Requirements
General Requirements
A major must specialize in one of the following tracks: African Studies, East Asian Studies, European Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies (formerly Latin American Studies), Middle East and North African Studies, East European and Eurasian Studies (formerly Russian and East European Studies), South Asian Studies, Global Environmental Change, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, Global Migration and Diaspora Studies or Global Security Studies. IGS majors may not double count any courses, including required language courses, towards their regional or thematic specialization.
Regardless of their track, all majors must complete the following: IGST 0101, five regional or thematic courses, three global courses for the regional tracks or three regional courses for the thematic tracks. Students must also study one of the non-English languages taught at Middlebury; study abroad for at least one semester (on a Middlebury Program); complete at least one advanced level language course upon return from abroad; and take a 0400 level IGST senior seminar. With the preapproval of the IGS director, a student may take a thematic global seminar in a department.
Minors
There is no IGS minor. However, IGS majors are strongly encouraged to minor in any department or program that offers a minor and can accommodate them, so long as they do not double-count any course. Students wishing to minor in the department that teaches the IGS language of their focus should discuss their minor with the IGS director.
Specific Requirements
All IGS majors are required to take IGST 0101 and are expected to do so before studying abroad. IGST 0101 is not open to seniors except for those who declared the major as sophomores and spent the fall semester of their junior year abroad. Students who declare their major as a sophomore but have not taken IGST 0101, and plan to study abroad for only one semester must take it in the fall of their junior year prior to going abroad.
Language Study
Students must become proficient in one of the languages that Middlebury College teaches. Individual language departments determine what level of study constitutes proficiency, and students are expected to do advanced work in their target language. Students will choose a primary foreign language to align with their study abroad experience. All majors must take at least one advanced course in the language of study upon returning from abroad and are encouraged to take more than one. Students who, upon declaring the IGS major, have been determined proficient in one of their region’s languages will continue to take this language at the advanced level and are strongly recommended to take one year or equivalent of another language. The additional language should be chosen in consultation with the advisor.
These tracks have specific language requirements. Please see the individual track requirement sections:
- South Asian Studies and thematic majors that study in India
- East Asian Studies
- Latin American and the Caribbean Studies (Latin American Studies prior to 2025-2026)
Regional Tracks
Regional Specialization
IGS majors must take five courses that correspond to their regional track, in at least three departments. See the list of approved courses. At least three regional courses must be taken at Middlebury. For East Asian Studies majors, at least three of the regional courses should be exclusively or primarily on the country that is the focus of language study, and at least one should be on East Asia as a region or the East Asian country that is not the focus of language study.
Global Courses
Students with regional specializations are required to take three global courses; only one can be at the 0100 level. Global courses are thematic, transregional, and/or comparative. They highlight the connectivity of places and stress the circulation and interaction of peoples, cultures, ideas, and other phenomena beyond state boundaries.
Thematic Tracks
Thematic Specialization
IGS majors must take five courses that are specific to their track, in at least three departments. At least three thematic courses must be taken at Middlebury.
Regional Courses for Thematic Tracks
Students with thematic specialization are required to take three regional courses that correspond to their language of specialization. Except for students who study abroad an entire year, these courses must be taken at Middlebury.
Study Abroad
Students must study abroad for at least one semester (and preferably two) on a Middlebury-approved study abroad program in their region of focus. Study abroad must be in the language of study at Middlebury. Effective for the class of 2021, students who study abroad for one semester may count up to two credits and those who study abroad for a full year may count up to four credits toward the major. Major credit will be granted, pending approval, upon the student’s return from abroad. For regional courses, approval is granted by the regional director and for global courses by the IGS director. Students should share the syllabi and all written work for all courses they wish to count with the track or program director, respectively.
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement credit will not count toward the major.
Senior Program
The senior program consists of: (1) a senior IGST seminar at 400-level or with permission of IGS director, a thematic senior seminar in a department and (2) an upper-level course, preferably two, in the language of emphasis after returning from abroad. The language departments will determine which courses fulfill this requirement, in consultation with the program director. South Asian Studies majors or students who major in the thematic track and studied abroad in India do not take an upper-level language course, but rather, one additional regional or global course.
Honors
Students who seek to graduate with Honors may elect to write a two-term senior honors thesis. Students are eligible to write an honors thesis if they have a 3.5 GPA or better in all courses that count for the major. These include all language courses, all regional courses, all global courses, all courses taken abroad, and all courses with an IGST designation. Thesis grades do not count in the calculation of the GPA for honors. See thesis guidelines.
Honors are awarded to students with a GPA of 3.5 and a thesis grade of B+; high honors to students with a GPA of 3.7 and a thesis grade of A- or A; and highest honors to students with a GPA of 3.8 and a thesis grade of A.
Seniors wishing to pursue a one semester independent research project should register for IGST 0700.
Winter Term Course
Students may count no more than one winter term course taken at Middlebury towards IGS requirements, pending approval of the track director. Students wishing to count a winter term course must provide the track director with a copy of the course syllabus.
African Studies
Language/Culture: Language competency in French or Swahili; satisfactory completion of at least one advanced French course or one independent study in Swahili upon students return from abroad. If French is the language of emphasis, students must study an appropriate indigenous African language to a level of reasonable competence while abroad. The French Department will specify which courses fulfill the French requirement. The African Studies director will specify which courses fulfill the Swahili requirement.
Regional Specialization: See General Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See General Requirements above.
Senior Program: See General Requirements above.
East Asian Studies
Language/Culture: Satisfactory completion of advanced work in either Chinese or Japanese. The Chinese and Japanese departments will specify which courses fulfill this requirement. Students with native proficiency in Chinese must fulfill the language requirements for Japanese. Students with native proficiency in Japanese must fulfill the language requirements for Chinese. The Chair of the Chinese and Japanese Studies departments or their designees determine what constitutes native proficiency by evaluation students individually through interviews or tests.
Note: IGEA majors whose language is Chinese, the language requirement is: (1) CHNS 0101-CHNS 0202 (strongly encouraged to attend Middlebury Chinese Summer School, or take CHNS 0301/0302); (2) one semester at one of the three Middlebury CV Starr Schools Abroad in China; and (3) one, preferably two, of the following: CHNS 0411, 0412, 0425, 0426, OR 0475 upon return from study abroad in China.
Regional Specialization: See General Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See General Requirements above.
Senior Program: See General Requirements above.
European Studies
Language/Culture: Satisfactory completion of at least one advanced course taught in the language of emphasis (French, German, Italian, or Spanish). Individual departments will specify which courses fulfill these requirements.
Regional Specialization: See General Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See General Requirements above.
Senior Program: See General Requirements above.
Latin American and the Caribbean Studies (Latin American Studies prior to 2025-2026)
Language proficiency: Spanish, Portuguese, or French
Students who place above introductory level must take a secondary language. This updated dual-language requirement takes effect for students declaring the IGLC major in Fall 2025 and forward.
The secondary language requirements vary based on the student’s primary languagae:
- If placed in SPAN 0220 or above students must complete two semesters of either Portuguese (level 0215 or higher) or French (level 0105 or higher)
- If placed in PGSE 0215 or above students must complete two semesters of either Spanish (level 0201 or higher) or French (level 0105 or higher)
- If placed in FREN 0105 or above students must complete two semesters of either Spanish (level 0201 or higher) or Portuguese (level 0215 or higher)
Thematic track majors with Latin America and the Caribbean as their region are only required to master on language.
Regional Specialization: See General Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See General Reqirements above.
Senior Program: See General Requirements above.
Middle East and North African Studies
Language/Culture: Successful completion of three years of Arabic or Modern Hebrew (or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic or Hebrew program). Students who choose Modern Hebrew must be willing to pursue language study beyond Middlebury, if the Colleges Hebrew program is unable to offer a full range of advanced courses.
Regional Specialization: See General Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See General Requirements above.
Senior Program: See General Requirements above.
Russian and East European Studies
Language/Culture: Satisfactory completion of at least one advanced course taught in Russian.
Regional Specialization: See Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See Requirements above.
Senior Program: See Requirements above.
South Asian Studies
Language/Culture: Students must pursue a formal course of study of a South Asian language while abroad. Note: because Middlebury does not currently offer a South Asian language, students are not required to take an additional language course on their return from South Asia; instead, they must take one additional regional or global course.
Regional Specialization: See General Requirements above.
Study Abroad: See General Requirements above.
Senior Program: See Senior Program above.
Global Environmental Change
The planet is facing extraordinary challenges; among them are climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, and the unequal distribution of critical resources. Indeed, the environmental challenges that the world now faces have never been more complex, posing greater threat to people around the globe. This track exposes students to the complex relationship between people and their environments at local, national and global scales. It highlights issues of social and environmental (in)justices as experienced cross-culturally, and the ways people have responded to and addressed environmental change.
Language/Culture: See Language Study above. Because issues relating to the environment transcend countries and regions, majors may learn any language taught at Middlebury. Students wishing to study in programs that focus on Global Environmental Issues in an English-speaking country may do so, provided that they also study at least one semester on a Middlebury program in the region corresponding to their language.
Track Requirements: Students must take 5 thematic courses from the list of approved courses. They must take one introductory course, two courses on environmental impact; one course on social (in)Justice and the environment; one course on responses and adaptation to environmental change. No more than one course can focus on the U.S, and not more than one course can be at the 400 level. Some courses are listed in more than one category. Courses cannot double count.
Note: Some courses may have pre-requisites. These courses must be taken in at least three departments/interdisciplinary programs.
Senior Requirements: See Senior Program above.
Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
Concerns pertaining to gender and sexuality, as well as how feminism is articulated around the world, have become central to the interdisciplinary project of international and global studies. The thematic cluster will be comprised of five courses, through which students can gain the knowledge and tools to bring feminist epistemologies to bear on their analyses of international and global issues. Scholars in feminist and queer studies—and in the subfields of postcolonial feminism and transnational queer studies, for example—have centralized the construction of space and place in ways that will be useful to IGS students. The cluster reflects the rigor of feminist and queer analyses of the global and international and is flexible enough to permit choices among students. The core GSFS courses will offer students the theory and methods needed for an engagement with global concerns, while the courses in the breadth requirements will enable an analysis of specific national/transnational courses. Since GSFS is an interdisciplinary program, the track reflects an interdisciplinary approach to questions of gender and sexuality
Language/Culture: See Language Study above.
Track Requirements: Students must take 5 thematic courses from the list of approved courses. They must take one introductory course (GSFS 0191, 0200, or 0289); Feminist Theory (GSFS 0320); one critical race studies course; and two transnational/national feminism courses, one of which should be taken during the study abroad semester.
Study Abroad: See Study Abroad above. At least one study abroad course should transfer as a GSFS elective that meets the national/transnational feminism breadth requirement. In the semester prior to studying abroad, the student should consult with the GSFS director to confirm the proposed course would transfer appropriately.
Senior Requirements: See Senior Program above.
Global Migration and Diaspora Studies
Migrations and diasporas have shaped human political, economic and cultural interaction among diverse peoples across the globe for millennia. Migratory flows, whether forced or voluntary, shape the way individuals “imagine” and construct their communities. This thematic track equips students with the knowledge and tools to understand and analyze the multiple influences of migration and diaspora at a global, national and local scales. In addition to theories of migration and issues of rights, students will examine specific case studies that highlight topics such as justice, belonging, and the migrant experience. GMDS offers students powerful insights into diasporas, exiles, refugees and other types of migrations and the international laws and global forces that shape them. The program’s interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives will allow students to understand and participate in the rich debates around the world.
Language/Culture: See Language Study above.
Track Requirements: Students majoring in IGS/Migration and Diaspora Studies must take 5 thematic courses—in at least three departments across two divisions—from the list of approved courses.
- One Introductory course
- Two courses in causes of population shifts
- One course on race and ethnicity
- One course the migrant’s experience
Study Abroad: All Global Migration and Diaspora Studies majors must study a foreign language and study abroad in at least one region corresponding to that language. Because issues relating to migration and diaspora transcend countries and regions, majors may learn any language taught at Middlebury. Students wishing to study in programs that focus on Migration Studies in an English-speaking environment may do so, provided that they also study at least one semester in the region corresponding to their language.
Senior Requirements: See Senior Program above.
Global Security Studies
Security concerns are generated by a constellation of economic, political, historical, and environmental forces and are experienced at different scales—from the local to the global, and from the individual to the state. By drawing on courses from various departments, this track exposes students to security issues along three dimensions: global, international, and societal. The track highlights strategic concerns and issues of injustice, as well as the causes of insecurity over time and how it is experienced cross-culturally.
Language/Culture: See Language Study above.
Track Requirements: Students must take 5 thematic courses, in at least three departments and across two divisions. They must take one introductory course, two courses on international security issues, one course on societal security issues, and one course on global security issues.
Study Abroad: Security Studies majors must learn a foreign language and study abroad for at least one semester in the region corresponding to that language. Because security issues transcend countries and regions, majors may learn any language taught at Middlebury. Students who wish to study security issues abroad in an English language environment may do so, provided that they also study at least one semester in the region corresponding to their language.
Senior Requirements: See Senior Program above.