Global events and challenges require global solutions. In international affairs, you learn to think across cultures, disciplines and time periods and gain the skills to make real-world change on a national or multinational scale. Through simulations like Model United Nations, hands-on research and courses that challenge you to think flexibly across cultures, you’ll have the chance to build your skills in critical thinking and communication—common skills that employers in every industry are looking for.
You’ll also deepen your understanding of foreign cultures and societies, learning how the actions of governments, multilateral agencies, companies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions can affect people’s lives—and why those actions matter. You’ll be able to identify and explain how complex systems work—and why they sometimes fail.
At Wellesley, we believe the study of international affairs should be a core component of any liberal arts education. Since World War I, the view that foreign and military policy should be the exclusive domain of rulers has yielded to the belief that knowledge about these matters is a public good and a responsibility of all citizens.
Our program helps you prepare for careers in the public sector (local, state or federal government), private sector (development consulting firms and multinational corporations) or nonprofit/nongovernmental organizations. No matter where you go, you’ll be ready to make a difference in the world. And you’ll have a deeper awareness of the networks of influence and meaning that link individuals, countries and cultures—and help us understand why some conflicts are resolved while others remain unresolved.