International Relations at Bucknell

Bucknell has a thriving and well-regarded international relations department. Distinguished faculty offer a carefully constructed, interdisciplinary major in international relations, which educates students generally about world affairs and prepares them for graduate study and professional careers in the international arena.

Chief Bucknell Benefits

  • An interdisciplinary department that offers courses from a variety of departments and programs, including East Asian studies, economics, geography, history, international relations, Latin American studies, political science, sociology, and modern languages.
  • Develops a sophisticated understanding of the discipline through a junior-level course on theories of international relations.
  • Provides specific knowledge of the history, language, society, and foreign policy of a world region or country through the area study concentrations.
  • Thematic tracks allow students to concentrate on and gain expertise in issues, problems, and solutions that cut across geographic regions.
  • Most majors become fluent in a foreign language.
  • Nearly all majors study abroad in their area of concentration.
  • A senior seminar fosters small group discussion of controversial issues.
  • The International Relations department attracts approximately 45 majors from each class, including a number of international students.
  • Majors tend to be active in campus activities with international or political emphasis - Global and Social Justice Residential Colleges, International Relations Club, Model United Nations Club, Amnesty International, Environmental Awareness, Bicycles against Poverty, the Microfinance Initiative at Bucknell, International Students Association, the Bucknellian (student newspaper), and student government.
  • IR has more than 1,200 alumni who have embarked on interesting careers in numerous fields including academia, law, public service, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental or nonprofit work.

Bucknell Distinctions

  • The international relations department is a separate academic entity and is not placed within a traditional department, as at many universities.
  • International relations has special curricular strengths, including East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, conflict and peace, international business, international political economy, third world development, and policy studies.
  • Specific courses help students develop their speaking, debating, and writing skills.
  • Students may complete the University Program in Justice and Social Change, which has an international emphasis.
  • Once a semester, the department publishes its newsletter, "IR Matters!"
  • Students may begin their studies of international relations in their first year by joining the Global Residential College and taking its provocative course, "The Modern World System."
  • Faculty members are accessible to students, providing personalized advising and developing student/faculty friendships. A number of them have received Bucknell teaching awards.
  • A well-developed alumni directory on the Web is available for majors to chat and network with alumni in international careers.