dean of University College, you will have joined us in the IDS/IS program! The process is more cumbersome than declaration of a traditional departmental major but, for the right student, it is worth the effort.

While the issue is under discussion, at this time (September 1998) there currently is no minor in International Studies. Since all IDS programs already integrate three different academic fields, there is a logic to restraint on that the creation of a minor. While it is possible to double major in an IDS program and another discipline - three IDS/IS majors are doing so - students should be aware that there is NO overlap of fields. Double-majoring is tantamount to earning two degrees.

Dr. Wayne Decker, Director of the Office of International Studies and Fellowships, has overall responsibility for the management and growth of the program. He teaches International Studies (INTS) 250, the gateway course to the major, and INTS 396A, the pro-seminar that prepares students for capstone thesis work. A Vietnam veteran with a professional history in international political economy and U.S.-East Asian foreign relations, Dr. Decker has a Ph.D. in international politics from The Johns Hopkins University. He previously taught at Mount Holyoke College and the University of California Santa Cruz. Research fellowships at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Harvard's Center For International Affairs, and Stanford's Center for International Security and Arms Control reflect a longstanding interest in multidisciplinary work. Dr. Decker's current professional interest is the advancement of satellite-borne internet as an instrument for economic and social progress in disadvantaged regions of the world.

Applied Political Economy Track:
Mentors to be announced in late September, 1998

Culture Track:
Prof. Spike Peterson, Department of Political Science
Prof. John Wilson, Department of Dance

Development Track:
Prof. Roger Fox, Department of Agricultural Economics
Prof. John Olsen, Department of Anthropology

Science and Technology Track:
Prof. Gail Burd, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Prof. Nicolas Strausfeld, Dept. of Neurobiology
Prof. William Wing, Department of Physics