American students face increasing pressure to become internationalized—to attain an education that will enable them to respond intelligently to a world undergoing rapid globalization and to compete in a global economy.

Pitt’s Honors College and University Center for International Studies (UCIS) have created the Bachelor of Philosophy in International and Area Studies (B.Phil. IAS) degree, a new research-based undergraduate degree that will help students meet the global demands of today’s workplace. The B.Phil. IAS degree will be awarded by the Honors College and is the first undergraduate degree in international studies at Pitt.

The goal of the B.Phil. IAS degree is to enable students to think critically about the world and to achieve “global competence,” which involves working effectively in different international settings, gaining an awareness of the major currents of global change and the resulting issues raised, communicating effectively across cultural and linguistic boundaries, and adapting to diverse cultures.

The Global Studies track is the first of the tracks available to students pursuing the IAS major this fall. (Future IAS tracks from other Pitt area studies programs may emerge from faculty initiatives.) Developed with UCIS' Global Studies Program, the IAS degree allows students to focus on such global issues as sustainable development; global economy and governance; changing identities in a global world; communication, technology, and society; conflict and conflict resolution; and global health.

The new B.Phil. IAS degree builds on UCIS’ certificate programs in African studies, Asian studies, European Union studies, global studies, Latin American studies, Russian East European studies, and West European studies, and the Honors College’s Universitywide B.Phil. thesis degree.

Students seeking the B.Phil. IAS degree must have a minimum QPA of 3.25/4.00; complete an approved program of study involving coursework, foreign language, and study abroad; and write and publicly defend their research thesis before a faculty examining board that includes a visiting faculty member. Unlike free-standing departmental degrees, the B.Phil IAS requires a second disciplinary major as well as a research thesis on an international topic done in close collaboration with a faculty adviser.

Students interested in learning more about the B.Phil. IAS degree in global studies should contact David Hornyak, Honors College, at 412-624-6884 or hornyak@pitt.edu, or Lisa Alfredson, global studies, at 412-648-2113 or global@pitt.edu.