International and Area Studies < University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

Overview

The International and Area Studies Academic Program (IAS) provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of international and global issues. Comprised of six undergraduate majors and three graduate degree programs, IAS is a unique intellectual domain. At a historical moment of unprecedented inter-connectedness, IAS trains students in the knowledge and skills that are fundamental components of global citizenship and practice. IAS has strategically adopted an interdisciplinary approach to such training, with the belief that no single discipline can prepare students in the depth and breadth necessary for a complex and reflexive understanding of world history and contemporary globalization. Accordingly, IAS offers interdisciplinary core courses in fields such as political economy, development studies, and peace & conflict studies, and then incorporates courses offered through many other departments, offering students a rigorous, but flexible, curriculum which recognizes that learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom.

Concurrent Master's Degree

The MA degree in International and Area Studies (IAS) is a two-year concurrent Masters program. It is an interdisciplinary program designed to complement the graduate degree work by providing the fundamentals of contemporary international issues and/or detailed knowledge on particular world regions or countries. The MA degree in International and Area Studies provides wide flexibility in crafting an individual interdisciplinary program complementing or enhancing the primary area of graduate study. Students tailor the content of their programs within a defined framework to suit their interests. Specific course work is chosen in consultation with a faculty adviser.

This program is available only to students who are currently registered in an UC Berkeley graduate program. For further information, please see the program's website .