Villanova University International Relations Major

Colleges and Universities A-Z Villanova University
1

I’m a senior applying to colleges right now and I plan on majoring in international relations and Chinese. I want to use this to get a job at the State Department after graduating.

Villanova University looks great in a lot of aspects - financial aid, professors, Chinese, the amount that students usually make after graduating… but does it have an international relations major? If it doesn’t have anything by that exact name, what can I study there that is most similar? Is there something close enough to make it worth it, or should someone who wants to learn about foreign policy with a concentration in Asia look elsewhere?

Thank you!

2

https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/business/undergraduate/degrees/ib.html

co major

3

If you look in their info on the political science dept., you will see international topics mentioned in both their undergrad and graduate programs.

https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/psc/graduate.html

If you click on “Political Science Overview”, u can download a list of their poli sci profs & their specialties…at least 6 seem to focus on international issues.

4

@cmmnj
Looks like that’s all international business. Was there something I missed?

@moooop
Those are their graduate programs though. Do they have anything for undergrad?

5

Those are generally the same professors who will be teaching undergrad courses. Here is a list of their courses…seems like they have a nice variety of classes dealing with international relations & politics in foreign countries:

https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/psc/undergrad/curriculum.html

6

Former Villanova student (and political science major, class of 2018) here:

Villanova does offer international relations courses within their (excellent) political science department. The Villanova political science department offers classes in American government, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Political Theory.

This might be illuminating for you, the department lists out their courses 4 semesters in advance for students trying to plan their major, you can see exactly what political science courses will be offered, even who is teaching it. They categorize the classes based on sub-field:

https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/psc/undergrad/4semester.html

For someone who wants to study specifically Asian politics, there might be a handful of courses, but not much more within the undergraduate political science program, I’m afraid. I’d recommend heading over to the GIS (Global Interdisciplinary Studies) webpage for more possibilities about learning Chinese, and other opportunities within cultural studies. There might be more opportunities to study Asian culture, history, etc. - I’m not sure, but it’s at least worth a look!

https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/global.html

That said, I studied IR and comparative politics, and fell in love with global affairs and politics, and found myself taking courses like African and Latin American politics that really broadened my horizons!

So while Villanova’s political science program might not be able to offer nearly the same quantity and as narrowly specialized courses in IR such as SFS at Georgetown, students absolutely leverage their Villanova education to work for them. Villanova produces Fulbright scholars every year (I myself one of them) and many students choose to study abroad.

Feel free to ask any more questions, or even, don’t be afraid to shoot an email to the political science department chair!