Welcome
Students at the University of North Carolina live in an increasingly globalized society. It is crucial that they develop a fuller understanding of the variable nature of earth’s people and nations. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with its rich diversity of programs possessing a strong international focus and its strong commitment to study abroad, provides an exceptional learning environment for the study of these critical issues.
Read about how the Curriculum in Global Studies achieves this mission.
News & Features
Global Studies Spring 2023 Commencement Information
Global Studies Welcomes Julian Lindsay-Kaufman
Global Studies Statement on Earthquakes in Turkey & Syria
The UNC Curriculum in Global Studies stands with the people of Turkey and Syria in the wake of two devastating earthquakes on February 6, 2023. The scale of the destruction and the loss of life in these earthquakes have been unprecedented and the humanitarian crisis is ongoing. The death toll exceeds 41,000 and is expected to increase. Exponentially more have been injured. Dozens of countries around the world have sent search and rescue teams to assist their Turkish and Syrian counterparts and the international community has been raising funds to help the survivors. However, the social, political, and economic aftereffects of these earthquakes will continue for much longer. We invite our Global Studies community to stand in solidarity with those affected by the earthquakes and support the recovery efforts. Read more here if interested in donating to relief organizations on the ground in Turkey & Syria.
Meet the team of the Global Gazette
The team at The Global Gazette, founded and led by Global Studies MA students, received one of Arts Everywhere’s Student Arts Innovation Grants in April 2022. Their project is a campus publication that spotlights experiences and understandings of globalization, and promotes various modalities of knowing and expression. The Global Gazette publishes both artistic and academic works, including research papers and projects, as well as photography, videography, music, and visual art. Read more below to learn about the project, their first issue, and what’s on the horizon for the publication!
Global Studies Welcomes Fall 2022 MA Cohort
On August 12th, Global Studies hosted an orientation session for our Fall 2022 cohort of MA students. This group of 10 incoming students marks the 9th class admitted into our graduate program since its launch in Fall 2014. We are excited to have their energy and intellect on our campus!
Fall 2023 Global Studies MA Program Application Now Open
Fall 2023 applications to our dynamic, interdisciplinary MA program are now being accepted.
For those interested in funding opportunities, please apply by December 13th, 2022. All other applications should be submitted by the final deadline of February 14th, 2023.
Learn more and apply here: globalstudies.unc.edu/masters/admiss
Spring 2022 Newsletter
The Curriculum in Global Studies Spring 2022 newsletter is out! Click here to see what our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students accomplished in the Spring 2022 semester as well as learn about some of our dynamic faculty.
Global Studies Statement on Ukraine
In light of recent events, we in the Curriculum of Global Studies mourn the violence brought upon the Ukrainian people and the flouting of territorial sovereignty and international law that Russia has displayed. We stand with our students, faculty and staff who are affected by this war and offer our heartfelt support. We also recognize that many around the world are experiencing the displacement, loss, and trauma associated with war, in many places, some of which get more or less attention [due to systemic biases and blindspots].
We acknowledge the ways in which our students are affected by this and ongoing conflicts which can make it hard to simply go about life as if everything was fine. We stand with our students in these trying times and invite all those impacted to seek support among your peers, faculty, staff, or other UNC resources (including Counseling and Psychological Services) . We also want to invite you to let us know how we in the Curriculum can be of help.
Global Studies Welcomes Fall 2021 MA Cohort
On August 13th, Global Studies hosted an orientation session for our Fall 2021 cohort of MA students. This group of 15 incoming students marks the 8th class admitted into our graduate program since its launch in Fall 2014. We are excited to have their energy and intellect on our campus!
Banu Gokariksel Appointed Chair of the Curriculum in Global Studies
Dr. Banu Gökarıksel, professor of geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been appointed to a four-year term as chair of the Curriculum in Global Studies.
Gökarıksel holds an impressive record of leadership and scholarship at Carolina. A faculty member since 2005, she recently completed a three-year term as the Caroline H. and Thomas S. Royster Distinguished Professor for Graduate Education at The Graduate School. In addition to her role as a core faculty member with the Department of Geography, she has a joint appointment in the Curriculum in Global Studies, teaching geography and multidisciplinary courses at the graduate and undergraduate level. Her research interests lie in religion as well as feminist political and cultural geographies. Gökarıksel also has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies at Duke University.
Gökarıksel succeeds Dr. Arne Kalleberg, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology, who held the position from 2019-2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalleberg’s tenure resulted in many successes, including several seminars that brought together global studies faculty and other faculty from across campus to discuss ways of adding more global content to courses and ways of decolonizing global studies and dismantling racism.
While Gökarıksel is on research leave in Fall 2021, Dr. Jonathan Weiler, the curriculum’s associate chair and director of undergraduate studies, will serve as interim chair.
Global Studies Faculty Recognized as Tyson Academic Leadership Fellow

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