Declaration in or after Fall 2009

Last update: February, 2024

Major Coordinator

Major Overview

The International Affairs (IA) major at Temple University, Japan Campus 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.

Major Requirements

45 credits required

Students must successfully complete the following courses with a grade of C- or higher

 

Major Core Courses

  Course Title Credits
Political Science 1201 Foreign Governments and Politics 3
Political Science 1301 International Politics 3
Select one of the following: 3-6
Economics 1101 and Economics 1102 Macroeconomic Principles and Microeconomic Principles  
Economics 1103 Global Economics Issues  
Select one of the following: 3
History 1702 World History Modern  
Geography and Urban Studies 1031 Geography of World Affairs  
Select one of the following: 3
History 2804 Peace, Conflict, and Social Change  
History 3228 America's Rise to Globalism  
History 3229 Superpower America  
History 3811 World Economy Since 1945  

 

Political Science Requirements

Select two Political Science courses in consultation with the Academic Advisor and/or Major Coordinator. POLS 4310 / POLS 4320 taken multiple times under different course topics can count toward Political Science requirement.

  Course Title Credits
Political Science 3
Political Science 3

 

Interdisciplinary Requirements

Select two courses in Social Science or other related disciplines in consultation with the Academic Advisor and/or Major Coordinator.

  Course Title Credits
  3
  3

 

East Asian Studies Requirements

Select three courses that exclusively focus on East Asia in Social Science or other related disciplines in consultation with the Academic Advisor and/or Major Coordinator. May overlap with Political Science or Interdisciplinary Requirements.

  Course Title Credits
  3
  3
  3

 

East Asia Requirement 4000+ Writing Intensive

Select one course in consultation with the Academic Advisor and/or Major Coordinator.

  Course Title Credits
Select one of the following: 3
Asian Studies 4096 Seminar in Asian Studies (Course topic of ASST 4096 must be East Asia focused)  
Asian Studies 4696 or History 4697 Modern Japan: Empire, War, Society  

 

Non-USA / Non-East Asian Studies Requirements*

Select two courses that focus on non-USA, non-East Asian regions in Social Science or other disciplines in consultation with the Academic Advisor and/or Major Coordinator. POLS 4310 / POLS 4320 taken multiple times under different course topics can count toward Political Science requirement. May overlap with Political Science or Interdisciplinary Requirements.

  Course Title Credits
  3
  3

 

Political Science Seminar

Select one course in consultation with the Academic Advisor and/or Major Coordinator. Students are required to take this course in 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.

  Course Title Credits
Select one of the following: 3
Political Science 4310 Seminar in International Politics  
Political Science 4320 Seminar in International Politics  

 

Internship

Complete at least one internship for at least 3 credits, upon approval by the Major Coordinator.

  Course Title Credits
Political Science 4185 Internship I 3

 

Political Science Capstone (WI)

  Course Title Credits
Political Science 4896 Capstone Seminar in Political Science 3

 

Language (early start recommended)

Students must complete the 4th semester level of Chinese (2002), Japanese (2702/2002), Korean (2002) with a grade of C- or above. The language requirement may also be satisfied by examination.

  Course Title Credits
Select one of the following: 3-4
Chinese 2002 Intermediate II  
Japanese 2702 / 2002 Intermediate II  
Korean 2002 Intermediate II  

Successful completion of Asian Studies major language requirement satisfies CLA Foreign Language requirement.

 

*How to Determine Major Course Electives and Requirement(s) Fulfilled

International Affairs is an interdisciplinary major which requires the following requirements with various components. Students should refer to the pre-approved major courses. (Contact your academic advisor  for the pre-approved course list) Courses with special topics whose component will vary by semester may be used to satisfy a single or multiple requirement area(s) as well. Consult with the Major Coordinator or Academic Advising Center for details.

Notes on 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 advisor 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 Political Science 4185 Internship I (3 semester hours) 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, 3-credit internship at TUJ requires at least 140 hours of on-the-job experience over a semester and a final paper about the internship experience.