The International Studies Department offers two courses that offers International Studies majors or minors the opportunity to develop particular interests in an area of the discipline not covered by Departmental or other University course offerings. These courses are:
INTL 4306 Internship in Internationals Studies, and
INTL 4307 International Studies Program International Distinction
Basic requirements include both sophomore standing and appropriate introductory and advanced course preparations. Permission to enroll in these courses requires the approval of a faculty sponsor who agrees to direct the course and the approval of the director of the program.
Internship in International Studies
INTL 4306
This course offers students the opportunity to capitalize on practical experiences in International Studies and to gain formal credit for academic work related to those experiences. Students must have at least sophomore standing and appropriate introductory and advance course preparation.
Students interested in INTL 4306 will follow this process:
-
Enroll in the Dedman College Internship Program, which designs and sustains credit-bearing internship experiences that demonstrate and reinforce the skills acquired by student. For information on the program and internship tailored for International and Area Studies majors, contact Pamela Chiu at pchiu@smu.edu or call 214-768-4819.
- Attend the required Dedman College internship orientation and take advantage of the workshop on resume writing and interview skills.
- Secure interviews and internship placement
- Find a faculty member in the International and Area Studies program, who will act as the student's advisor for the internship and file a "learning contact" with the faculty member and with the Internship program.
Each student intern has the responsibility to arrange the internship work experience, persuade a faculty member to act as sponsor, develop and submit an internship plan, and fulfill the basic requirements of the course.
An Internship Plan developed in consultation with a faculty sponsor must include:
-
A description of the practical work to be (or already) undertaken. This should be accompanied by a letter from the internship organization outlining the student's work responsibilities and the duration of the internship.
- A description of the academic work to be undertaken, including at least a preliminary bibliography.
- A completed statement of intent form "Internship in International Studies 4306."
The student should submit the internship plan and have completed all arrangements prior to the day of registration. Should the student have completed the practical work of an internship prior to registration (as in some cases for summer internships), the student must have a letter from the organization where she/he interned describing the student's functions and responsibilities during the internship. If the faculty sponsor determines this to be satisfactory, the student will be allowed to register in a subsequent semester.
The student's academic work in the course should result in a substantial term paper of at least 12 pages in length. Most importantly, the paper should demonstrate the student's critical ability to relate the practical experience of the internship to the scholarly work in the bibliography. This course may not be used for Departmental distribution requirements unless specifically approved by the director of the program. An oral presentation will be required at the end of the semester.
No student may remain in the course beyond the last date for withdrawing (WP) if she/he is not fulfilling the work requirements as established by the faculty sponsor.
International Studies Program Departmental Distinction
INTL 4307
The International Studies program offers selected undergraduate majors an opportunity to undertake a special program of study and research as a candidate for award of the B.A. degree with Departmental Distinction.
Criteria for Departmental Distinction are:
- A minimum 3.0 grade point average over all
- A minimum 3.5 grade point average in the major
- Preparation for a department distinction thesis under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The grade received for INTL 4307 must be A- or higher
- A minimum 3.5. grade point average in a least two advanced courses related to the topic of the thesis; one of these may be a course taken outside the requirements for the major
- Passing "with distinction" an oral examination of at least one hour, conducted by a faculty committee
A student wishing to undertake work toward Departmental Distinction should follow this process:
- apply for admission to candidacy no later than December 1 (for May or August graduates) or May 1 (for December graduates)
- arrange for a distinction thesis advisor
- register for INTL 4307 during their last semester of Senior year having met all criteria for distinction (see above)
Potential candidates are strongly encouraged to begin developing a thesis several months ahead of registration for INTL 4307. The student will meet with her/his distinction thesis advisor on a regular basis during the term (i.e. several times a month), and must make sure that sufficient copies of the completed thesis are submitted to members of the thesis committee at least ten days prior to the oral examination.
The defense or oral examination will last at least one hour. Each member of the committee will have an opportunity to examine the candidate on topics relevant to the thesis and related courses taken by the students. All oral examinations must be completed before the first day of the semester's final examination period.
The distinction thesis advisor will assign a regular letter grade for INTL 4307, reflecting the advisor's judgment of the quality of work and research performed by the candidate.
If the advisor anticipates that the grade may fall below A-minus before the date of the oral examination, the
committee will be so informed. The committee may then, by unanimous vote only, decide to conduct the examination.
By unanimous agreement of its members, the distinction committee will report in writing whether the student has (or has not) passed the examination "with distinction." If the examination committee recommends against distinction, it shall report the reasons in writing to the program director of designated representative. No decision to deny distinction will be reported in the student's permanent file or transcript; but a grade for INTL 4307 will be reported to the University Registrar.