FAQs

As soon as you think you are interested in majoring in IS, you should begin working toward the foundational requirements in the major. Undeclared students can meet with Matt Rodock, or attend drop in advising hours. Make sure to take the time to read through this website, which will answer many questions about Options, the curriculum, studying abroad with your IS Major, and more.

Students find it helpful to read through the descriptions of the Options and to look through the course lists to get a better idea about each Option’s basic theme. Considering a general career direction or interest also helps narrow down your choices as well as looking at courses you’ve already taken. Think about which courses you’ve enjoyed the most and why, and come discuss any questions with an IS Major advisor.

Students must complete the 5th semester level of one language to satisfy this requirement. Do not be confused by the requirement for the Bachelor of Arts degree which allows students to fulfill the degree language requirement with a combination of two languages (3 of one language, 2 of another). Following the 3-2 combination will not satisfy the IS Major requirement. For example, a student studying Spanish will have to take Spanish 226 or higher to meet the IS Major requirement.

For international students, ESL 118 will satisfy this requirement. Students who have previous language experience as a heritage speaker may also complete a language placement exam. Please work with an IS Major advisor to navigate this process.

Students taking economics at UW-Madison can solicit help from a tutor in the Economics department. You can find the list of available tutors here. Many students have also experienced success by utilizing the tutoring services of the Business Learning Center.

The Economics department also offers free study spaces, found here.

Alternatively, students opt to take Econ 101 and 102 at another school, such as Madison College, over the summer. The UW System has a Transfer Information System which helps students navigating transferring between Wisconsin colleges and universities. As with any transfer course, students should work closely with the Office of Admissions to make sure they understand the transfer process and to assure that courses transfer properly.

Yes you may, though keep in mind that the foundational requirements are in place to prepare you for more advanced coursework.

You may declare the major as soon as you are enrolled in INTL ST 101: Introduction to International Studies. L&S students must declare a major before they reach 86 credits.

The major requires 27 credits within your declared option in addition to the foundational requirements.

Once you have chosen your Option in the major, you may select courses from our semester course lists. You should choose courses from the list in order to fulfill the different requirements in the major. Note that many upper-level courses have prerequisites of their own. You should be aware of whether you meet the requirements for a course before you enroll. Meeting with an IS advisor each semester will help students stay on track with a plan to complete the major in a timely fashion. Students should make sure to plan in advance of registration to see an advisor.

Electives in your option are courses that come from the issues or track core list of the other named options. This ensures that students can still focus most of their IS Major on their declared option, but will also be exposed to perspectives from the different themes through the electives requirement.

The four course rule is in place to prevent too much overlap between majors. As a result, no more than four courses from any one department that can count towards the IS Major (e.g., four courses from the Spanish department can count toward IS Major requirements).

Please note that the IS Major foundational requirements are not counted toward the four course rule.

Courses may appear on multiple lists. For example all of the Track Core courses for an Option will also appear on that Option’s Issues list. The course will not count for both Track Cores and Issues, rather it’ll fulfill one requirement or the other. Track Cores will fill first, then when the Track Core requirement has been fulfilled, the course will appear under your Issues requirement in the DARS. The reason for the duplication is so you may take more than two Track Core courses if you wish.

Yes, the IS Major course lists can be used to meet University General Education Requirements (e.g., Com B).  Please refer to the course search and enroll application to review the course attributes under “Course Details”. This will indicate which general education or breadth requirements a course may count toward.

You can read more about General Education Requirements in the Undergraduate Guide and on the FAQ L&S Breadth requirements in the Undergraduate Guide.

Because the IS Major is an interdisciplinary program, we do not control access to courses unless they are offered through International Studies (i.e., INTL ST). If you meet the prerequisites for the course, you may contact the department and/or professor about their wait list policy. If you are still not able to get into the course, you may plan to show up to the course on the first day of class and request permission to enroll from the instructor. If you do not meet the prerequisites, you should not contact the department or professor unless you can prove that you have the required background to prepare you to complete the course successfully. Prerequisites are put in place to ensure your success in the course.

 The IS Major advisor is not able to waive prerequisites and cannot give permission to enroll in a course that is taught or administered by a different department. If you would like to take a class and do not meet the prerequisites, you need to:
1) contact the faculty member teaching the class and ask for permission to enroll.
2) If permission is granted, you need to contact the appropriate administrator within that specific department to enroll.  Please or ask the faculty member to direct you to the timetable administrator or the department advisor. 

No, INTL ST 101: Introduction to International Studies is a different course than PS 140: Introduction to International Relations.

Students must contact the instructor or the Political Science department directly to discuss their eligibility for Poli Sci courses with prerequisites.

You may come across a course with international content which is not listed on the IS course lists. If you think a particular course might be relevant to the International Studies major, you may bring a copy of the syllabus and consult with the Advisor. The content of “topics” courses (e.g., Poli Sci 401) and seminars offered in many departments may have relevant topics in any given semester. Check these with the advisor. However, keep in mind not all courses you take—internationally related or not—will count in the major.

Students may not count any courses taken as pass/fail toward the major. Pass/fail is an option for students who want to try out a course outside of their area of specialization. You can read more about the pass/fail policy on the website for Student Academic Affairs.

The College of Letters & Science outlines Natural Science requirements for the BA and BS degrees here.

No, that is not the role of an advisor. Further, what is “easy” for one student may not be “easy” for another student. Please meet with an advisor to discuss your strengths, concerns, and interests, and we will try to help you find a good fit.

The College of Letters & Science outlines the differences in requirements for a BA and BS degree here.

Divisional designation and course level for each course are indicated in the Course Guide. For L&S, the following symbols indicate how courses count toward satisfying the breadth requirements:

B—Biological Science
H—Humanities
I— Interdivisional. Does not satisfy any breadth requirement.
L—Literature
N—Natural Science. Satisfies the Natural Science requirement but not the Biological or Physical Science requirement.
P—Physical Science
S—Social Science
W—Either Social Science or Natural Science
X—Either Humanities or Natural Science
Y—Either Biological Science or Social Science
Z—Either Humanities or Social Science
e– Ethnic Studies
b– Com B

Click here for an easy guide to the course abbreviations!

International students are not allowed to go below 12 credits without prior approval from International Student Services.

Domestic students generally need to consider:
1) If you have student loans, please consult with your provider regarding deferment process for part-time status.
2) If you have grants or scholarships, please consult the Office of Financial aid as being a part-time student might affect your eligibility for those.
3) If you have health insurance under your parents, please have them consult their policy to see how / why you are qualified- is this age related or is it student status dependent?

Please visit the CALS website here and their policy page to learn more about their policies and expectations for declaring majors across colleges.

Occasionally courses that have been approved to count in the major and appear in our course lists do not show up in th IS Major section of the DARS. If this has happened to you, email the IS Advisor with the following information:

Your name,
Student ID number,
Option in the major,
Which course is missing or problematic.

The IS Major advisor will look into the problem and address your concerns.

A directed study is an independent research project that you will do under the guidance of a professor. You will need a professor’s permission to register for a directed study with them.

There are a couple different ways in which students seek out a directed study. Most commonly, students develop a brief research proposal and request the help of a professor whose research focuses on that area. Other students might assist a professor with a larger, ongoing research project that they have been working on already.

A few tips: when you set up the directed study with a professor, make sure it is clear to you what your requirements are, when your deadlines are, how often you will meet, and how you will be graded.

Whether or not to double major is a personal decision you should seriously consider before either declaring another major or dismissing the idea. If you find it intellectually desirable to pursue two majors, you should explore it. While some students believe that double or triple majoring will dramatically improve their employment opportunities or provide other benefits for the employment market, this is not necessarily the case. Please consult with an IS Major advisor to discuss your specific situation in more detail.

You can supplement your academic experience with with extra-curricular activities such as: interning, participating in performance groups, writing for one of the campus newspapers, leadership positions in student organizations, tutoring, volunteering, shadowing a professional in your potential career field, or working.

To cancel the major, you will need e-mail the IS Major advisor with your campus ID and a request to cancel the major. You can also come to drop-in advising.

L&S Career Services offers a way for you to combine your internship with a credit-bearing course at UW-Madison. The course, INTER-LS 260 is taught for one credit online and is open to all students. This course is offered all three semesters. Click here for more information regarding LS-260.

If you are participating in an internship abroad with the Intern Abroad office at UW Madison, you may be able to enroll in INTL ST 523: International Internship

If you would like your internship credit to count towards the IS Major requirements you must arrange this in advance with your IS Major Advisor.

Please read the detailed information found on the IS Major website regarding study abroad, and fill out the study abroad worksheet. Please make sure to meet with your IS Major advisor.

Yes – the class may count as either an issues or elective course in the IS Major, depending on your named option and the type of internship you complete.

Yes, the one credit learning community classes can count toward the electives section of your IS Major.

The International Studies Major is focused on undergraduate education in a liberal arts tradition.  We value undergraduate teaching and learning; as such graduate students are not typically permitted in International Studies courses.