The International Relations Tracks/Core Areas are detailed below. Included at the end is a list of approved Elective Courses.
Students in programs that use the IR Core Area requirement (such as the IRJD and IR/MBA dual degree programs) use these listings to find coursework to satisfy core areas. Classes from any of the regional tracks may be used to satisfy the Regional Studies core area.
Most classes are taught once per year, but some, particularly those outside the Pardee School, may be taught less frequently.
Functional Core Areas / Tracks
Theory and Policy
- CAS IR 510 Comparative Immigration and Racial Politics
- CAS IR 513 (PO 525) Bureaucracy & Governance: A Comparative Inquiry
- CAS IR 518 (PO 583) Gender & War
- CAS IR 519 People Power in Global Politics
- CAS IR 535 Diplomacy & Statecraft
- CAS IR 559 (PO 585, AA 559) Reckoning with the Past: Reparations & Justice in Comparative Perspective
- CAS IR 561 (RN 561) Religion & International Relations
- CAS IR 563 (AN 563) Public Religion & Politics Across Cultures
- CAS IR 573 Introduction to Public International Law
- CAS IR 594 (GE 594) Global Environmental Negotiation and Policy
- CAS IR 599 (GE 599) Science, Politics, & Climate Change
- GRS IR 718 International Migration & Diaspora in World Politics
- GRS IR 732 Public Diplomacy
- CAS AN 525 Ritual and Political Identity
- CAS HI 549 Nationalism in the Nineteenth & Twentieth Centuries
- GRS HI 746 History of International Human Rights
- GRS HI 859 The United States as a World Power
- CAS PO 524 Governance
- CAS PO 542 Immigration
- CAS PO 575 Decision Making in U.S. Foreign Policy
- CAS PO 578 The United States as a World Power
- CAS PO 579 Political Biography
- CAS SO 721 Social Networks
- GRS PO 751 Approaches to the Study of Comparative Politics
- GRS PO 771 Approaches to the Study of International Relations
- PO 771 is an advanced theoretical class. Not recommended for those without significant prior relevant background.
- GRS SO 765 Religion & Society
- GRS SO 838 Seminar on International Migration
- LAW JD 911 (3 credits) Law & Ethics of War
- Requires permission of the instructor.
- SPH LW 740 Health & Human Rights
- STH TH 848 Emergence of Christianity as a Global Movement
- STH TR 802 Sociology of Religion
- STH TR 940 Advanced Seminar in Religion & Social Change
Political Economy
- CAS IR 512 Global Resource Geopolitics
- CAS IR 520 (PO 550) The State & Public Purpose in Asia
- CAS IR 527 (PO 548) Political Economy of China
- CAS IR 532 Trade Law and Development
- CAS IR 590 (PO 562) Political Economy of Latin America
- CAS IR 592 Economic Development & International Institutions
- CAS IR 596 (PO 529) Globalization & Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations
- CAS IR 597 (GE 597) Development & Environment in Latin America
- GRS IR 723 (PO 528) The Political Economy of Advanced Industrialized Societies
- GRS IR 759 International Institutions for Finance, Development, & Trade
- GRS IR 789 Globalization, Development, Governance (Prereq: IR 704)
- GRS IR 825 (SO 820) Women & Social Change in the Developing World
- CAS AN 505 (SO 505) Asian Development: The Case of Women
- CAS EC 521 Development Policy
- CAS EC 591 International Trade
- CAS EC 595 International Finance
- Students must get the permission of the instructor to take any course in the Economics Department.
- GRS GE 600 Environment & Development: A Political Ecology Approach
- LAW BK 935 (2 credits) Microfinance & Development
- LAW BK 971 (2 or 4 credits) Lessons from the Financial Crisis
- Credit for this course is variable. Interested students should contact William Kring, wkring@bu.edu.
To register for the above two Law classes, please contact Lorrain Kaplan, lekaplan@bu.edu.
Security Studies
- CAS IR 505 Arms Control & Proliferation of Weapons
- CAS IR 516 Intelligence & Homeland Security
- CAS IR 518 (PO 583) Gender & War
- CAS IR 521 Congress & National Security
- CAS IR 526 National and Homeland Security Law
- CAS IR 548 United Nations Peace Operations
- CAS IR 556 Current Intelligence Issues
- CAS IR 557 Guerrilla Warfare & Terrorism
- CAS IR 581 The Evolution of Strategic Intelligence
- CAS IR 589 (PO 582) North Atlantic/European Security Issues
- GRS IR 630 (PO 569) Money, Guns, and Power
- GRS IR 703 International Security
- GRS IR 778 Problems of Strategic Intelligence
- GRS IR 780 CIA’s National Clandestine Service
- CAS HI 537 World War II: Causes, Course, Consequences
- HI 537 is a very popular class and often has a waiting list. Interested students should contact the History Department as early as possible to request that they be registered for this class.
- CAS PO 515 American Politics & the Use of Force
- GRS PO 796 Ethics & the Use of Force
Regional Core Area / Tracks
Asia
- CAS IR 501 (PO 554) Conflict & Cooperation in Asia
- CAS IR 506 India & the World: The Foreign Policy of a Rising Power
- CAS IR 520 (PO 550) The State & Public Purpose in Asia
- CAS IR 527 (PO 548) Political Economy of China
- CAS IR 577 (PO 576) Foreign Policy of the People’s Republic of China
- CAS IR 579 (PO 552) Japan in International Politics
- CAS IR 582 (PO 553) Taiwan: Politics & Transformation
- CAS IR 585 (PO 549) Problems & Issues in Post-Mao China
- GRS IR 788 (PO 789) International Relations of Asia-Pacific
- CAS AN 505 (SO 505) Asian Development: The Case of Women
- GRS AN 744 Modern Japanese Society: Family, School, & Workplace
- GRS AN 775 Culture, Society, & Religion in South Asia
- GRS RN 663 Zen Buddhism
- GRS RN 675 Culture, Society, & Religion in South Asia
Europe
- CAS IR 514 (HI 533) Empire & Power: British Foreign Policy, 1782 – Present
- CAS IR 542 The Reemergence of Russia
- CAS IR 543 The Changing Face of Eastern Europe
- CAS IR 550 (PO 535) European Integration
- CAS IR 551 (PO 536) Social Europe: Identity, Citizenship, & the Welfare State
- CAS IR 589 (PO 582) North Atlantic/European Security Issues
- GRS IR 723 (PO 528) The Political Economy of Advanced Industrialized Societies
- CAS HI 537 World War II: Causes, Course, Consequences
- HI 537 is a very popular class and often has a waiting list. Interested students should contact the History Department as early as possible to request that they be registered for this class.
- CAS HI 590 The World & the West
- CAS PO 542 Immigration
- GRS RN 684 The Holocaust
Latin America
- CAS IR 529 Cuba in Transition
- CAS IR 568 (PO 565) U.S.-Latin American Relations
- CAS IR 590 (PO 562) Political Economy of Latin America
- CAS IR 597 (GE 597) Development & Environment in Latin America
- GRS IR 713 Latin America Past & Present
- CAS HI 582 Social Movements in Twentieth-Century Latin America
Middle East & Africa
- CAS IR 503 (PO 503) The United States in the Middle East
- CAS IR 504 The Persian Gulf / Arabian Peninsula
- CAS IR 507 Islam & Politics
- CAS IR 511 The Middle East Today
- CAS IR 534 (PO 571) Government & Politics of Contemporary Africa
- CAS IR 584 The United States & Sub-Saharan Africa
- GRS IR 706 The Iranian Revolution & Its Impact on the Middle East
- GRS AN 707 Turkey & Middle East Perspective
- GRS AN 717 Power & Society in the Middle East
- GRS AN 719 Anthropology of Muslim Cultures and Politics
- GRS AN 720 Women in the Muslim World
- CAS HI 588 Women, Power, & Culture in Africa
- CAS HI 595 Morocco: History on the Cusp of Three Continents
- GRS HI 751 Environmental History of Africa
- GRS HI 877 Problems in African History
- HI 877 is an advanced class that assumes considerable prior knowledge of the field. Not recommended for those without substantial prior relevant background.
- GRS PO 760 Problems & Issues of Contemporary Africa
- GRS RN 640 The Quran
- GRS RN 641 Islamic Mysticism: Sufism
- GRS RN 645 Islamic Law
Muslim World
- CAS IR 503 (PO 503) The U.S. in the Middle East
- CAS IR 504 The Persian Gulf/Arabian Peninsula
- CAS IR 506 India & the World: The Foreign Policy of a Rising Power
- CAS IR 507 Islam & Politics
- CAS IR 511 The Middle East Today
- GRS IR 706 The Iranian Revolution & Its Impact on the Middle East
- GRS AN 707 Turkey & Middle East Perspective
- GRS AN 717 Power & Society in the Middle East
- GRS AN 719 Anthropology of Muslim Cultures & Politics
- GRS AN 720 Women in the Muslim World
- GRS AN 775 Culture, Society, & Religion in South Asia
- CAS HI 595 Morocco: History on the Cusp of Three Continents
- CAS HI 596 (AH 539, AN 548, RN 563) Muslim Societies: An Interdisciplinary History
- CAS RN 563 (STH TX 847, HI 596, AH 539) Muslim Societies: An Interdisciplinary History
- GRS RN 640 The Quran
- GRS RN 641 Islamic Mysticism: Sufism
- GRS RN 645 (STH TX 845) Islamic Law
- GRS RN 675 Culture, Society, & Religion in South Asia
Elective Courses
College/Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (Including the Pardee School)
- CAS AN 590 Theory, Methods, and Techniques of Fieldwork
- GRS AR 815 Plunder & Preservation: Cultural Heritage in Wartime
- CAS IR 500 Topics in International Relations
- The subject matter of this course is highly variable. In some terms, it may be used to satisfy track requirements – check with the Graduate Programs Administrator.
- CAS IR 531 Intercultural Communication
- CAS LY 572 Arabic Translation and Interpreting
- GRS IR 601 Fundamentals of International Relations
- GRS IR 602 Quantitative Analysis for Global Affairs
- GRS MA 614 Statistical Methods
- CAS PO 502 Political Analysis: A Primer
- GRS PO 742 Comparative Public Policy
- GRS PO 841 Quantitative Research Methods
- PO 841 will satisfy the statistics requirement for many Pardee programs.
- GRS PO 843 Techniques in Political Analysis: Maximum Likelihood Estimation (Prereq: PO 841)
- Students need to get permission from the instructor before registering for PO 841 or PO 843.
School of Law
Law School classes are typically worth three credits whereas GRS courses are normally worth four credits. Students will need to make up any credit ‘shortage’ caused by taking Law School classes.
Students need to get permission from the instructor before registering for any Law School class.
- Law JD 796 Climate Change(s)
- Law JD 804 American Legal History
- Law JD 846 Historical Perspectives on Law, Constitutions and Culture(s)
- Law JD 917 The Constitution & Foreign Affairs
- Law JD 942 English Legal History
Questrom School of Business
Most Questrom classes of interest to Pardee students are worth three credits whereas GRS courses are normally worth four credits. Students will need to make up any credit ‘shortage’ caused by taking Questrom classes.
Students need to get permission from the instructor before registering for any Questrom class.
- QST MK 853 Global Strategic Marketing
- QST PL 834 Macroeconomics in the Global Environment
- QST PL 864 Managing Political, Economic, Social & Technology & Country Risk
- QST PL 870 Government, Society & Sustainable Development
- QST SI 870 Strategies for Sustainable Development