Majors

The majors under the International & Area Studies IDP are similarly structured, providing the intellectual tools needed to engage in international studies through courses from the International Societies & Cultures and International Politics & Markets categories, which provide students with a common intellectual foundation, as well as in-depth multidisciplinary exposure to modern issues regarding the world area of a student’s choice.

• African & Middle Eastern Studies Major
• Asian Studies Major
• European Studies Major
• Latin American Studies Major

Each of the area studies majors under International & Area Studies IDP require students to choose among a set of preparation courses, including I A Std 1. Introduction to International and Area Studies (a GE under the following foundation category: Society and Culture-Social Analysis), and also ensuring that area-specific content proceeds in tandem with instruction in the disciplines that will provide the tools for analyzing the cultures, social structures, polities, histories of the areas in which students wish to focus.  The disciplinary component of each major will focus on two themes: International Politics & Markets as well as International Societies & Cultures.  Instruction in these thematic areas will take place at both the preparation and the upper division levels, with the former providing the necessary foundation for more advanced work. Each major also entails substantial interdisciplinary coursework with a focus on modern international issues, with the upper division area specific courses divided between a minimum of three courses in the Humanities and three courses in the Social Sciences.  Each major then culminates in a senior capstone seminar, I A Std 191. Variable Topics Senior Research Seminars: International and Area Studies, with the topic being either area focused or thematically focused across regions.

Please note:  UCLA students who are planning to pursue any major under the International & Area Studies IDP must apply to it.  The application period is the end of the Fall Quarter of the Junior Year.  More information about the application can be found at the Applying to the International & Area Studies Majors link.

Minors

The International & Area Studies IDP also offers a series of area studies minors, which allow students to focus their interest in a particular region of the world.  It is an ideal complement to all majors across UCLA.

• African Studies Minor
• African & Middle Eastern Studies Minor
• European Studies Minor
• East Asian Studies Minor
• Latin American Studies Minor
• South Asian Studies Minor
• Southeast Asian Studies Minor

For more information about each of these programs, please refer to the relevant major and minor worksheets.