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What is Global Studies?
Global Studies is an interdisciplinary curriculum that brings together diverse perspectives and methods to analyze the complex relationships between local, national, and global structures.
The knowledge and skills that students build in our curriculum enable developing effective and innovative responses to some of the world’s most critical challenges. Global issues like racial and gender injustice, economic inequality, increasing war and conflict, migration and displacement, and environmental crisis both affect and are affected by a myriad of factors that range greatly in scope: from individual actions, local histories, and grassroots movements to state policies, regional institutions, and international relations.
The Curriculum in Global Studies helps students understand the complexity of these issues by exploring intricate frameworks of analysis drawn from multiple academic disciplines and guided by internationally renowned faculty across more than ten departments at UNC. Global Studies majors are able to use these resources to tailor the curriculum to their individual goals.
Launching a Career With a Degree in Global Studies
The Curriculum in Global Studies combines a global perspective with regional and linguistic expertise and a diverse skill set to prepare students for graduate education and jobs in a variety of fields. The Curriculum’s interdisciplinary training offers flexibility and adaptability that are crucial for continued success in shifting job markets or individual and global circumstances.
Our alumni have pursued successful careers across the public and private sectors, including in governmental and non-governmental organizations, foreign service, and law to healthcare, global business, and consulting.
For a few examples of the professional pathways that a degree in Global Studies can open, read about our alumni below.
Alumni Career SpotlightsMeet Craig Silliman
Global Studies (International Studies) ’89 alumnus
President of Verizon Global Services. World Traveler.
Read full interview“The year I spent studying abroad in Seville, Spain was transformative for me. I still remember feeling intensely alive as my senses were bombarded with new sights, sounds and smells. Being outside my comfort zone was both unsettling and exhilarating and helped me to grow as a person. Three decades later, I have more memories of that year in Seville than of my other three years of college combined.” Read more.
Mission
Students at the University of North Carolina live in an increasingly globalized society; it is crucial to develop a fuller understanding of the variable nature of earth’s people and nations.
To this end, the mission of the Curriculum is to bring together multiple disciplinary approaches and methods to build a global understanding and a tool kit to address global issues that affect communities, societies, and the environment. Global Studies students develop thematic and regional expertise and language skills as foundations for this global knowledge.
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Global Studies Students
Learn more about Global Studies student organizations and projects.
Students