The Bachelor of Philosophy in International and Area Studies (BPhil in IAS) – Global Studies track, is offered by the University Honors College (UHC) in cooperation with the Global Studies Center. It is an interdisciplinary degree requiring 30 credits of course work, three years of language study, and rigorous independent research. Students must submit a BPHIL application to the Honors College once their research question is formulated and have demonstrated a 3.5 GPA. Please visit the David C. Frederick Honors College website with full details of expectations of students and faculty.
As with the Global Studies Certificate, upon completion, students will be able to:
- Recognize the ongoing impact and effects of neoliberal globalization
- Make analytical connections between the local and the global in ways that enrich both
- Appreciate the value of (cultural, racial, regional, sexual, religious, class) difference on both a local and global scale
- Articulate an interdisciplinary approach to problem-based learning that encourages an intersectional, transnational, trans-historical outlook
- Critique different discourses of the global and globalization (e.g., cultural, policy, anthropological, medical) and communicate effectively about these issues orally and in writing to an interdisciplinary audience.
With the BPhil, students will also be able to:
- Demonstrate a depth and breadth of knowledge in Global Studies through the research, writing, and public defense of an Honors thesis
- Engage in long-term, self-motivated, global projects with confidence and rigor
- Consider complex global issues (eg. climate change, war and conflict, economic disparity) from multiple perspectives
- Decolonize knowledge production through careful critique of global power structures and disparities
Enrollment
All students enroll in the global studies certificate during their freshman year and by the end of the sophomore year, submit an application to the Honors College. Applications must be approved by the Director of the Global Studies Center prior to submission to the Honors College.
A successful candidate for the BPHIL/IAS should follow closely to this timeline.
Academic Requirements:
Courses
Students begin by identifying their global concentration. They must pick one from the five offered. The descriptions of the global concentrations emphasize overarching themes and concerns; students might pursue a wide variety of questions, contemporary or historical, within these concentrations. Courses are updated each semester. View the course list.
All BPhil students must take the following courses:
- A 3-credit PS 0550 Introduction to Global Studies
- A 3-credit methodology course – typically within their major
- A 3-credit a Global Studies capstone course
- 21 credits of coursework from their selected global concentration, earning a 3.5 GPA or better in each of the courses. To ensure interdisciplinary learning, students take at least three courses in two departments outside their major.
Learn about the Global Concentrations
Language Study
Students pursuing a BPHIL- IAS must reach an ACTFL proficiency level of intermediate-high for less commonly taught languages and advanced-low for commonly taught languages. Typically a BPHIL – IAS student, if starting a new language, takes six semesters of a language to reach the required proficiency level.
Information about specific language programs can be found by contacting the various language departments listed below:
- Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures
- Department of German
- Department of French & Italian Languages and Literatures
- Department of Slavic Languages & Literature
- Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Less Commonly Taught Languages Center
Study Abroad
Students must participate a minimum 4 week in-country study-abroad/ internship program. Students work with the GSC advisor to identify a global engagement experience that will enhance or contextualize their BPHIL research. Students begin this process scanning Pitt’s Study Abroad 350 program offerings.
Research Thesis
Students must complete a research thesis and publicly defend their work. As part of the process students identify a faculty member who will agree to mentor them through the research process and writing of their thesis. Along with the faculty mentor, three additional faculty (2 from Pitt and 1 external) serve on the thesis committee. All research must be approved by Pitt’s IRB office to ensure ethical research standards are met. All pertinent information about the BPHIL including information about responsibility of faculty thesis advisor, IRB requirements and application is available on the Honors College website.
Digital Portfolio
Each student is required to create a succinct yet dynamic portfolio that illustrates their studies and interests pertaining to their global studies concentration. The e-portfolio will demonstrate how students are informed about, as well as engaged with, global studies through their various curricular and co-curricular experiences at Pitt. Students learn how to build a website and personalize it using images, testimonies, and prose, which will facilitate the portrayal of the breadth and depth of themselves as individuals and aspiring scholars/professionals. The e-portfolio is similar to an online resume and can be shared with employers, and graduate schools.
Sample Courses of Study
Each student will have a tailored course of study reflecting their unique interests and career path. To help student envision the possibilities, below are examples of three students course work:
Ecology and Sustainability
- ANTH 0620 Bicultural Anthropology
- BIOSC 0370 Ecology
- BIOSC 1320 Population Biology
- SOC 1445 Sociology and the Environment
- HIST 1005 Global Studies Capstone Seminar
- PS 0550 Introduction to Global Studies
- MARINE Life (Study Abroad, Ecuador)
- Marine Ecosystem Based Management (Study Abroad, Ecuador)
- Methodology Course: Techniques of Marine Research 1&2 (Study Abroad, Panama)
Health and Well-Being
- ECON 0220 Introduction to Health Economics
- ECON 1610 Latin America Economic Development
- AFRNCA 1510 Health in the African Diaspora
- PUBHLT 1001 Introduction to Global Health
- PUBHLT 1002 Special Topics in Global Health
- PUBHLT 2025 Concepts and Methods in Global Health
- HIST 1005 Global Studies Capstone Seminar
- PS 0550 Introduction to Global Studies
- Health Systems in Argentina (Study Abroad, Argentina)
- Methodology Course Public Health Research Methods and Ethics (Study Abroad, Argentina)
Cultural Dynamics
- ANTH 0780 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- AFRCNA 1644 The African Novel
- ENGFLM 0540 World Film History
- ENGLIT 0365 Literature & The Contemporary
- ENGLIT 1325 Modernist Tradition
- PS 1384 Political Culture in the Arab World
- HIST 1005 Global Studies Capstone Seminar
- PS 0550 Introduction to Global Studies
- Multiculturalism and Human Rights Seminar (Study Abroad, Morocco)
- Methodology Course Social Research Methods (Study Abroad, Morocco)