Our Programs

International Relations (IR) is an interdisciplinary major focusing on the changing political, economic, and cultural relations within a globalized system. The program explores how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations between actors on the world stage. Students are prepared for future careers, civic engagement, and life-long learning with strong analytical, writing, research, and presentation skills steeped in theory, history, and practice.

The SFSU Accelerated Bachelor's + Master's program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree, and the Department of International Relations offers two: one for current International Relations majors to complete a M.A. in International Relations and the other that blends the B.A. in Criminal Justice with the M.A. in International Relations.

International Relations BA + MA SF State Scholar Roadmap

The Minor in Africa and Globalization is a multidisciplinary program in African history, politics, economics, and cultures, designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the issues facing African communities, societies, and nation-states in the past as well as the present.

The European Studies minor is a multidisciplinary program in European history, politics, and culture designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad understanding of European ideas and institutions over time. The minor is open to students in all major fields.

Global Peace, Human Rights, and Justice Studies is an all-university, interdisciplinary minor in which students and faculty cooperatively study and explore the problems, issues, challenges, and opportunities to prevent war and to make this a more just, peaceable, and sustainable world.

The Minor in International Relations provides students with a foundation in key concepts, theories, and methods used to understand global issues. Students develop specialized knowledge in an area of interest while strengthening their research, analytical, and communication skills for a wide range of academic and professional paths.

Learn more about the Minor in International Relations.

Drawing on a multidisciplinary faculty with a broad range of experience in the region, the Latin American Studies minor is designed to develop understanding of the varied aspects of Latin American societies. This focus encourages students to critically evaluate the inter-relationships among history, language and literature, social, economic and political developments and their influence on the place that the nations of the region occupy in the international order.

The Minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies is a multidisciplinary minor designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad understanding of the history, politics, and culture of the Middle East and Islamic world.

The Pacific Asian Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary program designed for students seeking a more intensive and extensive knowledge and understanding of East and Southeast Asia than their major discipline would offer.

The South Asian Studies minor is useful for students planning careers in education, social service, law, politics, government, business, media and art, both nationally and internationally. It also prepares students for graduate study in a number of academic fields.

The Certificate in Global Health equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to address pressing health challenges on a global scale. Students explore key topics such as infectious diseases, health policy, gender and social determinants of health, and health equity. This certificate is ideal for those seeking careers in public health, international development, and related fields while making a meaningful impact on global health issues.

The International Risk Analysis Certificate provides a foundational and interdisciplinary framework for understanding economic, political, and environmental risks across the globe. The goal of the certificate is to provide professionally-relevant coursework about understanding risks that arise from global, regional, and local sociopolitical and environmental conditions that can affect business development and human security.

The Migration and Refugee Studies (MRS) Certificate provides a foundational and interdisciplinary framework for understanding economic, political and environmental displacement of people within countries and across state borders. The goal of the certificate is to provide professionally relevant coursework about the global impact of migration and refugee movements as well as an understanding of immigrant and refugee experiences.

The Master of Arts in International Relations program prepares graduate students to enter a competitive workforce in government, business and non-profits or to pursue advanced graduate training leading to a Ph.D. We are the only CSU department to be an affiliate member of the prestigious Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs offering numerous professional opportunities for our students and graduates.