International and Global Studies
Middlebury’s International and Global Studies Program prepares students for a world requiring a global perspective.
International and global education encourages students to transcend the confines of their own backgrounds and upbringing, apprehend the world through others’ eyes, and in the process become more informed global citizens.
Launched in 1996, international and global studies (IGS) is today one of the most popular majors at Middlebury College. International and global studies takes advantage of the College’s historic and renowned strengths in foreign language education and global and area studies. Contributing faculty are active, well-known scholars and dedicated, experienced teachers.
Mission
International and global education encourages students to transcend the confines of their own backgrounds and upbringing, apprehend the world through others’ eyes, and in the process become more informed global citizens. To achieve this goal, the International and Global Studies Program has four components:
- Advanced competency in one of the non-English languages taught at Middlebury, sufficient to read scholarly materials and engage in complex interactions with native-speaking professionals;
- Broad exposure to the chosen region from multiple perspectives and disciplines;
- Study abroad for at least one semester, normally at one of the Middlebury Schools Abroad;
- Deep engagement in critical thinking about global questions.
These four components offer an understanding of the transnational and global context that affects all regions. Students become experts in a region, getting to understand it using multiple tools. The majority of students fulfill the study-abroad requirement by staying overseas for a full year. They attend one of our Schools Abroad, which are located in over 30 cities in more than 15 countries.
Specializations
Choose a track of specialization:
- African Studies
- East Asian Studies
- European Studies
- Global Environmental Change
- Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Global Migration and Diaspora Studies
- Global Security Studies
- Latin American Studies
- Middle East and North Africa Studies
- Russian and East European Studies
- South Asian Studies
Participating Departments and Programs
The faculty for the international and global studies major are drawn from a vast array of departments and programs:
- American Studies
- Anthropology
- Arabic
- Black Studies
- Chinese
- Classics
- Comparative Literature
- Economics
- Education Studies
- Environmental Studies
- Film and Media Culture
- Food Studies
- French
- Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies
- Geography
- German
- Global Health
- Hebrew
- History
- History of Art and Architecture
- Italian
- Japanese Studies
- Jewish Studies
- Linguistics
- Luso-Hispanic Studies
- Music
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Religion
- Russian
- Sociology
- Theatre
Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs
The International and Global Studies Program (IGS) benefits from the events programming of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs (RCGA). The RCGA has several thematic programs curated by Faculty Fellows whose teaching and research interests go beyond national borders. Each of the six RCGA programs produce two talks/events per semester, the topics of which are often relevant to IGS classes and IGS student interests. Generally, one or more RCGA events are integrated into IGS class curricula to enhance the intellectual experience of students.
IGS students should also consider participation in RCGA student programs for further co-curricular enhancement.