Contact
the Program
Towson University Overview
Founded in 1866, Towson State University began as the Maryland State Normal School. The institution changed its name to Towson State Teacher's College in 1935 and with the creation of an arts and sciences program, became Towson State College in 1946. Towson State became a university in 1976 and changed its name to Towson University in 1997. Towson University is a comprehensive metropolitan university located in suburban Baltimore. It is the largest university in the Baltimore metropolitan area with 16,647 students enrolled during the Fall 1999 semester. 2,666 of these students were graduate students. Towson University offers 60 undergraduate majors and 33 master's level programs. No graduate degrees are offered in International Studies. Towson University serves the higher education needs of students from the Baltimore region, central Maryland, and many adjoining mid-Atlantic states. 18% of the students are out-of-state students and 3% are international students. The programs and services are designed to serve students in the top third of the high school graduates in Maryland.
Towson University is located on a rolling, wooded, 320 acre campus in Towson, Maryland, the county seat of Baltimore County (pop. 692,000). The campus is approximately 2 miles north of the Baltimore City line and about 50 miles north of Washington, DC. Its location places Towson University close to centers of local, state, and national government agencies and near major international business centers.
Towson State University is a constituent institution of the University System of Maryland. Other campuses in the system include the University of Maryland at College Park, University of Baltimore, and nine other universities and two research centers. (see (http://www.usmh.usmd.edu/) This offers many opportunities for coordinating programs and resources with the other universities in the system. The International Studies Program does make some use of this collaboration, especially in the area of international education.
The Department of Political Science and the International Studies Program are located within the College of Liberal Arts at Towson University. Other departments in the College of Liberal Arts include the Departments of Anthropology, Criminology, & Sociology; English, Geography & Environmental Planning; History, Foreign Languages; Philosopy; and Psychology. Other interdisciplinary programs administered by the college include Women's Studies, Gerontology, Metropolitan Studies, and Law & American Civilization.
Program
Overview
The International Studies
Program at Towson University was founded in 1968 as an interdisciplinary
undergraduate major leading to a B.A. in International Studies. In
recent years, the program enrollment has fluctuated from around 90 to about
150 majors. The program does not offer any graduate degrees at this time.
The goal of the International Studies Program is to provide students with
an understanding of international affairs that prepares them for further
study in graduate or professional education or that prepares them to enter
the world of international business or public service. To meet this
goal, the program attempts to accomplish the following five objectives:
1. Provide a solid grounding
in the nature and structure of the international system and its culture,
economy, geography, history, and politics.
2. Provide a theoretical
basis for understanding how and why the international system works.
3. Develop skills that will
aid the student in work, research, and further study in international affairs.
4. Provide an opportunity
for students to specialize in a regional area (such as Latin America or
Western Europe) or to specialize their studies in a functional area (such
as international economics or international politics).
5. Provide an opportunity
for experiential learning through internships, study abroad, the Model
Organization of American States, editorial work on the Towson University
Journal of International Affairs, and campus seminars.
Program Administration
The International Studies
Committee performs the administrative role that faculty normally fulfill
in an academic department. That is, the members of the Committee
collectively decide on the curriculum and the direction of the program,
they serve as academic advisors for the students in the International Studies
Major, and they assist the Director in the daily administration of the
program as needed. Currently there are 13 members of the International
Studies Committee drawn from the departments of Anthropology & Sociology,
Economics, Geography, History, Management (Business), Foreign Languages,
and Political Science, the Career Center and the Office of International
Education. The daily operation of the program is the responsibility
of the Director of the Program. The director is a tenure track/tenured
faculty member in the Department of Political Science.
The Director of International
Studies performs the administrative role that a chair normally fulfills
in an academic department. That is, the Director makes final decisions
about waiving academic requirements, decides about transfer credits that
can be applied toward a student's completion of the major, assigns students
to advisors, certifies students' completion of requirements for graduation,
manages the budget, maintains student records, submits courses to the schedule,
represents the program in other meetings on and off campus, and manages
the daily administration of the program. In official correspondence
and paperwork, the Director's signature is used in place of the signature
of a chair of the academic department.
Curriculum
The International Studies
Program is implementing a revised curriculum beginning in the Fall 2000
semester. This curriculum is designed to give students the opportunity
either to focus their studies on a regional or topical track or to experience
the broad multidisciplinary nature of the major. All students must complete
48 credits (16 courses) in International Studies to complete the major.
Students must complete the core curriculum described below (27 credits)
and then must complete one of five tracks of courses (21 credits).
The five tracks are the General track, International Development track, Asia track, Europe track, and Latin
America track. The purpose of the tracks is to provide students an
opportunity to apply what they learned in the core curriculum to an issue
or region of their choice. All 16 courses must be completed with
a grade of 2.00 (C) or higher. It is recommended that students complete
the foundation courses in the core curriculum before proceeding to the
rest of the curriculum.
Students must achieve a level
of proficiency equivalent to four semesters of college level language training
in a foreign language that is offered by or can be tested by the
Department of Foreign Languages. The language selected may depend
upon the International Studies track the student chooses. For example,
students in the Latin America track must achieve proficiency in Spanish.
Students can fulfill the language requirement for the International Studies
major through any of the procedures outlined in the "Meeting B.A. Requirements"
section of the Department of Modern Languages entry in the college catalog.
Lower division courses taken in a modern language do not count toward the
48 credits needed to complete the International Studies major. Please see course catalog for updated course requirements.
I. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
CORE COURSES
A. Foundation Courses-
(15 Credits) Students must take all of the following courses.
| ANTH 207 |
Cultural Anthropology |
| ECON 202 |
Macroeconomic Principles |
| GEOG 105 |
Geography of International
Affairs |
| HIST 161 |
World History Since 1300 |
| POSC 107 |
Introduction to International
Relations |
B. Economics and Management
(3 Credits) Students must take one of the following courses.
| ECON 305 |
Survey of International
Economics |
| ECON 324 |
Comparative Economic Systems
|
| ECON 326 |
Economic Development |
| ECON 421 |
International Economics |
| MNGT 355 |
International Business |
C. Geography and History
(3 Credits) Students must take one of the following courses.
| GEOG 381 |
Political Geography |
| GEOG 427 |
The Global Economy |
| HIST 103 |
European Civilization since the 17th century |
| HIST 324 |
Democratization in Latin
America |
| HIST 370 |
Diplomatic History of the
United States since 1900 |
D. Political Science
(3 Credits) Students must take one of the following courses.
| POSC 303 |
Theory of International
Relations |
| POSC 337 |
Comparative Governments
of Foreign Powers |
| POSC 339 |
Comparative Political Systems |
| POSC 428 |
Political Theory II |
| POSC 434 |
Comparative Foreign Policies |
E. Research and Practicum
(3 Credits) Students must take one of the following courses.
Any 3 credit course
in an approved study abroad program.
OR
INST 493
Internship in International Studies,
| ANTH 491 |
Internship in Anthropology* |
| ANTH 37x |
Ethnographic Field Methods |
| ECON 205 |
Statistics for Business
and Economics* |
| ECON 497 |
Internship in Economics* |
| FREN 497 |
Internship in French* |
| GEOG 491 |
Internship in Geography* |
| GERM 497 |
Internship in German* |
| HIST 300 |
Introduction to Historical Study |
| HIST 493 |
Internship in International Studies* |
LAST 493
| |
Internship in Latin American Studies* |
| POSC 301 |
Research Methods in Political Science |
| POSC 493 |
Internship in Political Science* |
| SPAN 497 |
Internship in Spanish* |
OR
An Honors Thesis if the
topic is approved by the Director of International Studies
* Internships must
be taken for 3 credits and must be in work related to international studies
and must be approved by the student's academic advisor or the Director
of International Studies.
II. INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES TRACKS
The tracks are intended
to provide students with flexibility in designing a curriculum in international
studies that addresses their interests while maintaining academic rigor
and focus. Students must complete the course requirements for one
of the following tracks. Each track requires a minimum of 21 upper
division credit-hours (7 courses). All special topics courses in all
tracks must appear on that semester's approved list of courses compiled by the
Director of International Studies or receive written approval from the Director
of International Studies. Courses cannot be counted in both the
International Studies Core and a Track. Students must complete all prerequisites
for upper-level courses per that department's requirements.
A. General Track
The general track is intended
to give students a flexible approach to developing their skills and knowledge
in international studies. Students may choose to focus their courses
on a particular discipline (such as Economics or Geography), or to focus
their courses on a particular topic (such as international development),
or to select a broad range of courses that provides them with a general
understanding of international affairs. The entire track must be
approved by the student's academic advisor.
B. International Development Track
The International Development Track is intended to provide students with a thorough understanding of the causes and effects of the problems of persistent international underdevelopment. The track also provides skills that will prepare students to work in international development or to pursue development studies at the graduate level.
C. Asian Track in International
Studies
The Asia track is designed
to offer students an interdisciplinary program of study in various dimensions
of the Asian world. Students may plan a course of study that concentrates
on a particular aspect of Asian civilization or on a particular sub-region
of Asia. One might, for example, focus on the art and philosophy
of various Asian peoples, or, instead, one might choose to concentrate
on Chinese, Indian, or Japanese civilizations, studying both the traditional
and modern society, its physical setting, its political and economic development,
etc. Students interested in Asia should also see the Asian Studies
concentration offered under the Interdisciplinary Studies major. However, students may not pursue both the Asia track in International Studies
and the Asian Studies minor offered under the Interdisciplinary Studies
program.
D. European Track in International
Studies
The Europe track permits
students to apply what they have learned in the international studies curriculum
to European issues and problems. Students may choose courses that
focus their studies on a specific issue, such as European integration,
or they can choose courses that permit them to gain a broader perspective
on European politics, economics, and cultures. The entire track must
be approved by either the student's academic advisor or the Director of
the International Studies Program.
E. Latin America Track
in International Studies
The Latin America track
permits International Studies majors to apply what they learn about international
affairs to the problems and cultures in Central America, South America,
and the Caribbean. Students can choose courses to focus their studies
on specific countries or issues or they can choose courses that provide
a broad overview of international affairs in the region. The entire
track must be approved by either the student's academic advisor or the
Director of the International Studies Program. Students interested in Latin
America should also see the Latin American Studies concentration offered
under the Interdisciplinary Studies major. However, students may
not pursue both the Latin American track in International Studies and a
Latin American Studies minor offered under the Interdisciplinary Studies
program.
III. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
MINORS
The International Studies
Program offers minors in International Studies (general) and European Studies.
For Fall 2009 Course Offerings click here
Contact the International
Studies Program
For further information
about the International Studies Program at Towson University, contact:
Dr. Alison McCartney
Director, International
Studies Program
Department of Political
Science
Towson University
Towson, Maryland 21252
Voice: 410-704-5284
Fax: 410-704-2960
e-mail: inst@towson.edu
