Declaration in or before Summer 2009

Interdepartmental (College of Liberal Arts)

The international affairs (IA) major at TUJ is an interdisciplinary major in the College of Liberal Arts. It is closely related to political science and emphasizes issues affecting relations between East Asia (Japan, China, Korea) and the United States. This major requires 10 courses (approximately 30 semester hours) divided into 5 core courses and 4 electives in the major, a capstone course, an internship of 3-6 semester hours, an East Asian area studies requirement, and an East Asian language requirement.

International Affairs Major Requirements

The degree of Bachelor of Arts in College of Liberal Arts may be conferred upon the satisfactory completion of a minimum of 123 semester hours of credit with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 overall, in college and the major. A minimum of 123 credit hours will be earned in the following four requirement categories.

Four foundation courses

  • Political Science 1201 (formerly C052), Foreign Governments and Politics
  • Political Science 1301 (formerly C053), International Politics
  • Economics 1101 (formerly C051), Macroeconomic Principles
  • Economics 1102 (formerly C052), Microeconomic Principles

One of the following:

  • GUS 1031 (formerly C062), Geography of World Affairs
  • History 1702 (formerly C062), World History-Modern

One of the following:

  • History 2804 (formerly 0102), Peace, Conflict, and Social Change
  • History 3811 (formerly 0103), World Economy Since 1945
  • History 3228 (formerly 0290), America's Rise to Globalism
  • History 3229 (formerly 0291), Superpower America

Four electives in the major

Of these electives, 2 are to be taken from the approved list of political science courses and the other 2 are to be taken from the different departments on the approved list of interdisciplinary electives. These lists are subject to change, and current lists may be obtained from the major adviser or from the Academic Advising Center.

Example Political Science Electives

  • Political Science 2211 (formerly 0201), Democracy in Europe
  • Political Science 2201 (formerly 0215), Comparative Politics: Developing Nations
  • Political Science 3251 (formerly 0236), China: Politics and Revolution
  • Political Science 3252 (formerly 0238)/Asian Studies 3252 (formerly 0241), East Asia and the United States
  • Political Science 2311 (formerly 0260), Post-Cold War Security
  • Political Science 2321 (formerly 0261), Politics of the Global Economy
  • Political Science 2331 (formerly 0263), International Organization
  • Political Science 2301 (formerly 0264), Theories of War and Peace
  • Political Science 4210 (formerly 0310), Seminar in Comparative Politics

Example Interdisciplinary Electives

  • Economics 3563 (formerly 0250), International Trade
  • Economics 3564 (formerly 0251), International Monetary Economics
  • Economics 3580 (formerly 0394), Special Topics: Japan in the World Economy
  • GUS 2031 (formerly 0130), Economic Geography
  • History 2501 (formerly 0115)/Asian Studies 2501 (formerly 0115), Introduction to East Asia: China
  • History 2502 (formerly 0116)/Asian Studies 2502 (formerly 0116), Introduction to East Asia: Japan
  • History 3522 (formerly 0218)/Asian Studies 2504 (formerly 0118), Contemporary China
  • History 3541 (formerly 0220)/Asian Studies 3541 (formerly 0314), Japan Today

Capstone course

Students are required to take a capstone course in the spring semester of their senior year. It will cover important and timely topics dealing with international affairs in East Asia and the United States and will strive to pull together concepts and skills from other courses. Students will write a major paper for the course, not unlike a senior thesis, and will make oral presentations on their work to the class as a whole.

  • Political Science 4320 (formerly 316), Seminar in International Politics

 

Area Studies Requirement

Students majoring in International Affairs at TUJ are required to take at least 4 courses that have a clear concentration on the East Asia region and at least 2 courses that concentrate on neither the U.S. nor East Asia. One of the East Asian courses must be a 4000-level writing-intensive Asian Studies course. These are not necessarily additional courses. They can be chosen from the list of core courses and electives in the major.

Example Courses That Satisfy the East Asian Regional Component of This Requirement

  • Anthropology 2373 (formerly 0273), Japanese Culture
  • Anthropology 2374 (formerly 0274), The Anthropology of Modern China
  • Asian Studies 2001 (formerly 0100), Practical Asian Society and Culture
  • History 3521 (formerly 0217)/Asian Studies 3521 (formerly 0308), Chinese Revolution
  • History 3565 (formerly 0340)/Asian Studies 4624 (formerly 0311), Modern Japan: Empire, War, Society
  • Religion 2201 (formerly 0116)/Asian Studies 2201 (formerly 0165), Chinese Religions
  • Religion 3301 (formerly 0119)/Asian Studies 3301 (formerly 0161), Japanese Religions
  • Sociology 3223 (formerly 0223), Ideology and Social Change in Japan
  • Asian Studies 4696 (formerly W311), Modern Japan: Empire, War, Society
  • Asian Studies 4096 (formerly W300), Seminar in Asian Studies

Example Courses That Satisfy the Non-US / Non-Asia Component of This Requirement

  • Political Science 2211 (formerly 201), Democracy in Europe
  • Political Science 2201 (formerly 215), Comparative Politics: Developing Nations
  • Political Science 2331 (formerly 263), International Organization
  • Political Science 2301 (formerly 264), Theories of War and Peace
  • Political Science 2496 (formerly W101), Introduction to Political Philosophy

 

Language Requirement

Students are required to take four semesters of an East Asian language or to be fluent in an East Asian language. The options available at Temple are

Japanese

  • Japanese 1001 (formerly 0070), Japanese Elements I
  • Japanese 1002 (formerly 0071), Japanese Elements II
  • Japanese 2001 (formerly C170), Intermediate Japanese I
  • Japanese 2002 (formerly 0171), Intermediate Japanese II

Chinese

  • Chinese 1001 (formerly 0066), Chinese Elements I
  • Chinese 1002 (formerly 0067), Chinese Elements II
  • Chinese 2001 (formerly C166), Intermediate Chinese I
  • Chinese 2002 (formerly 0167), Intermediate Chinese II

Korean

  • Korean 1001 (formerly 0072), Korean Elements I
  • Korean 1002 (formerly 0073), Korean Elements II
  • Korean 2001 (formerly C172), Intermediate Korean I
  • Korean 2002 (formerly 0173), Intermediate Korean II

TUJ offers all 4 Japanese courses and only the first 2 Chinese and Korean courses. The definition of fluency is at the discretion of TUJ's language teachers.

 

Internship Requirement

Students are required to undertake an internship during their junior or senior year in which they work with some organization in a capacity related to international affairs. The minimum requirement is 3 semester hours of internship, but some students may opt for 6 semester hours. If for some reason the IA faculty adviser determines that a student should not have an internship, then 3 semester hours of Independent Study that in some appropriate way addresses work experience in IA may be substituted.

IA majors must register for one of Political Science 4581/4681/4781 (formerly 0371/0372/0373), Cooperative Education in Political Science I/II/III, respectively, at 3 semester hours each when taking an IA internship.

Internships that are appropriate for IA majors can be at any of a number of sources, including news organizations, foreign embassies and consulates, government agencies, multinational companies engaged in trade, and various NGOs. A TUJ faculty member will be assigned to oversee IA internships and academic standards. As a general rule, internships at TUJ require about 50 hours of on-the-job experience over a semester for every credit and a final paper about the internship experience.

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