Department Website
Program Description
International Relations (IR), offered through the Wilf Family Department of Politics, seeks to provide students with an understanding of the global system’s past, the tools to function effectively in the present, and the ability to respond to future developments. The program recognizes the changing nature of the contemporary political and economic environment and seeks to lay an interdisciplinary basis for understanding these changes. It provides students with an opportunity to study the complex web of transnational politics in an in-depth, interdisciplinary fashion. The breadth of courses is designed to match the breadth of knowledge and skills that the field requires. The program combines a foundation of core courses in politics, economics, and statistics with a suite of classes on international relations and political economy, elective courses focused on a particular region, advanced study in a foreign language, and a required semester of study abroad. An honors program is offered for qualified students, who take an additional two-semester seminar sequence in their senior year in which they write a thesis under close supervision of faculty members.
Honors Program
The honors track of the major requires fourteen 4-credit courses (56 credits), including all requirements for the International Relations major. For admission to and completion of the department’s honors program, students must have a GPA of 3.65 both overall and in the IR major. The deadline for applying to the honors program is March 1 in spring of junior year. To be eligible for application, students must have completed or be currently enrolled in POL-UA 850 Introduction to Research Methods for Politics and either ECON-UA 1 Introduction to Macroeconomics or ECON-UA 2 Introduction to Microeconomics (AP credit in economics is not accepted for students on the honors track), as well as having completed POL-UA 700 International Politics and at least two courses qualifying as IR environment. Admitted students register for INTRL-UA 990 Ir Senior Seminar (fall semester) to prepare a research proposal for their thesis, which they write in the spring while taking INTRL-UA 991 Ir Senior Honors. The thesis and its oral defense must be approved by both the instructor teaching INTRL-UA 991 Ir Senior Honors and the second reader of the thesis. The thesis will be presented at the politics department's Honors Research Conference, held in April of the student's senior year.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.
Program Requirements
The major in international relations requires twelve 4-credit courses (48 credits) completed with a C or better (Pass/Fail courses do not count): four core courses; four courses in the international relations environment; two courses in a regional specialization; and two courses in a foreign language above the intermediate level. Students must also complete a full semester (not a summer session) in a study away program outside the United States.
Students majoring in IR may double-count no more than two courses between this major and a second major or a minor. They must first secure permission from both the IR program and the other major or minor department or program.
Course List
Course |
Title |
Credits |
| 4 |
EXPOS-UA 1 | Writing as Inquiry | 4 |
| 16 |
| 4 |
| 4 |
| 4 |
| 4 |
| 4 |
ECON-UA 1 | Introduction to Macroeconomics (or equivalent advanced standing credit if not on the honors track) | 4 |
ECON-UA 2 | Introduction to Microeconomics (or equivalent advanced standing credit if not on the honors track) | 4 |
POL-UA 700 | International Politics (advanced standing credit by exam and transfer credits are not accepted) | 4 |
POL-UA 850 | Introduction to Research Methods for Politics (advanced standing credit by exam and transfer credits are not accepted) | 4 |
| 16 |
| 8 |
| 8 |
| 36 |
Total Credits | 128 |
Core Courses
AP courses can substitute for these Macroeconomics and Microeconomics courses, unless a student is pursuing honors in IR.
Students must take POL-UA 700 International Politics and POL-UA 850 Introduction to Research Methods for Politics at NYU Washington Square. Transfer courses cannot substitute for these courses.
International Relations Environment
Two (8 credits) of these four courses (16 credits) must be completed in the Politics Department at NYU Washington Square. See the list of approved courses at the International Relations Advising Website.
Regional Specialization
Two courses (8 credits) that pertain to the same region (outside of North America) and are not primarily about the art, art history, literature, or film of that region can be used to meet this requirement. Students may take their regional specialization courses at NYU Washington Square or during study abroad. See the list of approved courses at the International Relations Department Advising Website.
Foreign Language
Students must complete two advanced-level language courses (8 credits) in the same foreign language. These courses can either be advanced language courses or content courses taught in that foreign language. AP scores cannot satisfy this requirement. All IR majors are required to take the CAS placement exam, which determines their placement into language courses. Students may satisfy this requirement with courses taken at NYU Washington Square or during their study abroad semester.
Study Away Requirement
All majors in IR must complete at least 12 credits in an approved study abroad semester during a Fall or Spring semester. During study abroad, IR majors typically take courses that count toward the regional specialization requirement and/or the foreign language requirement. Study abroad semesters during J-term or summer cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have acquired:
- The ability to analyze both complex political issues and quantitative data.
- Knowledge of the fundamental theoretical debates in the field of international relations.
- Advanced knowledge of a specialized topic in international relations, and the requisite skills for conducting sophisticated research on that topic.
- Fluency in presenting well-grounded arguments, both orally and in writing.
Policies
Program Policies
Eligibility to Declare the Major
To be eligible to declare the major, students must first complete POL-UA 700 International Politics. They must also first complete either ECON-UA 1 Introduction to Macroeconomics or ECON-UA 2 Introduction to Microeconomics, or present equivalent Advanced Placement or other advanced standing credit in economics.
Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and A-Level Credits
Students who have advanced standing credits for macroeconomics and/or microeconomics may (unless they are pursuing honors) count them toward the International Relations major’s requirements of ECON-UA 1 Introduction to Macroeconomics and ECON-UA 2 Introduction to Microeconomics. However, statistics credit from AP, IB, or A Levels does not satisfy the International Relations major’s research methodology requirement.
Transfer Credits
Transfer students may, with departmental review and approval, satisfy up to one-half of the requirements of the IR major (six courses/24 credits) with transfer credits. Note that POL-UA 700 and 850 and two of the four IR environment courses must always be completed at NYU Washington Square. The only exception is for students who take an approved course equivalency for POL-UA 700 at either NYU Abu Dhabi or Shanghai. If a student satisfies POL-UA 700 in this way, the course counts against the maximum of six courses/24 credits the student is permitted to satisfy with transfer credits. (Note further that Abu Dhabi and Shanghai courses do not count toward the 64-credit residency requirement in UA coursework.) Students transferring from other universities or planning to study abroad at an International Partner University may check whether a course they have taken or plan to take satisfies the requirements for an IR course at the International Relations Advising Website.
Double Counting of Courses
Students majoring in International Relations may double-count no more than two courses between this major and a second major or a minor. They must first secure permission from both the Department of Politics and the other major or minor department or program. See the International Relations Advising website for approval.
NYU Policies
University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.
College of Arts and Science Policies
A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.