Contacts

Office: Encina Hall Central, Suite 30
Mail Code: 94305-6045
Phone: (650) 498-2931
Email: intlrelations@stanford.edu
Web Site: http://internationalrelations.stanford.edu

Courses offered by the Program in International Relations are listed under the subject code INTNLREL on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site.

Mission of the Program in International Relations

The Program in International Relations (IR) offers an interdisciplinary major and minor that studies the interaction of actors in international politics, including states and non-state actors, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Amnesty International and other NGOs. Topics of study include foreign policy; international conflict and negotiation; war, peace, and international security; terrorism; international trade and economics; human rights, ethics, and humanitarianism; climate change and environmental issues; global health; among others. International relations’ broad scope requires an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon the fields of political science, economics, history, sociology, data science, law, foreign languages, and other fields. The IR major prepares students for careers in the government, nongovernment, and private sectors, and for admission into graduate programs, including law, international policy, business, political science, economics, and journalism.

Bachelor of Arts in International Relations

International Relations (IR) majors pursue a course of study in world politics that includes classes in political science, economics, history, environmental policy, languages, and other fields. IR majors may focus on a range of issues including international security, international trade and finance, political and economic development, human rights and humanitarian policy, democratization, climate change, global health as well as the politics, history, and cultures of other countries and world regions. All IR majors must spend at least one quarter studying abroad and achieve high proficiency (through second-year college level) in a foreign language. The IR major prepares students for careers in the government, nongovernment, and private sectors, and for admission into graduate programs, including law, international policy, business, political science, economics, and journalism.

Minor in International Relations

The International Relations (IR) minor is an interdisciplinary program focusing on how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations between actors in the modern state system. IR minors may focus on a range of issues including international security, international trade and finance, political and economic development, human rights and humanitarian policy, democratization, climate change, global health as well as the politics, history, and cultures of other countries and world regions. IR minors are not required to study abroad or show advanced proficiency in a foreign language. 

Honors Program 

The International Relations (IR) honors program offers qualified IR majors the opportunity to conduct an in-depth independent research project under faculty guidance. Such a project requires a high degree of initiative and dedication, significant amounts of time and energy, and demonstrated skills in research and writing.

In their junior year, students should consult with prospective honors advisors, choose the courses that provide academic background in their areas of inquiry, and demonstrate an ability to conduct independent research. Students can also select to complete an Interdisciplinary honors thesis with other programs on campus.

Prerequisites for participation include a 3.5 grade point average (GPA), a strong overall academic record, good academic standing, successful experience in writing a research paper, and submission of an acceptable thesis proposal.  Students should submit their honors thesis proposal late in Winter Quarter of the junior year; please check with the IR office for the exact deadline. Students are required to enroll in course International Relations Honors Field Research, in Spring Quarter of their junior year and should consider participating in Bing Honors College. In their senior year, honors students must enroll in course International Relations Honors Seminar in Autumn Quarter, course IR Honors Thesis Writing in Winter Quarter, and in research units through course Senior Thesis each quarter of their senior year (Autumn, Winter, and Spring) with their faculty advisor. Honors students present a formal defense of their theses in mid-May. Students must receive at least a grade of ‘B+’ in order to graduate with honors in International Relations.

Coterminal Programs in Related Fields

It is possible for students majoring in International Relations to work simultaneously for a coterminal master’s degree in a number of related fields. Coterminal students should consult advisers in both departments or programs to ensure that they fulfill the degree requirements in both fields. For information on the M.A. program in International Policy, see the International Policy section of this bulletin. University requirements for the coterminal M.A. are described in the Coterminal Master's Degrees section of this bulletin. See also the Registrar's Coterminal Degree Programs pages.

Faculty

Director: Kenneth Schultz (Political Science). 

Faculty Executive Committee: Judith L. Goldstein (Political Science), Norman Naimark (History), Steven Press (History), Kenneth Schultz (Political Science), Kathryn Stoner (Freeman Spogli Institute), Michael Tomz (Political Science). 

Affiliated Faculty: Lisa Blaydes (Political Science), Gordon Chang (History), David Cohen (Classics), Larry J. Diamond (Hoover Institution), Amir Eshel (German Studies), James Fearon (Political Science), Zephyr Frank (History), Francis Fukuyama (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Political Science), Lawrence H. Goulder (Economics), Anna Grzymala-Busse (Political Science), Stephen H. Haber (Political Science), Daniel Ho (Stanford Law School, Political Science), David J. Holloway (History, Political Science), Colin Kahl (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Stephen D. Krasner (Political Science), Beatriz Magaloni (Political Science), Michael McFaul (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Political Science), Robert McGinn (Management Science and Engineering), Brett McGurk (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), H.R. McMaster (Hoover Institution), Rosamond Naylor (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Jean C. Oi (Political Science), Richard Roberts (History), Condoleezza Rice (Political Science, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Jonathan Rodden (Political Science), Scott Sagan (Political Science), Debra M. Satz (Philosophy), Andrew Walder (Sociology), Amir Weiner (History), Jeremy Weinstein (Political Science), Paul Wise (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Amy Zegart (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Political Science).

Other Affiliation: Kevin Arrigo (Earth System Science), Chonira Aturupane (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), (Karen Biestman (Native American Cultural Center), Jasmina Bojic (International Relations), Marshall Burke (Earth System Science, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Robert Crews (History), Christophe Crombez (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Thomas Fingar (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Erica Gould (International Relations), Kathleen Janus (Freeman Spogli Institute for Program on Social Entrepreneurship, International Relations), Katherine Jolluck (History),  Anjini Kochar (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research), Martin W. Lewis (History), Pawel Lutomski (International Relations), Abbas Milani (Hoover Institution, Iranian Studies), Alice Lyman Miller (Hoover Institution), Thomas O'Keefe (International Relations), Bertrand Patenaude (International Relations),  Robert Rakove (International Relations), Scott Rozelle (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Margaret Sena (El Centro Chicano), Beth Van Schaack (Stanford Law School), Stephen Stedman (Political Science), Harold Trinkunas (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Gil-Li Vardi (International Relations, History)

Graduate Advising

For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the Graduate Advising section of this bulletin.