Newly Admitted Students

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) credit may be applicable toward your major and College requirements. The following chart determines how AP or IB credit may be applicable to count as lower-division requirements relevant to International Studies (IS) majors. You will not receive additional credit if you take courses from which you are exempt. For the most accurate information refer to the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) pages.

Advanced Placement (AP)

International Baccalaureate (IB)

For transfer students, completion of Lower Division coursework prior to transferring is strongly encouraged but not required. Completing as much required lower division coursework as possible for your desired major before transfer will help you stay on track for enrollment at UCSD. See lower division requirements listed below. Some high school students may take community college courses as a high school students as well. Please use ASSIST.org to find equivalent courses at your community college.

IS Language Requirement: All students majoring in International Studies are required to demonstrate 4th quarter proficiency in a foreign language. There are many ways in which to complete the requirement for the International Studies major and minor prior to matriculation to UC San Diego.

Plan ahead! Students may study abroad or participate in an internship while earning academic credit towards their ISP major or minor. Refer to the petition process to learn more about how to apply these experiences as academic credits to ISP requirements. 

• Study Abroad
• UCDC Program - Internship in Washington DC
• UC Center Sacramento (UCCS) - Internship in Sacramento, California
• Academic Internship Program (AIP)

Many academic departments and programs on campus offer minors which complement students' major coursework. The list below highlights minors that may be of interest to students in the International Studies Program. A complete list of all undergraduate minors and information on how to declare a minor can be found on Blink.

Students may not declare a minor in the same department as their discipline. For example, International Studies - Economics students, may not declare a minor in Economics or Management Science. There is one exception to this policy: International Studies - Linguistics students may minor in General Linguistics, Language Studies or Speech and Language Sciences.

The International Studies Program and the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) have collaborated to create a combined five-year Bachelor of Arts / Master of International Affairs program (BA/MIA).

We offer three degree pathways open to students in the International Studies Program:

• BA/MIA International Studies Economics
• BA/MIA International Studies International Business
• BA/MIA International Studies Political Science

International Studies Student Association (ISSA)

The official student organization of the International Studies Program (ISP) at the University of California, San Diego. The organization gathers like-minded individuals who share diverse interests in international studies and international relations. ISSA provides a platform of rich experiences and opportunities in international studies. Members are not required to be IS majors.

IS Honors Program

The IS Honors Program recognizes and promotes academic excellence in the major by allowing qualified students to complete an honors thesis in close collaboration with a member of the UC San Diego faculty. You must meet the requirements, apply and be accepted into the program to participate.

Advice from ISP Alumni

ISP Academic Advising

Your ISP Academic Advisors are available during in-person/virtual drop-in hours, by appointment and through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC). Please see the ISP Academic Advising page to learn more.

ISP First Year Student Orientation - August 2023 

ISP Transfer Student Orientation - August 2023 

ISP Transfer Orientation 2023 by GPS Student Affairs

Check to see if you will have satisfied the major's language requirement. If not, it is important that you enroll in the appropriate level of language in fall quarter. You will need to take a placement exam to determine the proper level and enrollment.

Prioritize enrolling in your college writing course (if applicable) as it is a prerequisite for INTL 101 and INTL 102. Once you complete your college writing course, you can enroll in INTL 101 or 102.

Consider enrolling in one of your upper division Disciplinary Focus or Interdisciplinary Elective/Regional Requirement courses. Please note that you are responsible for completing all prerequisites for these upper division courses, so it is important to pay attention to these when planning your schedule.

• Review your general education (GE) requirements with your college advising office
• We recommend enrolling in 12-16 units during your first quarter at UC San Diego. 12 units are considered full-time status. Keep in mind that you will be adjusting to a new school and the pace of the quarter system (10 weeks), so enroll in an academic load that is most manageable for you.
• Be sure to visit plans.ucsd.edu to review an academic plan the includes your major requirements and college general education requirements.

The only courses which may be taken for a P/NP grading option for International Studies majors are language courses. Language courses may be taken for P/NP or a letter grade of C- or better. All other major requirements must be taken for a letter grade of C- or above.

Yes, all International Studies majors are open (not capped) majors, and students can easily switch into the major or into another discipline online after they have enrolled in classes for their first quarter.