BA/BS in International Relations and National Security Studies

International relations is x. The point of study is to see how the world operates, using methods taken from history, economics, politics, anthropology, sociology, religion and further disciplines. Students shape the major by picking a world region plus a thematic area, for example foreign policy and security or environment and development. Graduates are expected to understand an important functional subfield and a major geographical region in depth, and to analyze real-world conditions and events with theory and evidence and present results persuasively in writing and speech. The major takes twelve courses plus two prerequisites: four principal courses, four from a functional track and four from a regional track. Students also complete BU Hub general education requirements, much of which major coursework satisfies.