Research

The IR concentration offers numerous opportunities for students to develop research and writing skills while working closely with a faculty member.

• Senior seminar. Senior seminars are offered on different topics every semester and provide an opportunity for students to integrate what they have learned about international relations by focusing in depth on a specific topic. Limited to 20 students, the seminar is the required capstone experience in the Program, emphasizing student participation and requiring students to submit a 20-30-page research paper.
• Independent study. Independent study projects allow students, either individually or in small groups, to initiate coursework that in content, emphasis, or procedure, cannot be duplicated in the established curriculum and involves working closely with a faculty member for one semester. Students are responsible for designing the course syllabus which typically involves extensive reading followed by a major piece of scholarly writing (e.g. 25-30 page research paper).Independent study may also be an academic follow-up to an internship. Students with advanced language capabilities are encouraged to use these skills in their research.
• The Global Independent Study Project (GLISP). A GLISP combines independent research with the study abroad experience. Students design a project to be undertaken outside the United States under the sponsorship of a Brown faculty member. GLISP projects last one-semester and typically incorporate archival work in their host university or other local institutions as well as interviews.
• The IR Honors Program. An honors degree in International Relations involves writing a thesis of original research on a pressing global problem. Written under the guidance of a two-member faculty committee, the thesis is undertaken both semesters of senior year. Honors students may apply for university grants to conduct thesis-related research off campus and, in some cases, abroad. Honors students may be nominated for several research and publication awards. Click here for more information on the IR Honors Program and recent thesis titles and abstracts.