The international relations program recently announced that its first minor, global political economy, has been approved by The College of Arts and Sciences and will be effective for the graduating Class of 2007.

The GPE minor is replacing a World Economy Certificate, the last of its kind at SU. In the past, graduates could cite the certificate on a resume; however, it didn’t appear on their transcript because it was not an official minor.

Students who have earned the certificate and are graduating either this spring or next year will still be able to receive it and will not be forced to complete the minor, said Francine D’Amico, director of undergraduate studies in international relations.

The certificate was only available to international relations majors who wanted a concentration in global economics.

‘One thing I noticed when I applied is that if you wanted to go into both economics and international relations, you had to apply to both,’ said Jen Nicolls, an undeclared sophomore who plans to declare a finance major.

‘We are hoping to bring in more students from outside Maxwell,’ D’Amico said, who hopes the new minor will appeal to students in the fields of economics and management. ‘There is no telling how many will be interested.’

Tim Sydlo, an undeclared freshman who plans to declare dual majors in international relations and Spanish, said the new minor is a good way to bring new students into the international relations program who wouldn’t have had the opportunity previously.

D’Amico said she has been coordinating the new six-course interdisciplinary minor with faculty from the anthropology, economics, geography and political science departments since fall of 2004. She has also placed a proposal for a global securities minor.

‘I’m not interested in majoring in international relations, but this pinpoints what I am interested in,’ said Tom Foley, a sophomore political science major who declared economics as a second major in the fall.

Jonathan Han, a junior international relations major who has shown interest in the GPE minor, said it will be useful for both international and non-international relations majors because economics and politics are intertwined in a globalizing world.

To complete the new minor, students must take introduction to international relations, world economic geography and four international political economy classes at the 300-level or above.

The two introductory classes are the only difference between the new minor and the certificate.

‘GPE is one of the fastest growing areas in international relations,’ D’Amico said. ‘Employment and educational opportunities are proliferating.’

Published on February 13, 2006 at 12:00 pm