By Brian Graf
Students often have a desire to travel and further explore foreign language capabilities. That's when they declare an international relations major.
"I really like studying different countries and cultures and the good things that they can do for people," said Lauren Smith, a tentative international relations major.
The international relations major is an open major. Students can declare or change their major from international relations at any time. Although it is open, it is also a very heavy major, filled with courses of economics, political science and a foreign language.
Anybody can test out of the foreign language credit requirements.
The major requires anywhere from 57 to 79 credits depending on the extent of language abilities.
The "hot languages" in the world of international relations right now are Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, said Debbie Kinjo, assistant supervisor of the academic advisement.
Alternative area studies programs are available for those interested in studying foreign cultures without learning as much about the political or economic aspects of a certain country or area of the world.
About one third of students that graduate from the international relations program go on to law school, another third go on to get an MBA, with another third who do government work.
"Our students can be divided," said Jeff Ringer, director of the international relations advisement center, according to Kinjo. "One third want to save the world, one third want to run the world and one third want to own the world."
The CIA, FBI and National Security like to recruit from BYU because of its honor code and the lifestyle of most of its students, according to Kinjo. They said that if a person drinks, does drugs, has explicit sex or gambles, it can put them in a compromising position. Generally, BYU students don't get involved with those things.
Kinjo said they showed the international relations rubric to representatives from Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Syracuse and other respected universities, to see if it would prepare students to apply to their master's programs. The rubric not only met, but exceeded their expectations.
"I wish we could compel every student to come in [the advisement center]" Kinjo said.
The advisement center counselors like to help students and can often save them a lot of time and heartache if the students would take the time to visit with them.
Copyright Brigham Young University 9 Jan 2008
