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International Requirement

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General

The Office of International Education oversees the upper-division international requirement (IR), which is effective for all students entering the University of Utah in Fall 2007 and later.  This requirement is designed to help students at the University of Utah appreciate the interdependence of the global community, understand the viewpoints of other nations, and improve communication between people across international borders.  There are two ways in which students may fulfill the international requirment:

1. Successfully complete an upper-division course approved by the International Requirement Committee.

Courses approved for the Upper-Division International Course Requirement will give students a broad base of knowledge about global issues and about global perspectives in a comparative context. They will introduce students to international frames of reference so that they may think critically about long-standing and newly emerging issues. They will help students accept and appreciate the interdependence of nations and the viewpoints of other nations, and enhance their ability to communicate with people across international borders.

2. Succesfully complete a University of Utah-approved, academically-focused Study Abroad program.

Such experiences include short-term faculty-led study abroad programs, semester- or year-long exchanges, as well as internships and service-learning programs that include University of Utah courses.

International Requirement Course Approval

The International Requirement Committee that functions analogously to the General Education Committees in Undergraduate Studies, will solicit, select and review courses for meeting the international requirement.

Approval Criteria

Courses will cover major regions and international topics, and will represent a broad range of departments and colleges. The Committee welcomes a variety of disciplinary approaches; it also encourages courses within specific majors. However, all courses must be at the 3000 level or higher. Study abroad programs may also fulfill the requirement, if they include an academic component that meets the criteria. The Committee will select courses that meet the three course content criteria, and are based on their broad commitment to the desired student outcomes.

Course Content:

  1. Course primarily has an international, transnational, or comparative focus that includes a variety of perspectives
  2. Course focuses on cross-border phenomena (borders conceived in the broadest sense: language, cultural, economic, political, etc)
  3. Course focuses principally on contemporary issues, or shows how historical approaches are relevant to contemporary issues.

Desired Student Outcomes:

  1. Identify and explain some contemporary issues that impact the global community.
  2. Identify and explain political, economic, social, and/or cultural connections between the United States and other communities of the world.
  3. Identify some examples of global interdependency and explain their relevancy for the future.
  4. Explain how global awareness will impact his/her frame of reference in the future.
  5. Use a comparative framework for an understanding of local, national, and disciplinary issues in an international or global context.
  6. Examine and explain how different nationalities may use different frameworks to understand issues.
  7. Communicate across language, cultural, and political borders.

Approved Courses

IR-approved courses are identified in the online University of Utah General Catalog.  Online class schedules for current and upcoming terms contain a list of IR-approved courses being taught in those terms:

Summer 2009

Fall 2009

Study Abroad Program Approval

All University of Utah-sponsored study abroad programs (short-term faculty-led; semester- or year-long exchange) and University of Utah-affiliated programs approved by the International Exchange Committee receive the IR designation. Students who successfully complete study abroad program or exchange will meet the IR requirement.

Students who have completed an international internship or a service learning program that does not include a University of Utah course and students who have participated in study abroad through another institution may submit an IR petition to University College, which will be forwarded to the International Requirements Committee.  The IRC will review the petition and decide whether or not to the study abroad program satisfies the IR criteria.