BA in International Studies

One of the most popular courses students study in school is international studies and getting a BA in international studies grants these students a lot of opportunities and job offers upon graduation.

In this post, you’d discover some jobs you could do, some benefits of getting a BA in international studies, the countries having more demand and opportunities available in this profession, and the best schools offering this program in the world.

BA in International Studies

To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in international studies, one need to know that this program consists of three parts: 3 years study of a foreign language, study of core courses as an introductory work in history, arts, political science, religion, economics, geography and women studies. The third part is then a choice of area of study by the student based on academic interests and career goals. The various areas of concentration in International studies includes:

• International Diplomacy and Peace Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Latin-American Studies
• Comparative Cultures
• International Economic Affairs
• Research Intelligence Analyst
• Global Gender Studies.

Graduating and getting a BA in International studies, you would be able to demonstrate and get an understanding of the value of diversity and multicultural competence, communicate effectively in writing and speaking and you would be able to learn, speak and write proficiently in a foreign language.

Syllabus in B.A. International Studies

The subjects listed are prescribed by most universities and colleges to be taught to students in view of a BA in international studies.

1. Introduction to Politics.
2. Introduction to European Politics (this is usually recommended to be studied).
3. Introduction to International Relations; with a choice to choose either a social science option or a humanities option.
4. Political Analysis.
5. International Relations.
6. Choice of a politics option from a specialized list that would be made available to you; and a politics option.
7. One politics option  bearing in mind a regional focus. This implies, you will choose an option that relates to the politics of the country, state, locale where you are schooling.
8. One politics option with an international relations focus, mainly options from different continents and two politics options.

4 Benefits of getting a BA in International Studies

1. View the world: as a student who has a BA in international studies, you would be able to see the world and make a positive impact even if you don’t land a job in a foreign organization or company or get employed by the government. This program gives travel opportunities overseas and also trips to foreign countries could be taken just to learn more about the country. Thus it widens your horizon and gives you a deep insight in this interwoven world.
2. Multiple Career Choices: International Studies have a lot of job opportunities waiting for graduates who just got a BA in it. You could work almost anywhere.
3. Relevancy of International Studies: The more the world unfolds more crisis, the more there’s need for more people who studied this program. Every country is dependent on the other and this requires people who studied this program to be able to deal with each other, understand each other and trade in businesses.
4. New Skills: Studying international studies and getting a BA in it assures you of a new skill aside the knowledge of the course. Learning a foreign language is a skill you could learn as an international studies student.

Jobs Available for People with a BA in International Studies

The underlisted jobs are areas in which student with a BA in international studies can work in and a detailed explanation of the following jobs is included.

• Diplomat: You could represent and protect a nation’s interest in another country in terms of trade, politics and consular services. Collection and reporting on the information that would benefit your nation and also serving as a link between the country you represent and the country you are in are a few jobs of a diplomat.
• Intelligence Specialist: you could work in the military, navy, any national security department or state department. Your job is to collect and analyse operational intelligence, conduct mission reports using data, charts and maps available to you, evaluate and analyze results and prepare reports, stats and graphs as the case may be and also maintain intelligent database.
• Political Analyst: You could get a job in the government, media, companies or research institutions. You would interpret various political developments analyse new laws and policies. You can also question and give advice government officials on government decisions.
• Lobbyist: get employed in an association, corporations or non profit organizations to convince government members in making decisions that would affect the public or the company.
• International Development Consultant: they can work in an organization, the government or media houses, their job is to provide technical expertise for global organization, review programs and strategies of the organization and recommend changes that would be in the organizations’ best interests.
• Communication Officer: can work in the government or any organization. Their job is to create contents, and editing materials such as press releases and post on social media, create reports with full details on the successes and failures of campaigns of the company.
• Immigration Specialist: They do not only study rules but they also inspect and review them. They also document principle organizations judicial policies

The above are major jobs available for students with a BA in international studies.

Studying international studies exposes you to a lot of career choices available in the world and in so many spheres of industries.

Here are other jobs a student with a BA in international studies can work in:

• Export Manager.
• International Banker.
• Cross-Cultural Relations Consultant.
• Sales Coordinator.
• PR Representative.
• International Hotel Manager.

Areas of Employment of BA in International Studies 

• Educational Institutes
• Front Office
• Indian Politics
• MNCs
• Trade Centres
• UPSC.

Best Schools to get a BA in International Studies in the world

1. Harvard University – US
2. Science Po – France
3. University of Oxford – UK
4. Princeton University – US
5. London School of Economics and Political Science – UK
6. University of Cambridge – UK
7. Standard University – US
8. Yale University – US
9. Australian National University – Australia
10. National University of Singapore – Singapore

You can visit any of the University website listed above to know more about each university in the listing.

Highest Paying Jobs in International Studies

The below jobs are the top paying jobs in international studies with estimated costs per annum.

1. Political Analyst: with an average salary of $94,000 yearly
2. Lobbyist: having an average salary of $87,500
3. Diplomat: this job has an average pay of $87,000 annually
4. Communication Officer: having an average pay of $79,885 per year
5. Immigration Specialist: They have an average salary of $75,704
6. Economist: with an average yearly salary of $75,703
7. International Development Consultant: having an average pay of $75,499 yearly.

Top 14 Countries to get a BA in International Studies

In as much as international studies is a major art course and is widely studied in so many countries in the world, yet there are a few countries with the highest ranking of students who are undergoing this program.

The following countries are one of them:

• USA
• UK
• Canada
• Spain
• Germany
• Cyprus
• Italy
• Morocco
• Turkey
• Russia
• Fiji
• Switzerland
• Australia
• Austria.

Costs of Getting a BA in International Studies 

There is no fix costs in acquiring a BA in international studies as the cost varies based on location, country, type of university, and the current economic state of the country. In the US,  the average tuition fee of public universities or colleges cost $26,500 while private universities costs more than $30,000.

A few countries offer free education, countries like Germany. In Italy the average cost of tuition fees is £1,000. In Spain, it is £2,100.

Note these fees do not apply to private institutions as their fees are higher and differ from each other.

Get to know 8 most affordable European countries to study in

African Countries that offers a BA in International Studies

In as much as most African countries do not appear as one of the top countries that offers a BA in International Studies, there are universities in Africa that have a string background and brings out the best students in international studies.

We are able to get a list of African countries and the university that offers this program.

Please note this is not limited to the following as there are a lot of universities across Africa that offers this.

1. Cario University – Egypt
2. University of Yaounde – Cameroon
3. Helwan University – Egypt
4. Ridgeway School of Diplomacy – Ghana
5. United States International University – Kenya
6. University of Nairobi – Kenya
7. University of Liberia – Liberia
8. AL Akhawaya University – Morocco
9. Rhodes University – South Africa
10. University of Cape Town – South Africa.

Here is a list of universities offering a BA in international studies and there countries based on continent

You could read more about costs of schools in international students .

Please note that in some universities or colleges across the world, the course “international studies” can be called “international relations”. They both are one and the same thing and needs the same requirements and has the same study duration which is 4 years.

There’s an advanced program for International students and this is the Master’s program for International Studies and this program is a choice of the student who has completed and gotten a BA in international studies and wishes to go further with his/her education.