Which would be more beneficial (int'l relations + business or..)?

College Majors
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<p>Hi everyone. I'm getting pretty stressed out over this whole situation. I have an affinity for languages; I love everything about them. I love the way each word forms and the rich sound it makes when it's spoken...so I'd really like to get into international affairs. I had originally been planning to double in international relations and international business but my dream in some years would be an open source officer for the CIA or working for the UN. This worries me because I feel like I'd have a much better chance of being hired only if I'm fluent in a critical need language. While I'm fluent in Spanish and German, they aren't critical need languages and I'm unsure how I would go about becoming fluent in a language such as Arabic, Farsi, or Russian without majoring in it in college, which leads me to my question: should I double major in int'l business and relations and take courses in a critical language or would it be more beneficial to double in international relations and a language instead? Thank you so much.</p>

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<p>“I’m unsure how I would go about becoming fluent in a language such as Arabic, Farsi, or Russian without majoring in it in college”</p>

<p>You absolutely can. Upper level courses tend to be about enriching your knowledge of the literature, the culture, the politics, the philosophy, etc. Take the beginner course, then the intermediate course, then the advanced course, and try to spend a semester studying abroad. If you devote yourself to it, you can become fluent without majoring in it. Arabic and Farsi would be hard in 4 years, but Russian should be doable.</p>

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<p>After you figure out what critical language interests you most, major in that language + area studies (e.g., East Asian Studies, Russian Studies, etc.). As part of your major, you’ll need to study abroad in a country where that language is spoken. You can always supplement your language and area studies with electives in IR courses or plan on graduate studies in IR. For some languages like Arabic, you might find a joint BA/MA program.
There’s no real magic about an IR major; lots of people go on to careers in IR without having majored in it, but the languages are indispensable. BTW, international business isn’t that useful as a major unless you pair it with a major in a traditional subfield of business. Also, see my post about IR in this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/902677-political-science-vs-international-relations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/902677-political-science-vs-international-relations.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can find a list of universities with national resource centers in the various world regions here: [National</a> Resource Centers for Foreign Language, Area and International Studies](<a href=“http://www.nrcweb.org/]National”>http://www.nrcweb.org/)</p>

<p>Also check out the Language Flagship programs which are designed to train you to proficiency in a critical language and complete a major in another field.[The</a> Language Flagship - * Welcome *](<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/]The”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/)</p>

<p>So, quit stressing out about it.</p>

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<p>Peep Pimsleur language disks. I am listening to Italian on my iPod walking between classes and I’m doing pretty good with it. I ripped it from a disk from the public library.</p>