Rationale for Thematic & Area Studies Concentration & Methods Course of Proposed IS Major
In developing the IS major proposal, the International Studies Major committee looked at
exemplar programs both within North Carolina and nationally. In addition to looking at various
curricula, we personally interviewed directors of IS programs within the UNC system and among
our peer institutions. We also had the benefit of a recent comparative study of the curriculum in
140 International Studies programs in the United States published in the major journal in the
field, International Studies Perspectives.1 Finally, we arranged for an external review of our
proposal by the Director of International Studies at UNC Charlotte. In guiding our work, we
agreed that we wanted a rigorous program that complemented the existing international strengths
already in place at UNCW.
Based on this review, we developed the requirement of a concentration that could either be
regional or thematic. The requirement of a concentration is consistent with 86% of all IS
programs nationally. Among undergraduate IS programs which have concentration
requirements, 15% have just a regional concentration, 25% have just a thematic concentration,
28% have an option of either a regional or thematic concentration, and 31% require both a
regional and thematic concentration. The committee proposed the option of either a regional or
thematic concentration as both maximizing student options and providing depth within the
concentration. The particular thematic and regional options vary nationally. The UNCW IS
committee proposed options matching our existing strengths. The regional options, for instance,
matched curricula already in place for area minors. The thematic options were inductively
developed based on (1) existing UNCW international courses and (2) substantive coherence.
The Environmental option is somewhat unusual for IS programs nationally but the committee
felt this particular option matched UNCW’s multidisciplinary strength in this area, was
especially timely given increased attention to global environmental issues, and also provided an
IS option for students with strengths and interests in the natural sciences.
IS programs also vary with respect to requiring a methods course, especially for an
undergraduate degree. Our decision to require such a course was based on providing a rigorous
program of study for UNCW students with such rigor demonstrated by the production of a
research or artistic product in the capstone course. Two chief objections to requiring a methods
course are the concern that such a single course would “privilege” a specific discipline and
“uncertainty as to the design of an interdisciplinary methods course.” The Committee addressed
these concerns by providing a range of discipline based courses from which students could
choose and requiring students to link the specific methods course to their area of concentration.
The Committee also noted that undergraduate degree programs at UNCW which offer a senior
seminar/capstone course usually requires their majors to complete a methods course prior to
enrolling in the senior/capstone course. Thus the Committee chose to follow the example set by
CAS departments by requiring students to complete the methods requirement prior to enrolling
in the proposed senior seminar INT 490.
1
Jonathan N. Brown, Scott Pegg, and Jacob W. Shively, “Consensus and Divergence in International Studies: Survey
Evidence from 140 International Studies Curriculum Programs,” International Studies Perspectives 7 (2006): 267286.