<p>I see that UCSD has a International Studies major and a Political Science-International Relations major. Whats the difference? Will I be taking more political science based classes for PoliSci-IR? What does the "studies" in Internnational Studies mean? So much confusion, so little answers. </p>
<p>Some clarification would be much appreciated. Thanks! </p>
<p>*I found a similar thread on the same question from a few months back. Unfortunately, I didn't find it all that helpful. Hopefully bringing back this thread question will result in some more insightful answers. :)</p>
<p>I’m sure you could find the answer to that question by looking at the requirements for each major in the UCSD catalog.</p>
<p>
The International Studies Program</p>
<p>Technology and the forces of cultural and economic integration are reducing the distances between societies. At the same time, ethnic, religious, and economic conflicts continue to erupt within and among societies. Both the proximity of other societies and the remaining divides within and among them demand a better understanding of their cultures and institutions. Societies cannot be understood in isolation or at a single point in time, however; they are shaped by global and regional environmentsincluding their political, military, economic, and cultural interestsand their pasts. Individuals and societies in turn shape those environments as they reinterpret their histories.</p>
<p>The International Studies Program is multidisciplinary and builds on the strengths of existing international specializations at UC San Diego. International relations and comparative politics are established and distinguished fields of political science. Economic theory and methodologies are critical to an understanding of the global world. The comparative study of societies and cultures lies at the core of sociology and anthropology. Literature and linguistics offer a rich array of courses concerned with languages and traditions outside English-speaking societies. And area studies programs provide comprehensive understanding of particular countries and regions.</p>
<p>The international studies major provides students with both a firm grounding in a discipline and the flexibility to permit exploration from alternative perspectives. The primary and secondary tracks chosen by each student contain the disciplinary foundations of the major. International studies majors also complete two core courses (INTL 101 and INTL 102) that serve as gateways to disciplinary approaches and to central international and comparative issues that cut across disciplines. Among the subjects considered are cultural boundaries and identities, economic and social development, international and regional integration and their effects, the evolution of political and social institutions, and forms of communication and language. A required capstone seminar (INTL 190) permits the completion of a research paper in close association with a member of the faculty. International studies majors benefit throughout from the activities and programs of the Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies (IICAS), the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies (CILAS), and many other departments on campus.
Source: [International</a> Studies](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/INTL.html]International ”>International Studies )</p>
<p>
Political Science </p>
<p>Political science addresses some of the fundamental problems facing human society. Questions concerning world peace, government policies aimed at achieving economic stability and growth, the management of environmental quality, control over political competition, the possibility of using law to affect social and political change, and the gap between the rich and poor in the United States and abroad are all on the research agenda of contemporary political scientists. The general purpose of the major is to address these and other issues systematically, and, simultaneously, to raise the broad theoretical questions that can help students relate todays political debates to those debates about politics that have kept a theoretical tradition alive for over 2,000 years.</p>
<p>Students may major in political science as a general program of study, or they may concentrate in one of six areas: (1) American politics, (2) comparative politics, (3) international relations, (4) political theory, (5) public law, and (6) public policy. All majors in political science must satisfy the following sixteen courses: Poli Sci 30 (Political Inquiry), three of the following four lower-division courses (Political Science 10, 11, 12 and 13) and twelve upper-division courses. (Note: Lower-division courses Poli Sci 27 and Poli Sci 40 may not be used to satisfy requirements in the political science major or minor.) Moreover, as stated below, students concentrating in one of the fields must satisfy that fields particular lower- and upper-division requirements. </p>
<p>Major in Political Science/International Relations</p>
<pre><code>Lower division required: Poli Sci 12 (in addition to two other lower-division courses from 10, 11, 13)
Source: Political Science