Carleton will be launching a new Bachelor of Global and International Studies program (BGInS) in September 2015.
This will be the first Bachelor of Global and International Studies in Canada, according to Professor Chris Brown, the director of the new program.
Many schools have a global studies, or an international studies program, but this will be the first to utilize both as a single unit.
“The program really problemitizes the world from both of these perspectives, puts these perspectives in dialogue with each other and challenges students to have a fully, truly, comprehensive multidisciplinary understanding of the world,” Brown said.
“Now that we have created this degree, there are more than 80 faculty members who are going to be teaching in the degree, and that speaks to the existing strengths that Carleton has,” Brown said.
Brown said admissions requirements for BGInS will be the same as a Bachelor of Arts degree program.
The program has 12 different specializations including global development, Africa and globalization, and international economic policy.
“Students must apply to a specialization when they submit their application,” said Brown. “Having said that, we have set it up in such a way that it would be quite easy for students to transfer between specializations.”
There are core courses that all students across all specializations must take, allowing students to change their specialization early in their degree.
Brown said the degree will prepare students to go on to the public sector on an international scale, such as working for the World Bank, non-governmental organizations, or the department of foreign affairs.
Brown said the degree also has strong secondary language requirements and an international experience requirement that will require students to travel to complete the degree.
“Many employers, especially big ones, are operating around the world in many different cultural contexts and they need to be sensitive to and adaptable to those cultural contexts,” said Brown. “One of the things about this degree is it will, we hope, provide students with that kind of cultural literacy, those cultural competences that employers are looking for.”
The Bachelor of Global and International Studies is currently accepting applicants for their September 2015 start date.
Related Articles:
