International Studies Concentration

*Available to students with a catalog year of 2023 or prior* This concentration enables students to understand and assess society within international, human and social contexts. Students can focus on business, conflict transformation, or a specific geographical area.

Catalog Year: 2023-2024

Banner Code: LA-BA-INTS-INST

The Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies brings together research, theory and practice across numerous disciplines. Integrative studies majors select a multidisciplinary concentration or work with student services staff to develop their own concentration, uniquely suited to their academic and career goals. Integrative studies majors explore new topics and experiences while gaining the knowledge and skills needed to enter the workforce.  Required coursework is offered in small classes with ample room for discussion, collaborative learning, and experiential learning, including in-community projects, volunteer opportunities, field work, internships and work with faculty on research that directly engages current social and global challenges.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on program requirements and courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes. Requirements may be different for earlier catalog years. See the University Catalog archives.

Degree Requirements

Total credits: minimum 120

Students should be aware of the specific policies associated with this program, located on the Admissions & Policies tab.

Students pursuing a BA in Integrative Studies must complete a minimum of 30 credits of (INTS) coursework, with at least 15 credits at the 300 and 400 levels.

Integrative studies students complete INTS 391 Understanding Integrative Studies and INTS 491 Senior Capstone and choose a concentration from the options below. Before registering, students should see an advisor to help plan their degree program to meet Mason requirements. The advisor also can help students choose electives or a minor.

Required Course

INTS 391 Understanding Integrative Studies 1
INTS 491 Senior Capstone 3
Total Credits 4

Concentration in the Major

A concentration is the equivalent of a major in a traditional degree program. Concentration coursework combines integrative studies (INTS) classes with coursework from other Mason units (departments, schools, and colleges). While fulfilling the concentration requirements, students are also responsible for completing a minimum of 30 credits of INTS coursework. Any INTS courses required for the concentration will apply. Students must present a minimum GPA of 2.00 in courses applied to the concentration.

Concentration in International Studies (INST)

Addresses world issues, examining the natural environment, globalization, media and technologies, and war and violent conflict, while deepening understanding of an increasingly interdependent world. This concentration prepares students for:

  • graduate studies in fields such as policy and politics, global affairs, social justice & human rights, conflict resolution
  • careers in civil service, international leadership / business

Students complete the following coursework:

Language Proficiency

All students must demonstrate language proficiency at the intermediate level through coursework (a Mason course numbered 202) or proficiency testing.

Foundational Courses
INTS 303 Introduction to International Studies (Mason Core) 3
INTS 362 Social Justice and Human Rights (Mason Core) 3
INTS 435 Leadership in a Changing Environment 3-4
or INTS 406 Global Leadership (Mason Core)
Total Credits 9-10
Religious Studies
Select one course from the following: 3
Spirituality and Healing (Mason Core)  
Religion and Politics  
Religion, Values, and Globalization  
Women in Religious Traditions  
Comparative Study of Religions (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 3
Geography
Select one course from the following: 3
Global Environmental Hazards  
Geography of Resource Conservation (Mason Core)  
Population Geography (Mason Core)  
Economic Geography  
Total Credits 3
Globalization
Select one course from the following: 3
Civilizations  
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Globalization (Mason Core)  
Globalization and Culture (Mason Core)  
Introduction to Global Affairs (Mason Core)  
Digital Futures  
Globalization and Society (Mason Core)  
Globalization and Social Change (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 3
Sustainability
Select one course from the following: 3-6
Sustainable World (Mason Core)  
Environmental Justice (Mason Core)  
Conservation Biology (Mason Core)  
Plants and People - Sustenance, Ceremony, and Sustainability  
Global Environmental Ethics (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 3-6
Politics
Select one course from the following: 3
Political Anthropology (Mason Core)  
Political Geography (Mason Core)  
International Relations Theory  
Total Credits 3
Social Action and Conflict Transformation
Select one course from the following: 3-6
Law and Justice (Mason Core)  
Social Movements and Community Activism (Mason Core)  
Conflict, Trauma and Healing  
Spirituality and Conflict Transformation (Mason Core)  
Refugee and Internal Displacement (Mason Core)  
Human Trafficking and Smuggling  
Race and Ethnicity in a Changing World (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 3-6
Creative Arts
Select one course from the following: 3-4
Global Dance Perspectives I (Mason Core)  
Global Dance Perspectives II (Mason Core)  
Global Voices (Mason Core)  
The Idea of a World Literature (Mason Core)  
World Literatures in English  
Musics of the World (Mason Core)  
Art as Social Action (Mason Core)  
World Stages (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 3-4
Electives
Select three electives 1 9-12
Total Credits 9-12

Concentration in Leadership and Organizational Development (LODV)

Combines a liberal arts curriculum and the practicality of business skills, focused around a central idea: knowing how people react to organizations and how organizations react to people. This concentration prepares students for:

  • graduate studies in fields such as business, leadership, organization development & knowledge management
  • careers in management, events planning, health services, and nonprofit organizations
Required Courses

Understanding the interdisciplinary nature of leadership and its application to personal, organizational and societal development

INTS 204 Leadership Theory and Practice 4
Choose one of the following: 3-4
Leadership in a Changing Environment  
Global Leadership (Mason Core)
Leadership and Organizational Problem-Solving
Total Credits 7-8
Additional Course

Developing a heightened sense of self, including: inner knowledge, core values, intersecting identities, well-being, and impact on others

Select one course from the following: 3-4
Women and Leadership  
Mindfulness, Meaning Well-Being  
Science of Well Being  
Total Credits 3-4
Additional Course

Understanding ethical approaches to leadership and change, and applying ethics in personal and organizational processes

Select one course from the following: 3-4
Ethics and Leadership  
Business Ethics  
Ethics and Economics  
Total Credits 3-4
Additional Course

Understanding team and organizational learning

Select one course from the following: 3-4
College to Career Skills  
The Nonprofit Sector (Mason Core)  
Social Psychology (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 3-4
Additional Course

Demonstrating competence in personal and professional communication

Select one course from the following: 3-4
Public Speaking and Critical Thinking Skills (Mason Core)  
Small Group Communication  
Issues in Intercultural Communication  
Nonverbal Communication  
Total Credits 3-4
Additional Courses
Select four courses from the following that have not already been taken to fulfill a core concentration requirement. 12-18
Survey of Accounting  
Accounting for Decision Making  
Legal Environment of Business  
Business Analytics I (Mason Core)  
Develop Professional Skills II: Advanced Elements  
Business Analytics II  
Financial Management  
Social Movements and Community Activism (Mason Core)  
Conflict Resolution and Transformation  
The Nonprofit Sector (Mason Core)  
Foundations of Resilience and Well-Being  
Leadership and Organizational Problem-Solving  
Global Leadership (Mason Core)  
College to Career Skills  
Principles of Fund Raising  
Introduction to Business Information Systems (Mason Core)  
Principles of Marketing  
Social Psychology (Mason Core)  
The Future of Work  
 
Other relevant courses with approval of advisor
 
Total Credits 12-18

Concentration in Legal Studies (LGLS)

Combines coursework in communication, political systems, criminology, ethics and philosophy, history, and economics to prepare students for the rigors of careers and graduate work in the area of law or legal studies.  With advanced planning, students may be eligible for an accelerated law degree through Mason’s Scalia Law School

Required Courses
PHIL 173 Logic and Critical Thinking 3
INTS 300 Law and Justice (Mason Core) 3
CRIM 423 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties 3
or GOVT 423 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties
CRIM 424 Constitutional Law: Criminal Process and Rights 3
or CRIM 430 Criminal Law
Total Credits 12
Advanced Writing or Research Course
Select one course from the following: 3
Research Methods and Analysis in Criminology  
Introduction to Writing and Rhetoric  
Rhetoric of the Essay  
Professional and Technical Writing  
Forms of Nonfiction  
Research for Social Change  
GOVT 300
Research Methods and Analysis (Mason Core)  
Qualitative Research Methods  
Total Credits 3
Additional Courses 
Select a minimum of 15 credits from the following: 15
Legal Environment of Business  
Roman Law and Society  
Case Studies in Persuasion  
Persuasion  
Journalism Law  
Mediating Conflict  
Introduction to Criminal Justice (Mason Core)  
Introduction to Law and Society  
Law and Justice around the World (Mason Core)  
Family Law and the Justice System  
Advanced Topics in Law and Society  
Controversial Legal Issues  
Public Law and the Judicial Process  
or GOVT 301
Public Law and the Judicial Process
Law and Economics  
GOVT 103
Introduction to American Government (Mason Core)  
GOVT 407
Law and Society  
GOVT 443
Law and Ethics of War  
GOVT 446
International Law and Organization  
GOVT 452
Administrative Law and Procedures  
Healthcare Law  
Family Law and Public Policy  
Public Speaking and Critical Thinking Skills (Mason Core)  
Social Movements and Community Activism (Mason Core)  
Conflict Resolution and Transformation  
Social Justice and Human Rights (Mason Core)  
Poverty, Wealth and Inequality in the US (Mason Core)  
Refugee and Internal Displacement (Mason Core)  
Human Trafficking and Smuggling  
Philosophy of Law  
Religion and Law in the United States  
Criminology  
Sociology of Delinquency  
Other relevant courses with approval of advisor
 
Total Credits 15

Social Justice and Human Rights (SJHR)

Examines local, societal, and global issues through both a human rights lens, focusing on the fundamental rights of human beings and how they are secured or denied, and a social justice lens, focusing on societal inequalities and how they are sustained or alleviated. Students develop nuanced understandings of the relationships between individual experience in a local context and global systems of privilege and oppression. This concentration prepares students for:

  • graduate studies in fields such as human rights education, advocacy, law, and domestic and global justice

  • careers in legal, nonprofit, educational, and community change organizations and governmental agencies

Students complete the following coursework:

Core Courses
INTS 334 Environmental Justice (Mason Core) 4
INTS 362 Social Justice and Human Rights (Mason Core) 3
INTS 337 Social Justice Consciousness and Action 3
or INTS 434 Research for Social Change
INTS 437 Critical Race Studies (Mason Core) 3
or INTS 438 Representations of Race (Mason Core)
Total Credits 13
Electives
Select 18 credits from the following: 18
Law and Justice (Mason Core)  
Social Movements and Community Activism (Mason Core)  
Conflict Resolution and Transformation  
Violence, Gender, and Sexuality  
Spirituality and Conflict Transformation (Mason Core)  
Introduction to Childhood Studies (Mason Core)  
Contemporary Youth Studies (Mason Core)  
Poverty, Wealth and Inequality in the US (Mason Core)  
Social Justice Consciousness and Action  
Art as Social Action (Mason Core)  
Gender Representation in Popular Culture (Mason Core)  
Women and Leadership  
Refugee and Internal Displacement (Mason Core)  
Human Trafficking and Smuggling  
Leadership in a Changing Environment  
Social Justice Education (Mason Core)  
Scientific Racism and Human Variation  
DNA, Identity, and Power  
Social Movements and Political Protest  
Race and Ethnicity in a Changing World (Mason Core)  
Conflict, Violence, and Peace  
Sociology of Human Rights  
Other relevant coursework from AFAM, ANTH, COMM, CONF, CRIM, CULT, EVPP, FRLN, GLOA, GOVT, PHIL, PSYC, SOCI, WMST, and other coursework with advisor approval.
 
Total Credits 18

Concentration in Social Science for Education (SSED)

Meets the Virginia Department of Education content-area requirements, preparing students for graduate licensure programs in secondary education history and social science. Qualified students have the opportunity to apply for the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s program and obtain both a BA in Integrative Studies and an MEd in Curriculum & Instruction (Secondary Education History & Social Science concentration) within five years.

Students complete the following coursework:

ECON 103 Contemporary Microeconomic Principles (Mason Core) 3
ECON 104 Contemporary Macroeconomic Principles (Mason Core) 3
GGS 103 Human Geography (Mason Core) 3
GOVT 103 Introduction to American Government (Mason Core) 3
HIST 121 Formation of the American Republic (Mason Core) 3
HIST 125 Introduction to Global History (Mason Core) 3
Select one course from the following: 3
History of Virginia to 1800  
Development of Modern America (Mason Core)  
Select 9 credits from the following: 9
 
Teacher: A Historical Perspective  
Temptress: Sexuality and Power  
Select 6 credits of GGS coursework 6
Select 15 credits from the following: 15
 
Law and Justice (Mason Core)  
Introduction to International Studies (Mason Core)  
The Nonprofit Sector (Mason Core)  
Social Justice and Human Rights (Mason Core)  
Refugee and Internal Displacement (Mason Core)  
Social Justice Education (Mason Core)  
Total Credits 51

Concentration in Women and Gender Studies (WGST)

Exploration of gender in social, political, cultural, and economic life; gender in history; women and the media; feminist theory; the relationship between sex and gender; the impact of sex, race, class, disability, and sexual orientation on people’s lives; and the ways in which gender stereotypes influence the self in relationship to others

Students complete the following coursework:

WMST 200 Introduction to Women and Gender Studies (Mason Core) 3
WMST 208 Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies (Mason Core) 3
WMST 330 Feminist Theories of Gender, Sexuality, and Race 3
WMST 410 Feminist Research Methods 3
INTS 437 Critical Race Studies (Mason Core) 3
Intersections of Gender, Sexuality and Race  
Select two courses from the following: 6-7
Current Issues in Women and Gender Studies 1  
Current Topics in LGBTQ Studies  
Queer Theory  
Gender, Sexuality, and Disability  
Transnational Sexualities  
Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights  
Sexuality, Race, and Immigration  
Race, Class, and LGBTQ Communities  
Policing Black Bodies  
Current Topics in Women and Gender Studies 1  
Critical Race Studies (Mason Core)  
Representations of Race (Mason Core)  
Black Social Movements: Gendering of Violence and Activism  
Women During the Enslavement Era  
Women's Activism: From Jim Crow to Black Power  
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and TV  
Other WMST special topics courses with advisor approval
 
History and Culture  
Select one course from the following: 3
Gender, Race, and Class in the Media  
U.S. Women's History  
Women in Islamic Society (Mason Core)  
Temptress: Sexuality and Power  
Philosophy, Race, and Gender  
Women in Religious Traditions  
Women and Work  
Black Social Movements: Gendering of Violence and Activism  
Women During the Enslavement Era  
Women's Activism: From Jim Crow to Black Power  
Gender, Health, and Culture in the United States  
Other WMST special topics courses with advisor approval
 
Transnational Perspectives  
Select one course from the following: 3
Social Justice and Human Rights (Mason Core)  
Refugee and Internal Displacement (Mason Core)  
Human Trafficking and Smuggling  
Global Representations of Women (Mason Core)  
Transnational Sexualities  
Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights  
Sexuality, Race, and Immigration  
Electives  
Select one course from the following: 3-4
Asian American Women Writers (Mason Core)  
Topics in Communication and Gender  
Topics: Women and Literature  
Cultural Constructions of Sexualities  
HEAL 327
Women's Health  
Images and Experiences of Childhood: Social Construct, Literature, and Film  
Issues in Family Relationships (Mason Core)  
Contemporary Youth Studies (Mason Core)  
Parent-Child Relations (Mason Core)  
Women and Leadership  
Psychology of Gender  
Contemporary Gender Relations (Mason Core)  
THR 424
Contemporary Women Playwrights  
 
Courses in above areas not already taken
 
Special Topics 2  
Feminist Research Methods 2  
Feminist Theories 2  
Transnational Issues of Gender and Race 2  
Total Credits 30-32

Individualized Concentration (IND)

With approval of the executive director, students may construct an individualized concentration. 30
Total Credits 30

Additional Electives

Any remaining credits may be completed with electives to bring the degree total to 120.