Global Studies Major/Minor Declaration
The declaration of your major is the most important step in your undergraduate education. Global Studies is an interdisciplinary major that offers a comprehensive framework for studying and understanding structures, processes, and interactions across multiple scales. As the pages describing the Major and Minor explain, GLBS 250 (SOCI 250) Introduction to Global Studies is the prerequisite course (there are 3 concentrations: Global Politics and Economy, Global Society and Culture Concentration, and Language, Politics and Culture Concentration). For the major, you will declare a concentration in either “Global Society and Culture” or “Global Politics and Economy” and take five courses from those in your concentration and two from the other concentration. In addition, you will take two regional studies courses and one methods/foreign language course.
On this page you can declare Global Studies as your major (or minor). The major remains interdisciplinary but, as of fall 2018, it is administratively housed in the Department of Sociology. You may declare your major in Global Studies either online or in person at the Sociology Department main office in 901 McClung Tower.
Upon submitting your declaration, our department administrator will then email you information about your assigned faculty advisor. You are encouraged to schedule an appointment with your advisor regularly to plan a course of study and discuss longer-term study and career plans.
- If you are a freshman or sophomore, you will be assigned to Emilie Aslinger, the College of Arts & Science advisor for Sociology and Global Studies. She was an undergraduate Global Studies major at another university and is well equipped to handle a wide array of advising questions and tasks. Her office is 912-B McClung Tower.
- If you are a junior or senior, you will be assigned to Dr. Paul Gellert. He is Associate Professor in Sociology and Director of Global Studies with an extensive experience living, teaching and conducting research overseas in Indonesia and the Netherlands as well as Japan. He has received Fulbright fellowships both as a graduate student and more recently as a faculty member. You are encouraged to discuss not only courses but study abroad, fellowship opportunities, career plans, etc.
- If you would like a different advisor – for example, a professor in another department who is affiliated with the interdisciplinary Global Studies major – we can also accommodate that request. In fact, in the future, we will likely distribute majors across Global Studies faculty.
If you have any questions about declaring a major, please contact Paul Gellert, Director of Global Studies at pgellert@utk.edu.