Global Political Economy
The minor in global political economy (GPE) is an interdisciplinary program in the social sciences designed to help students explore the dimensions and implications of economic globalization in contemporary international relations. The minor is administered by the International Relations Undergraduate Program and is open to all Syracuse University undergraduate students in good academic standing.
International relations majors whose topic concentration is international political economy (IPE) are not eligible to take the global political economy minor. Current students, please visit our Answers page for the official list of approved courses that count toward the minor each semester. For a complete list of minor requirements, please visit the online Course Catalog.
GPE Core Courses
- International Relations (PSC). Learn about foreign policy, decision making, comparative foreign policy, international transactions and the international system.
- World Political Economy (GEO) takes a geographical approach to the political economy of capitalism. Learn key theories of capital accumulation, uneven development and social struggle.
GPE Upper Division Courses (12 credits)
The minor also requires four courses numbered 300 or above from a list of approved courses, including at least one course in economics and one course in political science. Course options vary by semester and cover issues of trade, global health, social justice, climate and more. Please see our course schedules on Answers for current offerings.
Global Security Studies
The minor in global security studies (GSS) is an interdisciplinary program designed to help students explore the global, international, national and human dimensions of security, conflict and conflict resolution in contemporary international relations using the analytic tools provided in different social science disciplines. The minor is administered by the International Relations Undergraduate Program and is open to all Syracuse University undergraduate students in good academic standing.
International relations majors whose topic concentration is international security and diplomacy (ISD) are not eligible to take the global security studies minor. In addition, for students majoring in international relations who wish to undertake the global security studies minor, a maximum of three (3) lower division (below 300 level) credits may be shared between the major and the minor. Current students, please visit our Answers page for the official list of approved courses that count toward the minor each semester. For a complete list of minor requirements, please visit the online Course Catalog.
GSS Core Courses
Students are required to take two introductory courses:
- Either International Relations (PSC) OR Global History 1750 to Present (HST)
AND
- Either Global Encounters: Comparing World Views & Values Cross-Culturally (ANT) OR Human Geographies (GEO)
Upper Division Courses (12 credits)
Advancing Fair Trade
Whitman School of Management alumna Kristen Unangst ’18 pursued her interest in fair trade with a minor in global political economy at the Maxwell School and a full-time internship in Hong Kong. Her internship with TransPerfect, a global translation company, also introduced her to the idea of working abroad. “It was important to me to figure out if that was a path I could ever take.”
Kristen Unangast '18
Accounting Manager, Eaton