Students must complete six quarter or equivalent proficiency (2 years) of an Asia Pacific Language. Each language corresponds to a respective GPS Regional/Country Specialization on which the student will concentrate during their final year of study as a graduate student:

Latin America

• Spanish
• Brazilian Portuguese

China

• Chinese (Mandarin)

Japan

• Japanese

Korea

• Korean

Southeast Asia

• Bahasa Indonesian
• Burmese**
• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Thai**
• Tagalog**
• Vietnamese**

**If UCSD does not offer instruction in a language, students must then demonstrate proficiency through native speaking ability (as demonstrated by coursework in native language) or by examination.

Completion of at least 4 quarters of language or equivalent proficiency required prior to graduating with Bachelor of Arts Degree. Final 2 quarters of language can be taken during final graduate year.

Overview of ways to satisfy Language Requirement

• Completion of the sixth quarter college-level foreign language course
• Proficiency Exam
• AP Language or Literature Exam
• IB Language Exam
• SAT II Language Exam
• Graduation from high school outside of the United States

For inquiries about how to fulfill the the GPS language requirement, please reach out to gps-studentaffairs@ucsd.edu. 

All courses must be taken for a letter grade of C- or better.

Calculus

• MATH 10A-B-C. Calculus

-or-

• MATH 20A-B-C. Calculus for Science and Engineering

Economics

• ECON 1. Principles of Microeconomics
• ECON 2.  Market Imperfections and Policy
• ECON 3.  Principles of Macroeconomics

International Studies Core Courses (3 courses)

All courses are 4-units and must be taken for a letter grade of C- or better.

For Students Beginning the INTL Course Sequence in Fall 2024:

• INTL 100. Analysis, Argument, and Real World Problems 
• INTL 101. Culture and Society in International Perspective (Prerequisite: INTL 100)
• INTL 102. Economics, Politics, and International Change (Prerequisite: INTL 100)
  •  INTL 190 seminars with a regional/country focus may be taken to fulfill an ISP regional requirement.

INTL 102 may be taken before INTL 101.

For ISP Students who have already taken INTL 101 and/or INTL 102 by Spring 2024:

• INTL 101. Culture and Society in International Perspective
• INTL 102. Economics, Politics, and International Change
• INTL 190. Seminar in International Studies (Prerequisites: INTL 101 and INTL 102)

INTL 102 may be taken before INTL 101. Both INTL 101 and INTL 102 must be completed before INTL 190. The INTL core courses must be taken at UC San Diego.

You may not take INTL 100 instead of INTL 190.

All courses must be taken for a letter grade of C- or better.

Political Science Primary Track (8 courses)

• Five (5) upper-division courses selected from the approved list:
  • Comparative Politics:
    • POLI 120 – POLI 138D*
  • International Relations:
    • POLI 140A – POLI 154ª
  • Policy Analysis:
    • POLI 117. Bending the Curve: Solutions to Climate Change
    • POLI 117R. Bending the Curve: Solutions to Climate Change
    • POLI 160AA – POLI 168
  • Research Methods:
    • POLI 181A-B-C

*POLI 120A and POLI 136 will not be accepted prior to Fall 2022.
ªPOLI 142K will not be accepted prior to Fall 2022.

• Three (3) graduate level courses to be taken senior  year:
  • GPCO 400. Policy-Making Processes
  • GPCO 410. International Politics and Security
  • GPCO 412. Globalization, the World System, and the Pacific

All courses must be taken for a letter grade of C- or better.

• All GPCO courses must be taken for a letter grade; graduate level passing is a B. 

GPS Methods Courses (2 courses)

• GPCO 453. Quantitative Methods I
• GPCO 454. Quantitative Methods II

• Regional Requirement is focused on the SAME REGION.

• Of the seven (7) upper-division Economics and Political Science courses above, three (3) may be used as overlap.
  
  • Possible regions include:
    • Africa
    • East Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East

• International Studies Regional Requirement does not need to match GPS Regional Specialization/Language.

BA/MIA students are required to complete a professional internship during the summer between their fourth and fifth year. 

The value of an internship is in exploring career possibilities, developing contacts, and extending and obtaining new skills and insights. GPS Career Services works with students to direct them toward the best internship given their career interests. GPS interns have worked all over the world in a wide scope of jobs that transcend their GPS specialties. Internships are found in a wide range of settings and fields, including:

• International Development and Nonprofit Management interns work with international nonprofits, international organizations, foundations, and in the development policy field. Development interns have worked on refugee return issues, health initiatives, and in microfinance.
• International Economics interns work with U.S. and foreign government ministries, private firms, and research think tanks on trade policy, exchange rate management and economic forecasting.
• International Environmental Policy interns work with advocacy organizations and multilateral actors on environmental policy issues ranging from forest conservation, cross border watershed management and agricultural production issues.
• Management interns work in a variety of firms in fields such as finance, strategic marketing, supply chain management, and corporate social responsibility and consulting with Fortune 500 firms and small businesses working in the international business environment.
• Politics and Public Policy interns work with U.S. and foreign government agencies, as well as political research and advocacy groups across a wide range of interests including diplomacy, trade promotion, and education policy.

Career tracks are designed for Master of International Affairs students to acquire expertise in a functional area of their choice and consist of five courses from a prescribed list: two required and three electives. Students will choose one of the following career tracks:

International Development and Nonprofit Management

Provides theoretical and quantitative tools to understand and evaluate policy in development contexts, as nonprofit organizations play a major role in the development arena.

Sample Classes

• Economic Development
• Program Design and Evaluation
• Quantitative Methods III
• GIS and Spatial Analysis
• Food Security
• Topics in China’s Development
• Human Rights, Public Policy and International Politics

International Economics

Courses in international economics, politics and political economy supply analytical tools for solving international policy and economic challenges.

Sample Classes

• Fiscal and Monetary Policy
• Topics in International Trade
• Economic Policy in Latin America
• Economics of Trade Policy
• Cost-Benefit Analysis
• East Asian Economics
• Quantitative Methods III
• Corruption
• International Economic Agreements

International Environmental Governance

Provides knowledge of environmental policy while developing expertise in a disciplinary field: environmental economics, politics and the environment, business and the environment or environmental negotiations.

Sample Classes:

• International Environmental Policy and Politics
• Environmental and Regulatory Economics
• Political Economy of Energy in Asia
• Non-Market Valuation
• International Politics of Energy Policy
• Economics of Energy Policy
• Advanced Energy Systems and Policy
• Sustainable Development
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Cost-Benefit Analysis

International Management 

Courses in international economics, politics and political economy supply analytical tools for solving the distinctive problems of international business. A combination of focused management training and broad exposure to global business and economics produces a unique international business education.

Sample Courses:

• International Business
• Technology and Operations Management
• Organizations
• Applied Financial Accounting
• Corporate Finance
• Comparative Market Institutions
• Government and Regulation
• Multi-National Corporations
• Game Theory and Strategy
• Product Development

International Politics 

Provides a conceptual foundation for analyzing and understanding the political, economic and military components of international policymaking, as well as expertise on specific economic and security issues.

Sample Classes:

• International Law and Regulation
• Cyber Security
• Making U.S. Foreign Policy
• Post-War Politics in Japan
• Democratization in Latin America
• Korean Security
• Cuba: Revolution and Reform
• Political Economy of Authoritarian Regimes
• Debating U.S. Security Policy
• Financing the Chinese Miracle

Note: Course schedules are published on a quarterly basis and are subject to change without notice. Some elective courses that can be applied to meet career track requirements may not be offered in a given academic quarter or academic year.

The country/regional specializations were established in recognition of the growing importance of the Pacific region to the U.S. and the world, and have two components:

• Two designated course: one on the economy and a second on the political institution(s) of the country/region.
• A language requirement

Dual specialization requires the student to complete the coursework and language requirement for both regions.

Courses taken for a country/regional specialization may not be double counted.

Students will choose one of the following country/regional specializations:

• China
• Japan
• Korea
• Latin America
• Southeast Asia