• “The best decision I have made to date is choosing International Affairs as one of my majors. The course material, the professors, and the small class sizes have all enhanced Marquette [sic] experience tenfold.”

– Claire Smart, double major in Spanish and Int'l Affairs (Area Studies Concentration: Latin America)

 

• “I never imagined that I could combine all of my interests and make a major out of it, but that is exactly what Marquette’s Interdisciplinary Major in International Affairs has allowed me to do....
  I always have, and will always continue to say that Marquette's Political Science/INIA departments have the most underrated professors on Marquette's campus. it has truly been a pleasure and an honor to learn from top scholars on Central American-US migration, gang violence, global prohibition regimes the illicit economy, non-governmental program dynamics, and everything and anything Russia focused."

– Catherine Bell, double major in Latin American Studies and Int'l Affairs (Area Studies Concentration: Latin America)

 

• “As an INIA student, I really enjoyed the opportunity to take a diverse spectrum of courses. The major is flexible…and allows me to study abroad for a whole academic semester….The INIA major…allowed [me] to seek my interests in different parts of the world and not to be bonded to one place and time.”

– Xiong Her, double major in Political Science and International Affairs (Area Studies Concentration:  Asia)

 

 

• “Looking back, I see my transition from a wide-eyed first-year student, unfamiliar with concepts like human security and environmental racism and lacking any definite opinions about anything, to a poised, emboldened graduating senior eager to advocate for change and put her academics into practice.”  

  • • • - Jane Lorenzi, International Affairs Major (Area Studies Concentration: Latin America) and a Minor in Spanish, Language, Literature, and Culture) 

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• "As a leader of Marines I believe that it is paramount to have a strong understanding of history, foreign affairs, and current events....Courses like Human Security, Politics of the World Economy, and Terrorism have given me new perspectives on many global issues and forced me to look at different issues that I was perhaps less interested in before....Lastly, I found the people, faculty and students alike, to be one of the most formulating aspects of this department.  The people who make the Marquette International Affairs department are incredibly unique and diverse, bringing a plethora of knowledge and perspectives to the learning environment.  What I have learned from this is that you will more than likely disagree with many people along your way.  However, through this we have learned the importance of professional and cordial discourse which, fostered in the classroom, allows us to be respectful debaters outside the classroom....Moreover, this department forces students to not only examine certain issues, but to develop solutions to those issues, thus creating complex problem solvers within the realm of international affairs." 

- Benjamin Vazirani, International Affairs Major, Political-Military Concentration

 

 

• "Not to be cliché with the phrase ‘ the more you know, the more you know you don’t know,’ but I feel this course of study has positioned me to be a student of the world for life and given me many avenues of knowledge to pursue.”

- Erica Ness, triple major in Political Science, Spanish Language, Literature and Culture and International Affairs, Cross-Cultural Concentration

 

• "I have learned about Rwanda and America's response. I have learned about the politics of the war in Iraq and the relationship between U.S. military personnel and the civilian populace. I have gained an understanding of the revolution in Bosnia, and a better comprehension of the politics in Russia. I dove into the causes of the Arab Spring, and I have learned more about the politics of the Gaza Strip than ever before....The ability to understand the world around me and be able to not only recite verses of facts, but rather internalize it on a deeper level of causality and reason is what I have gained from International Affairs."

– Brian Feifar, International Affairs Major (Political-Military Concentration) and Military Science Minor

 

• "Courses like Politics of the Global Illicit Economy, Theology and Economics, African History, and Politics of Capitalism broadened the way I understood and perceived everything....I was able to take those courses not only because I was an International Affairs major, but because I was an International Affairs major at Marquette. I think the social justice mission of Jesuit education and the principle of cura personalis has shaped my course work just as much as my major, which is why I am incredibly grateful to have been an International Affairs major at Marquette University."

– Megan Grabow, double major in Business Administration: Business Economics and International Affairs (International Economic Relations Concentration)

 

 

• "Unlike many traditional majors...there is room for individuality as a student, and I am able to personalize my course selection to fit my interests."

– Claire Weber, International Affairs major (Area Studies Concentration: Middle East) and Arabic Minor

 

 

• "The most basic thing that an INIA education has taught me is to look at the world differently. And not just differently in one way, but in multiple ways....this helped me realize that our goal as INIA scholars, and scholars in general, is first and foremost, to recognize all of the missing stories and explanations to a situation."

– Alex Halloway, International Affairs (Individualized Concentration) and German Minor

 

• "It has allowed me to meet extraordinary people who come from all backgrounds who have a variety of different ideologies. All in all, being an INIA major has changed me for the better. Transferring into the College of Arts and Sciences with a major in Interdisciplinary International Affairs with a concentration in International Communications and a minor in Marketing has been one of the best decisions I have made."

– Carleigh Sachs, International Affairs Major (International Communication Concentration)

 

• "INIA opened my eyes to the problems and issues going on around the world. I would consider myself an ignorant person before taking most of the INIA classes....As this was an essay heavy major, it was hard not to pick up the skill in researching.  Many of my non-INIA classes are always impressed with the amount of research I am able to put into research papers and projects and I have the INIA classes to thank for this skill

– Heather Belingon, double major in Corporate Communications and International Affairs (East Asian Studies)

 

 

• “As I reflect on my time here at Marquette in the INIA Major, the aspect that strikes me the most is the diversity of students in classes and in the major as a whole. There is a huge variation in opinions and worldviews which has been interesting and valuable to challenging and enhancing my own opinions.”

– Maggie Fangman, double major in Economics and International Affairs (Area Studies Concentration:  Middle East)

 

• “Thank God for multidisciplinary requirements, because sophomore year in a required upper level economics course I was reunited with a true passion….Picking Economics as my second major was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was able to narrow my focus here in INIA to find my niche…I loaded up on Economics courses…and I found them to connect back to my INIA courses more often than not.”

– Katherine Quasarano, double major in Economics and International Affairs (Political-Military Concentration)

 

• "In my junior year at Marquette, I went to study at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and was able to live as an international scholar in Ireland. There, I was able to see first-hand how another country operates politically. I would completely support that international study is an important part of being an INIA student for this reason and many others."

– Clara Hatcher, Journalism Major, International Affairs Minor

 

• "I personally think the courses required were all interesting and critical courses to the major's framework.  There are some who would argue that economics is unnecessary, but on the contrary, I found it extremely important because econ is such a huge part of international relations and understanding the movements, motives, and politics of the world.  I really like how Dr. Friman's "Politics of the Global Economy" tied together the two subjects (econ and INIA) and demonstrated the importance of understanding both.  Honestly, without econ or Dr. Friman's class I would have misunderstood a large part of INIA in general."

- Erin Llanes-Smith, double major in History and International Affairs (Political-Military Concentration) with a minor in Military Science and Leadership

 

 

• “I appreciated every single INIA (POSC) professor I ever had, and the academic advising was also super helpful. I felt the professors wanted to make true connections with me and my peers and I feel that I now have real relationships with many professors in the department."

– Claire Guinta, double major in Spanish and International Affairs (Area Studies Concentration:  Latin America), and a Peace Studies Minor

 

• "I did not know what I wanted to do as a career when I started at Marquette, and while I still do not have a specific job in mind, my coursework as an INIA student has helped me discover what topics are important to me. The flexibility of topics for papers has helped me choose research that I really care about--some of my favorite papers have been on international organizations' response to the Syrian refugee crisis (International Organizations), a comparative study of migration policies of Argentina and Brazil (Politics of the World Economy), and my current paper for the capstone, on the future of an international agreement on cybersecurity."

– Breanna Krzyzak, double major in Spanish Languages, Literatures and Cultuers and International Affairs (Political-Military Concentration)

 

• "From the knowledge I gained through my international affairs classes, I learned that soft power (humanitarian assistance, cultural influence, etc) could be just as, if not even more, powerful than hard power. This has inspired me to find a career that involves directly helping people build up their lives and to assist in bettering their futures."

– Adam Clark, International Affairs Major (Political-Military Concentration) and Arabic Minor

 

• "The first time I remember thinking, "I chose the right major" was when I was sitting in Professor Barrington's course my sophomore year.  From that specific class to all the classes moving forward, the professors did an incredible job inspiring the students and sharing their experiences in the field."
  
  

– Claire Smart, double major in Spanish and Int'l Affairs (Area Studies Concentration: Latin America)