Area Studies: Global

Global Studies Global Studies Certificate/JD Degree 4100 Posvar Hall 412-624-2918 http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/

A certificate in Global Studies provides students with a “global competence,” the ability to communicate effectively across cultural and linguistic boundaries and to focus on issues that transcend cultures and continents. It is a joint offering of the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA).

Requirements:

• A minimum of six (6) upper level or graduate/professional courses: four courses in a thematic concentration and two courses that reflect that thematic interest in a regional area. Three of the courses must be taken in at least two departments other than the School of Law. Regional concentrations include Africa, East Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, or Western Europe. The certificate offers six thematic concentrations:
  
  A. Sustainable Development seeks to promote knowledge of the physical aspects of globalization and asks how development issues can be better understood in light of environmental, urban, and population and resource needs.
  B. Globalized Economy and Global Governance studies the changing role of states and markets, exploring the increased importance of multinational corporations, supranational organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations, regions and localities, and non-governmental organizations in the economy and polity.
  C. Changing Identities in a Global World asks how our understanding of who we are changes under globalization and explores issues of race, religion, nationality, gender, and the arts. Students will examine language and identity, the evolution of culture and cultural clashes, and the interchange of ideas between cultures.
  D. International Conflict and Conflict Resolution addresses the causes of, and ways to alleviate, International, ethnic, and religious conflicts, and explores negotiating approaches that embrace these cultural differences.
  E. Global Health explores the risks and opportunities of globalization for health issues, including the increased spread of diseases across borders and oceans as well as the enhanced ability to alert populations and health organizations about these epidemics.
  F. Communication, Technology and Society asks how technological changes create new kinds of global connectedness and explores its implications for issues ranging from work and leisure to ethics and communications.

• Students must submit an interdisciplinary research paper related to the chosen thematic concentration, approved by a faculty member. This paper may be part of a course assignment and may be presented at the Global Studies Colloquium.

• Students must take at least one language appropriate to the regional concentration for six semesters or demonstrate equivalent proficiency.

  Contact Elaine Linn, Assistant Director at 412-648-2113 or EEL58@pitt.edu for more information.