The Discipline
International relations is an interdisciplinary major emphasizing
the systematic study of political and economic relations between
governments and people in different states, as well as
comparisons across different political and economic systems.
Students majoring in international relations also come to
understand the historical and geographic basis for current
international relationships.
Career Opportunities
The international relations major gives students a strong liberal
arts education along with useful technical skills. In addition to
substantive knowledge, international relations majors will learn
analytical concepts and ideas that allow them to organize, explain,
and make sense of relations between states and comparisons
among them. High proficiency in math and statistics, writing, and
a foreign language will prepare for a wide variety of career
paths—including, but not limited to, government, law, business,
and international organizations. Many career paths will require
graduate-level training. Therefore, the international relations
degree should be seen as certifying fluency in the ideas and
methods of multiple fields so that students can find and pursue
their own specialized interests rather than as a terminal degree.
It is important to distinguish international relations as a field
from a more general definition of “international,” which might
include anything (people, language, culture, traditions, etc.)
beyond the territorial boundaries of the United States. For
students interested in the broad study of anything international
and foreign, BYU’s international relations degree will not provide
the best training. In fact, no reasonable degree can include the
systematic study of everything international and foreign. It should
be remembered that BYU students have a wealth of options
through which to pursue their particular international and foreign
interests. These include:
- Social science majors with a strong international
component, such as economics, geography, history, or
political science.
- Area studies majors, including Latin American, Asian, and
Middle East studies.
- Language majors.
- Other majors combined with a minor in one of the above
areas.
