International Relations
Program Chair: Dali Yang, P 426, 702-8054
Preceptors: Mark Ashley, Dingding Chen, Doowan Lee, P 307, 702-8074
Student Affairs Administrative Assistant: Diana Gray, P 306, 702-8312
E-mail: cir@uchicago.edu
The special strength of the Committee on International Relations (CIR), the first graduate program of its kind in the nation, lies in its interdisciplinary approach to a wide range of questions relating to international issues. The committee’s faculty includes members of the various departments in the Division of the Social Sciences, as well as the Graduate School of Business, the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, the Divinity School, and the Law School. Their expertise extends over a broad range of subjects: international relations theory, security studies, international political economy, international history, history and conduct of U.S. foreign policy, human rights, international law and organization, international development, and regional international relations.
Joint B.A./M.A. Program. Qualified students in the College interested in pursuing a joint M.A. degree in international relations should consult with their College advisers and with a CIR preceptor early in their third year. They are expected to have a GPA of 3.55 or higher, to have met most of their general education requirements, and to have chosen their College concentration. By the end of their third year, students should also have completed at least three courses that qualify as CIR requirements.
Application. Interested students should submit their formal application to the program by the January 5 deadline for regular graduate admissions. Applications should be submitted to the dean of students of the Division of the Social Sciences (F 105). Space in the CIR B.A./M.A. program is limited and admission is very competitive. The application is evaluated by the CIR chairman and preceptors on the basis of the student’s academic record, letters of recommendation, GRE scores if available, a ten- to twenty-page term or research paper, and a personal statement of intellectual and academic goals. Admission to the M.A. program is also subject to approval by the College. B.A./M.A. students enter joint residence status for the three quarters preceding the anticipated quarter of graduation, during which time they are charged tuition at graduate rates.
Program Requirements
Students selected to participate in the joint degree program meet all the normal B.A. requirements for their particular field of concentration, as well as all the general education requirements. In addition, joint degree students in international relations must meet the following requirements:
1. Completion of nine graduate-level courses for quality grades, including seven CIR-approved courses. Students may petition the CIR to count toward their M.A. degree up to three appropriate graduate-level courses taken for their B.A. degree. NOTE: The total number of courses required for the joint degree is forty-eight, assuming that three courses may be double counted toward both degrees.
2. Fulfillment of the CIR distribution requirement that is designed to ensure that, within the nine required courses for the M.A. degree, students achieve sufficient depth and breadth in the study of international relations. Currently, each student must pass two courses each in three of four fields of international relations:
a. Security and International History
b. International Political Economy and Development
c. Regional Studies and Nationalism
d. Human Rights, Environment, and Law
3. Fulfillment of the CIR language requirement.
4. A passing grade in the committee’s M.A. paper workshop.
5. A passing grade in the committee’s noncredit Perspectives on International Relations course in the Autumn Quarter.
6. Completion of an M.A. paper that is approved by a faculty adviser and a preceptor.
7. Completion of both B.A. and M.A. degrees within a quarter of each other.
Details and program brochures are available in the committee office (P 307).
Faculty
R. Z. Aliber, R.
A. Austen, C. Boix, J. Boyer, B. Cumings, D. Drezner, J. B. Elshtain,
M. Geyer, A. Glaeser, C.
Glaser, L. Gruber, S. Gzesh, G. Herrigel, P. Heuveline, R. Inden,
F. Katz, C. Lipson, C. Lomnitz, J.
Mearsheimer, J. Mitzen, R. Pape,
W. Parish, E. Posner, M. Riesebrodt, L. Rudolph,
S. Sassen, D. Snidal, R.
Suny, N. Tarcov, B. Wasserstein,
L. Wedeen, A. Wendt, D. Yang, S.
Yaqub, I. M. Young, D. Zhao, M. Zonis