<p>Hi, I am an international student who got accepted to the college of engineering last month, but now I decided that I want to change my major to International Studies. Is there anyway that I could send a request to admission office to change my major? Thanks!</p>
<p>By the way, I have some other questions:
I heard International Studies in UW is pretty competitive, do you know how many people were able to transfer to Jackson School every year? (and I want to know how competitive it is)</p>
<li><p>If I am planning to take college courses over the summer, how do I know if UW gonna accept my credit or not?</p></li>
<li><p>Anyone want to share their experience about Jackson School? :D</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The major listing on your record at this point is nothing more than that--just a listing. You can change your major at any time, but the steps you should take now just work towards admission to the Jackson School, which as you have noted, is competitive. I applied to UW as a History major, then decided I wanted to do Business during spring of senior year in HS, and then ultimately, switched to International Studies last spring during the end of freshman year. So I can speak to the questions you've asked:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>International Studies is a competitive major, but it's not too difficult to get in if you're on top of your school work. The minimum requirements for admission to the International Studies major is either ECON 200, ECON 201, or SIS 123, and either SIS 200 or SIS 201. They like to see a cumulative GPA of 3.5+, particularly in the SIS 200 and 201 coursework as they are a good indication of how you will do in the major coursework. I do not know the statistics for transfers to the Jackson School, but you can check out jsis.washington.edu for more info. </p></li>
<li><p>Your transfer credits are determined by the admissions office, so you should contact them or the registrar's office.</p></li>
<li><p>The Jackson School is pretty much the best School of International Studies on the West Coast. The coursework is challenging but very fulfilling. I thought for a while that I wanted to major in Poli Sci, so I took Intro to International Relations. It didn't work out the way I would've liked as it was too limited to just the political and systemic level of things. Then I took SIS 201, Making of the 21st Century, and it was exactly the sort of class I was looking for--coursework where you examine historical trends and occurences in a big picture way and seek to understand "why things happen the way they do" through the lens of not only politics, but also culture, society, religion, geography, and economics. The Jackson School offers you a sort of liberal arts and interdisciplinary education on a large university campus flush with great community, national, and international resources for study abroad, jobs, and internships. I'm so glad I switched out of business and into International Studies. I hope this helps!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This post was great! I also want to change my major after freshman courses (or however those gen eds work...) from sociology to international studies. Im really excited for it, and love hearing the great things! Thanks proudhusky for the info -- you said the jackson school was one of the best international studies schools on the west coast...what other ones are good? not to rag on washington at all, im just curious. Also, are you still in the major? do you like the coursework? i'd love to know how its going as of now..
thanks!</p>
<p>eannec--I'm not even sure what other IS schools are good to be honest, but I trust that the director knew what he was talking about. =) Yes, I am still in my major. While the coursework is challenging, yes, I do enjoy it. </p>
<p>I know some folks who aren't pleased, but here's the trick--you have to take classes with professors who are good, not just any professor who teaches the classes you need. The best ways to find out are: (1) ask older students who have taken lots of courses, (2) look through the Course Evaluation Catalog (students fill out a course evaluation at the end of each quarter per class; data is compiled so you can see what your peers think of the prof/TA), (3) do some research on sites like ratemyprofessors.com. </p>
<p>Take some intro SIS courses to see if it's something you want to study--SIS 200 is offered only in the fall, SIS 201 is winter and spring, and SIS 202 is only in the spring. They do require a lot more reading than other classes, but it's the kind of work you can expect in the Jackson School.</p>