The International Studies Major Plan
Guidelines for the Narrative to Accompany the Plan
adopted by International Studies, September 2006
 The International Studies major at Macalester is both rigorous and flexible. I.S. majors must complete fourteen courses: five in a given discipline, seven from the I.S. department (including an Intro to International Studies, a Senior Seminar, and five mid-level I.S. courses, including those taught in other departments and specifically crosslisted with I.S.), and the balance (two to five courses, depending on the overlap between I.S. and the discipline) from other areas.
This open framework enables students to draw from many places, including both the humanities and the social sciences, as well as at times the sciences and fine arts, to construct their major. Unfortunately, the great flexibility risks producing scattered or incoherent major plans.
Because the International Studies major leaves more room for innovation than traditional majors, the plan needs to be carefully thought out. To that end, we ask students to annotate their initial major plan with a brief narrative describing how their chosen courses both relate to one another and support their broader goals within the major.
The narrative has two parts. First, in a paragraph, introduce the central interests and concerns that you plan to pursue via the major. Second, using your major plan worksheet as your roadmap, walk through your individual course choices explaining briefly how they build upon and complement one another and how they relate to the interests and concerns that you described in your introduction.
The narrative is not a formal essay or paper. It should be no longer than 2 single-spaced pages (with a space between paragraphs, for ease of reading), and it does not provide a basis for evaluating you. Its purpose is to help you and your advisor ensure that your individual major plan is clear, systematic, and meaningful.
When you are ready to finalize your major plan with your I.S. faculty advisor, bring a printed copy of your finished narrative with you. Your advisor will sign your narrative, as will the department chair when he or she also signs the major plan.
You should feel free to ask any I.S. core faculty questions about the major plan and the expectations for the narrative.
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