IAFS Major Requirements - Declared Fall 2023 or later

If you are not sure when you declared IAFS as your major, it is listed as the "Catalog Year" at the top of your Degree Audit information.

For the Semester Lists of Courses, please make sure you are looking at the correct list (grey button). 

Reach out to your IAFS Advisor with any questions. 

  • Complete the following five courses (18 credit hours total):
IAFS 1000Global Issues and International Affairs
PSCI 2223Introduction to International Relations
PSCI 2012Introduction to Comparative Politics
ECON 2010Principles of Microeconomics
ECON 2020Principles of Macroeconomics
  • Complete the following three courses (10 credit hours total):
IAFS 1000Global Issues and International Affairs
PSCI 2223Introduction to International Relations
PSCI 2012Introduction to Comparative Politics

Students are required to complete 6–8 credit hours in economics/methods. Choose two courses from the following list. Some of the courses listed may have required or recommended prerequisites.

ANTH 4000Quantitative Methods in Anthropology (3 credits)
ECON 2010Principles of Microeconomics (4 credits)
ECON 2020Principles of Macroeconomics (4 credits)
GEOG 3023Statistics and Geographic Data (4 credits
GEOG 4023Advanced Quantitative Methods for Spatial Data (4 credits)
IAFS/ENVS 3640Data Analysis for Global Environmental Affairs (3 credits)
PSCI 2075Quantitative Research Methods (3 credits)
PSCI 3035Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits)
PSCI 3075Applied Political Science Research (3 credits)
SOCY 2061Introduction to Social Statistics (3 credits)
WGST 3020Feminist Methods of Inquiry and Praxis (3 credits)
  • Complete one class in each of the four functional areas and complete two additional classes in any functional area (6 classes, 18 credit hours)
  • Students cannot apply more than four functional area classes from one department (i.e., PSCI, ECON). 

Click here for the permanent list of functional area classes. Our four functional areas are: 
Functional Area I: Development and Culture
Functional Area II: International Economics, Business, and Political Economy
Functional Area III: Political Geography, International Security, and Foreign Policy
Functional Area IV: Institutions, Rights, and Norms

  • Complete three classes in your geographic concentration (3 classes, 9 credit hours).

Click here for the permanent list of geographic concentration classes. Students are required to complete three classes concentrating on one of the four following global regions: Africa/Middle East, Asia, Europe/Eurasia, or Latin America. Students must choose a geographic concentration no later than the beginning of their junior year.

Geographic concentration coursework should be mainly in the social sciences, must include one course in contemporary history and can include a maximum of three credits of regional literature and arts (taught in the foreign language whenever possible).

(1 class, 3 credit hours)

Complete one of the following:

IAFS 4500 or
IAFS 4800 (1 class, 3 credit hours) or
PACS 4500 (for IAFS majors enrolled in the PACS certificate only)

Minimum requirement: Third-year, university-level proficiency in a world language appropriate to the area of concentration. This requirement may be met through completion of two 3000-level grammar courses in the language (except Spanish; see below).

Notes on world language proficiency:

  • Majors must declare their language with their IAFS academic advisor by the end of their sophomore year. Special circumstances of language proficiency to meet these requirements must be resolved by the end of the sophomore year.
  • Students pursuing a language offered at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder should take the placement test of the individual language department by the end of sophomore year. Students must take at least the final semester of the required language sequence at the 3000 level.
  • If a student seeks a proficiency waiver from the language requirements by testing out of a language not offered at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder or if the student is a native speaker of a world language, the student must consult with their IAFS academic advisor by the end of the sophomore year.
  • For language study while on study abroad, please consult your IAFS academic advisor.

Specific Requirement by Language

For the following languages, the third-year courses which will fulfill the language requirement are:

Language  Courses     Geographic
Concentration(s)
ArabicARAB 3110 & 3120Africa/Middle East
ChineseCHIN 3110 & 3120Asia
FarsiFRSI 3110 & 3120Africa/Middle East
FrenchFREN 3010 & 3050Africa/Middle East
Europe/Eurasia
GermanGRMN 3010 & 3020Europe/Eurasia
HebrewHEBR 3010 & 3020Africa/Middle East
HindiHIND 3110 & 3120Asia
ItalianITAL 3015 & one of the following:
ITAL 3025, 3030, or 3040
Europe/Eurasia
JapaneseJPNS 3110 & 3120Asia
KoreanKREN 3110 & 3120Asia
PortuguesePORT 3003 & one of the following:
PORT 3230, 4110, or 4150
Europe/Eurasia
Latin America
RussianRUSS 3010 & 3020Europe/Eurasia
SpanishSPAN 3000 OR two of the three following courses: SPAN 3010, SPAN 3100, or SPAN 3120 (with approved prerequisite exemption; contact Spanish and Portuguese for placement exam details)Europe/Eurasia
Latin America
SwedishSWED 3010 & 3020Europe/Eurasia


Tutoring Resources:

Questions?

  • Consult your IAFS academic advisor with questions or to confirm what is necessary to complete the World Language Proficiency requirements.

All students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the College of Arts and Sciences who enter the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall of 2018 or thereafter must complete the new General Education (Gen Ed) requirements.

We encourage all IAFS prospective and current students to contact their IAFS academic advisor if they have additional questions about Gen Ed. The new A&S General Education curriculum consists of three basic categories of requirements: SkillsDistribution, and Diversity. For more information on Ged Ed, visit the A&S webpage.

For the A&S Gen Ed Diversity requirement, students must pass a minimum of 3 credits in each of the two Diversity categories for a total of 6 credits in courses that have been identified as fulfilling diversity learning goals. Students may count the same course toward both the Diversity requirement and the Distribution requirement. Currently, we have identified which classes fulfill IAFS course requirements and fulfill the Gen Ed Diversity requirement.

Global PerspectiveU.S. Perspective
COMM 3410ECON/GEOG 4292
ECON 4784SOCY 4052
GEOG/WGST 3672 
GEOG 3692 
LING 3545 
PSCI 4012 
SOCY/WGST 3012 
PACS 3850 
PHIL 3260 
ARAB/WGST 3410 
HIST 4218 
GEOG 3822 
RUSS 4301 
RUSS/WGST 4771 
SCAN 3206 
PSCI 3052/WMST 3650