Our Philosophy

There are many wonderful ways in which to prepare for an international career at the University of Arizona. A student can major in one of the excellent area study programs (East Asian Studies, Latin America Studies, Near Eastern Studies), work toward the International Business Certificate offered by the School of Business and Public Administration, or pursue a Political Science degree with an international politics concentration. A student could major in one of the fine language programs, anthropology, or linguistics, to name but a few options. The list of choices is impressive and growing. Why, given the many avenues to an international education, might a student enter the IDS/International Studies Concentration to earn an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree? Funny you should ask.

First, the IDS/IS program is just that: an interdisciplinary studies (IDS) program housed in The Honors College. The main difference from other IDS degrees is that we have "pre-orchestrated" some of the intellectual mergers required of all IDS students. The spirit of IDS is inherent in the program. Created long ago for students who sought to merge disparate fields for highly specific purposes, the IDS umbrella gives us - in addition to a very cumbersome name - a mandate to train students in multiple disciplines. Mastery of global issues requires understanding from a number of perspectives, and we are problem-driven and opportunity-oriented rather than focused on the methodologies and knowledge of a given discipline. The IDS/IS degree program is administered by International Studies and Scholarships in conjunction with a group of faculty mentors. While we are based in The Honors College, it is not necessary for IDS/IS majors to be Honors College students.

Secondly, IDS/IS offers a vehicle though which students can work closely with faculty mentors to customize a degree within guidelines specified by the University and our faculty mentors. Put directly, the program is not for everyone;

there are advantages and disadvantages to customization. To succeed in such a program requires great self-discipline, a sense of initiative, and a willingness to undertake strenuous academic requirements. Fluency in a second language is emphasized, overseas study is anticipated, extensive writing is normal, internet skills are essential, and a senior capstone thesis is mandatory. Yet most IDS/IS students are thriving, largely because they have worked hard to define their career path for the years immediately after college. By addressing questions easily postponed or entirely avoided, International Studies students have come to see the great paradox of an IDS/International Studies degree. Though we have a cumbersome name that is, by definition, the broadest name in the world, IDS/IS majors actually graduate having completed highly specific programs, degrees that are indeed very focused.

The merit of that strategy is twofold. First, specificity of direction, backed by courses integrated with logical intellectual and professional goals, is a solid career strategy. Secondly, and of greater importance, IDS/IS students normally feel a sense of ownership over their program. After all, they help to design the program. With that ownership come both responsible professionalism and high motivation. Equipped with those attributes, people succeed