Navigating the UCLA Global Studies Minor: A Comprehensive Guide

For UCLA undergraduates seeking to broaden their academic horizons, a minor can be an excellent way to explore diverse interests and gain a competitive edge. With over 100 minors offered, students can find unique pairings that complement their majors. The Global Studies minor is a popular choice for those passionate about international issues and cross-cultural understanding. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the requirements, opportunities, and resources available to students pursuing a Global Studies minor at UCLA.

Why Choose a Global Studies Minor?

A minor can enhance your major by allowing you to study topics of personal interest, broaden your skills, and become more diverse. For instance, the food studies minor can be a nice complement to majors in chemistry, biology, communication and many more things. A minor can also give you a leg up on the competition when it comes time to look for a job.

If you have a lot of interests, want to enhance your major or want to focus on a second area of study, a minor might be the way to go. By declaring a minor, you can study things that interest you on a more personal level, broaden your skills and become more diverse.

Declaring the Minor

Unlike the Global Studies major, the Global Studies minor does not require an application.

Prerequisites and Requirements

To successfully complete the Global Studies minor, students must fulfill the following requirements:

Preparatory Courses: Complete all preparatory courses for the minor with a minimum prep GPA of 2.00 (grades for all preps should be posted on the Degree Audit Report). All courses for Global Studies, including preparation courses, must be taken for a letter grade, regardless if they are taken at UCLA or elsewhere. While grades for non-UC courses do not get figured into the UCLA GPA, the grade will appear on the institution's transcript. If you choose to take a course P/NP, you can still get unit credit towards your degree, but won't count for your major. An Incomplete grade will never be replaced or removed from your DAR.
Foreign Language Requirement: Complete all non-language preparation courses, and one modern foreign language equivalent to UCLA level 3. You may complete the foreign language requirement (intermediate level) at UCLA via placement exam, appropriate coursework, or language immersion abroad. If you hold an F1 visa and attended high school where instruction was not in English, the Global Studies foreign language requirement may be waived. When applying to the Global Studies major, completion of the elementary year of the foreign language is acceptable (i.e. Spanish 3). Courses can be completed in the summer at UCLA or a Community college. Language Placement Tests will give you a course recommendation. They are offered through a language's respective department. You must take the Placement Test, not the Exemption Test. *Note: Exemption Test is only for the College Foreign Language requirement. AP Test credit may be accepted depending on the AP score. IGETC FL may be accepted as 1 year equivalent.
Core Course Sequence: Students minoring in Global Studies must complete this sequence by the end of their final year. The major requires that Global Studies 1 be taken in the fall before taking any of the core classes (Global Studies 102, 103, and 104).

Overlap with Other Majors or Minors

The maximum for the Global Studies minor with and other major or minor is two upper division courses. Can I use courses for Global Studies and another major or minor?

Transfer Students

Incoming transfer students must apply Fall of their junior year (your first quarter at UCLA). Application information is available under the 'Applying to the Major' tab. Sign up for summer orientation and attend the Glbl St Departmental counseling session.

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Study Abroad Opportunities

Yes, this will of course depend on where you study abroad and if the courses you take are applicable to Global Studies. The courses usually transfer and will show on your transcripts. However, if they have not been posted, you need to make sure your community college sent the transcripts to UCLA admissions. You can access your DAR from my.ucla. I want to study abroad, can I have courses apply towards the major? The number of courses you take abroad will depend on how long you intent to study abroad for.

Global Studies Travel Program

Majors must also complete the summer Travel Study program (Global Studies 110A and 110B) before continuing on to the senior year thesis courses. Certain destinations fill up quickly so if you have a preferred program, enroll early. Students who are not admitted to the Global Studies major will have the option of dropping Global Studies Travel Study Program, but the deposit will not be refunded.

Two courses should focus on the region you are visiting (preferably the country) within a global context-topics such as cultural exchanges, immigration, colonization, war, conflict, international cooperation, trade, and international business/markets.
- Syllabi must be included.

Capstone Requirement (for Majors)

Declared after Fall 2022: NEW Capstone requirement: Students can choose between 1 quarter independent research (Glbl St 199A), secure their own internship and take I A STD 195CE, or write a senior thesis. Yes, students admitted prior to Winter 2022 still have to write the senior thesis. However, sophomores (2nd year) or Juniors (3rd year) who have already been admitted to the major are allowed to submit a request to switch to new requirements. Fill out this form no later than August 1, 2022. Submissions after this deadline will NOT be accepted. No, no further action is needed if you are pre-global. Yes, we will not be able to switch you to the old requirements once you are switched to Fall 2022. More information about the new capstone requirement (Internship, Independent Study, and Thesis options) can be found under our capstone tab. Yes, you can write a senior thesis as long as you fulfill all eligibility requirements. You may also be eligible for departmental honors. You will be eligible for departmental honors if you are admitted to the honors program, complete a senior thesis and fulfill all eligibility requirements.

Independent research on a topic of your choice with assistance from a faculty mentor. Potential faculty can be only Professors, Associate/Assistant Professors, or Emeritus. Lecturers, adjunct, and visiting instructors are not allowed. Check with our office. NEW SUMMER COURSE: Glbl St 188A: Social Science Research Methods and Analysis, can also be used for this requirement. This course does not require any of the steps below. Search for a Faculty Advisor (Adjunct Professors are not allowed. Check instructor's title HERE), preferably faculty you've had classes with before. Submit 10-15 final paper and proof of attendance to workshops to GS advising office to receive credit for capstone.
Internship must be a min of 80 hours and 8 weeks during a quarter. On campus internships are not eligible. Search for internships (process can take at least 5-7 months). Some federal internships require applications 1 year prior. The programs below offer internship options that may fulfill the GS capstone requirement.

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Internship Opportunities

Yes. You can receive academic credit by enrolling in I A STD 195CE. You must visit the Center for Community Learning for approval for your internship. If you wish to use this course towards specific IDS major requirements, please consult with an IDS advisor.

Finding the Right Internship

REFLECT: What kind of work do you enjoy? In what specific area of development would you like to pursue a career (public health, planning, finance, human rights, education, environment, etc.)? What skills do you have or need to acquire and how will the internship help you meet those goals (field work, practical experience, opportunities for networking or building professional relationships)? What kind of institution do you want to work with? Do you have an interest in a particular geographical area or issue area? When do you want to do this internship?
SEARCH: Look for internships on Handshake, attend Career Center fairs, and read our Weekly Bulletin to learn about internship and job opportunities available to International Institute Students. There, you can find specific internships in a wide variety of professional fields that are great opportunities for IDS majors.

Internship Funding

The International Institute offers scholarships for internships abroad. Please see our Internships tab.

Globalization-Related Internships

Approved by GS program and the Center for Community Engagement. Internships sites must do work related to globalization and deal with issues that involve crossing international borders. Further, the job description itself must involve some aspect of the globalization.

DACA/Undocumented Students

DACA/undocumented students who are not able to participate in travel study may fulfill this requirement domestically.

UndocuBruins Fellowship Program: a fellowship program that ensures all students, regardless of immigration status, have the opportunity to receive financial support and achieve their educational and professional goals.
Mariposa Achivement Project (MAP) Scholarship: MAP Scholarship was created to support undocumented students cover the cost of academic materials. Application will close on September 23, 2022.

Academic Resources

General Academic Advising

General academic advisor in your School/College/Department can assist you with your program plan. Questions that go beyond your major (e.g., max units, adding, dropping classes, incompletes, pass/no pass units, GEs, minimum progress, expected cumulative progress, academic probation, graduating in absentia, academic residence, repeating courses, etc.) should be addressed to your college counseling unit.

Global Studies Advising Office

With questions regarding major requirements, research, internship, etc. Expect approximately 2 business days for a response. Current UCLA students only. We are located in 10270 and 10274 Bunche Hall. We work on a hybrid modality so please make an appointment on my.ucla.

Financial Aid

Financial aid might cover part of the cost, check with Financial Aid office for details. Located at 233 Covel Commons. There are numerous books available that highlight financial aid for specific programs and destinations. Financial Aid for Study Abroad by Gail Ann Schlachter and R.

Additional Opportunities for Global Engagement

Attend numerous events on specific world regions and pressing global issues.

Course Enrollment Information

Repeating Courses

No, you can only repeat if you receive a 'C-' or below. The newer grade will replace that of the previous one in your GPA (as long as you haven't exceeded the 16 unit repeat limit). You are not required to do so, however.

Enrollment Units

You may enroll in up to 10 units during priority/first pass, and 9 units in your second pass, for a total of 19 units. If you have a 3.0 cumulative and current GPA in 15 units in Winter, you will automatically be granted up to 22 units after the first day of Winter quarter.

Swapping Discussion Sections

If a class is full, DO NOT try and swap your discussion, as swapping into a closed discussion will drop you from the class.

Independent Studies Courses (199s)

199 are independent studies courses in which you work directly with a professor on a course of study agreed upon by both of you. If you take a 199, you can have it count toward an upper division thematic pillar for Global Studies, depending on the focus of the study. The department the 199 is listed under doesn't matter. However, the topic must be related to the courses that are already applicable to the major. Before enrolling to a 199, file a preliminary petition with our office to see if the topic of your paper is applicable to the major. Once approved, create a “Contract Course” through MyUCLA. Official approval of the 199 course, however, will be based on the final paper. For courses not already approved for Global Studies, you must petition to see if they can be applied.

Global Studies 191

No, you can enroll in 191 at any time.

Remote Learning Information

Held at scheduled times with faculty delivering course content using remote communication tools and students in attendance using those tools.
Faculty will record the class and make available those scheduled activities for subsequent use by students.
With the exception of office hours or review sections, there are no pre-scheduled sessions for this class.

Faculty

The best way to learn about professors is by talking to students who have already taken a particular professor's course.

Important Considerations

The UCLA General Catalog is published annually in PDF and HTML formats. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the UCLA General Catalog. However, all courses, course descriptions, instructor designations, curricular degree requirements, and fees described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice. Consult this Catalog for the most current, officially approved courses and curricula.Other information about UCLA may be found in materials produced by the schools of Arts and Architecture; Dentistry; Education and Information Studies; Engineering and Applied Science; Law; Management; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television.
Pre-requisites & restrictions: Some pre-requisites are required and enforced.
For Internships and Jobs opportunities, you may contact or meet with an adviser from the Career Center or the Center for Community Learning.
Submit official petitions upon your return.
A good research question is not descriptive but explanatory-that is, it will produce explanations not descriptions or summaries.

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