Students are encouraged to be innovative and work alongside their advisors to develop different ways to expand their growth as global citizens. After taking prescribed courses GLIS 101N Globalization and GLIS 102N Pathways to Global Studies, students select a specialization in one of five Pathways: Human Rights, Culture and Identity, Global Conflict, Wealth and Inequality, and Health and Environment.
The prescribed Seminar in Global and International Studies (GLIS 400Y) fosters a community of students with a common sense of global identity while guiding them to develop their writing skills via a research project that demonstrates mastery of the program learning outcomes. This class should be taken in the students’ third or fourth year as it allows them to integrate and synthesize knowledge gained over their coursework from multiple disciplines in their pathway.
GLIS offers both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree. The B.A. degree requires six credits beyond the 12-credit proficiency level in a foreign language, or six credits at any level in a second foreign language. The B.S. degree requires six credits in technological or quantitative coursework appropriate to the social sciences. Both degrees may include a significant engaged scholarship experience (such as undertaking an internship, job, volunteer position, or period of study) located either abroad or in a majority non-English-speaking part of the United States.
Requirements for the Major
- 36 credits
Prescribed Courses (9 credits):
- GLIS 101N (3) Globalization (Semesters 1-4)
- GLIS 102N (3) Pathways to Global Studies (Semesters 1-4)
- GLIS 400Y (3) Seminar in Global and International Studies (Semesters 6-8)
Additional Courses (21 credits):
Select 21 credits from the Global Pathways. For lists of approved courses in each pathway, click the desired option below:
- 15 credits of these 21 will be in a single Pathway (no more than 6 credits towards the Pathway are to be from courses in a single department).
- 6 credits of these 21 are from other Pathways.
At least 12 credits must be taken at the 400 level or higher.
Students may also contact the director of undergraduate studies to request that a class not currently listed as an approved pathways course count toward one of the pathways. To do so, students should submit the course syllabus, along with which pathway they want the course to count toward, by email to glis@psu.edu.
The GLIS program encourages real-world experience that embodies the spirit of global citizenship. To this end, credits from Education Abroad or a for-credit internship may count toward Pathways with approval from the director of undergraduate studies. Students can find out more about course equivalency for Education Abroad and submit their syllabi for pre-approval two months prior to the beginning of their program via the Course Equivalency Process page. To receive academic credit for an internship, students must request approval of your internship prior to beginning it and register for LA 495. See the College of the Liberal Arts’ guidelines on academic credit for internships for more details.
B.A. Degree World Language Requirement:
Select EITHER 6 credits in a language beyond 12th-credit level proficiency, OR 6 credits in a second foreign language, or equivalent proficiencies. Courses must be taught in the language, i.e., not in English.
B.S. Degree Quantitative and Technological Skills Requirement:
- Take MATH 021 College Algebra I (3).
- Choose 3 credits from one of the following: STAT 100 Statistical Concepts and Reasoning (3), STAT 200 Elementary Statistics (3), STAT 220 Basic Statistics for Quantitative Students (3), SOC 207 Research Methods in Sociology (3), or PSYCH 200 Elementary Statistics in Psychology (4).
- Select 21 credits in related areas, such as engineering, business, natural science, data science, mathematics, AI, humanities, social sciences, or in another area where competency in Global and International Studies is desirable. The courses are to be selected in consultation with an advisor. Students are encouraged to pursue a minor or a second major that will complement their GLIS major. At least six credits must be at the 400-level.
