<p>Does anyone know how the self-designed major program at Columbia works? I want to go into international relations and so I'm wondering what my options are in Columbia for undergrad.</p>
<p>does such a program exist? it would seem somewhat antithetical to Columbiaâs position on the core etc. if you want to do ir at columbia, you major in poli sci with your primary subfield as international relations</p>
<p>yeah the DIY program exists - most popularly it was used for majors in linguistics and historical sociology, that were well known programs throughout academia, but columbia didnât have an official major in either (and just now a new concentration in linguistics). you can figure out who did a DIY major when you go to the major list and it lists the department as Columbia College.</p>
<p>it is run through the dean of academic affairs office, you talk to Dean Yatrakis early on, explain your interest, and usually she will say it isnât academically rigorous enough or different enough to constitute a true major. for the most part it should be a legit academic major that you could find at a peer school and with minimal need for self-directed study (1 v 1 with a professor reading courses), so something you could reasonably do at columbia.</p>
<p>as for you poor IR guy - it sucks that columbia has some of the leading figures in the world and that it is housed within the political science department as a subfield.</p>
<p>most folks when they refer to IR, however, see it more like international studies instead of IR theory, columbia has regional studies programs in every part of the globe including european studies. so for the most part if you are thinking an international focus that is pretty easy.</p>
<p>another popular IR trend is to think about it as IPE, well if you do the econ-polisci degree your senior seminar can be an IPE seminar.</p>
<p>in the end if you want IR - you donât need to do a design your own major, and most likely Dean Yak would laugh you out of her office.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your answers. I was trying to avoid the political science aspect of things because I mainly want a growth in knowledge on the international studies/relations part of political science since I intend on getting an MBA on international business after I get a bachelor in international relations. Maybe Columbia just isnât for me since I would rather have an international relations major on its own as an interdisciplinary major such as that at Tufts, Stanford, etc.</p>
<p>Iâm pretty sure Columbia doesnât have any kind of âinternational econâ major (of the kind that, say, Georgetown SFS has). You could, however, take economics and IR classes, but I think the focus of the latter will definitely be on poli/sci.</p>
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<p>sounds like youâre not that much of an IR Freak because IR really refers to IR theory, which is all polisci.</p>
<p>and IPE is pretty easy to do with econ/polisci. and just how âbusinessâ is a bad word to describe things because it is so vague, international business is equally vague.</p>
<p>if you want the major of your choosing handed to you on a silver platter, guess what, 10 years from now no one will give a crap about what you majored in, but they will care about the skills you picked up along the way. the languages you learn matter in international world, and you got four dozen to choose from at CU, and then if you want more policy oriented things, you can do what i did and take classes at SIPA. wont turn into a major, but could turn into some connections.</p>
<p>and take some bit of advice - youâll spend the rest of your life trying to find the box to fit in, when in reality it is the intangibles you should be looking for: location, people, environment, that is what really matters. my job could be as a street sweeper, but if i am given the latitude to move horizontally and vertically with ease, iâd prefer that to a more illustrious title. columbia and new york are unique places to be 18 yo because it is one of the few places where you get the sense no one cares how young you are, just how much youâre willing to try new things.</p>
<p>admissions geek, just because i donât necessarily like political science doesnât mean I canât like international relations. Of course I realize that IR has a lot to do with poly sci but I also realize that other schools just as good as Columbia offer interdisciplinary majors in IR as opposed to political science departments with specializations in IR. As for the vagueness of an MBA in international business, Iâm sure that would broaden my career possibilities even more since I am already bilingual and plan on becoming trilingual in college. That doesnât mean that I wouldnât focus on other parts of business such as management because I plan on doing that as well. For me, a major in international relations for my undergrad is more than just words on a diploma, itâs an opportunity to acquire myself with detailed knowledge about the world we live in and I think that will greatly help me when it comes to a future in international business. </p>
<p>P.S. New York isnât the only place where you can have great opportunities.</p>