The Global and International Studies (G&IS) Program sponsors interdisciplinary academic programs in global studies, international studies, and area studies, and provides a coordinating center for programs related to international studies throughout the campus. The G&IS Program administers majors in Global Studies, and Middle East Studies, and minors in Global Peace and Security Studies, Jewish Studies, and Women, Culture, and Development Studies. The Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Emphasis in Global Studies is presented in detail. For informations concerning the other programs see http://www.global.ucsb.edu/index.html

Graduate students in Anthropology, English, History, Political Science, Religious Studies, and Sociology can receive credit for an interdisciplinary Ph.D. emphasis in global studies when they earn their doctorate in their home department. To be admitted to the emphasis, students typically will have completed at least one year of study in their home department, although they may petition to be admitted to the emphasis at any time in their graduate career. Students must also have a research interest (and eventual dissertation topic) that is in some way concerned with transnational social processes or forces; and must have the approval of their department’s Graduate Advisor.

To satisfy the PhD emphasis in global studies, students are required to take four one-quarter graduate level courses, including an introductory gateway seminar, and three additional courses. At least one of these latter three courses must be a global theory course, and at least one must be a global issues course. At least one of these latter three courses must be taken from the student's home department, and at least one must be taken from another participating department. (Click here for list of eligible courses.) The student's dissertation committee will have one member from a participating department other than the student's own department.

The gateway seminar (Global 201), is offered each fall. It provides an overview of globalization while at the same time reflecting the specific concerns and key debates within the participating disciplines. It is organized around presentations and discussions led by faculty members from the six participating departments.
If you are interested in learning more about the interdisciplinary global Ph.D. emphasis, or are thinking of applying to it, the first step is to contact your departmental representative to the Coordinating Committee. He or she will explain how the emphasis works, what sorts of dissertation topics satisfy the requirement for a focus on “transnational social processes or forces,” and which courses will satisfy the emphasis requirements. Meeting with your departmental Coordinating Committee representative is a crucial initial step in the process. You are also urged to maintain close contact with your departmental representative in order to effectively navigate through the program. For example, some of the courses listed as satisfying emphasis requirements may be generic courses in the participating department whose content varies depending on the instructor, and whose approval (in terms of satisfying emphasis requirements) depends on who is offering it. Your departmental Coordinating Committee representative will be able to help you with this and other matters.

Students seeking admission to the emphasis must complete a Graduate Student Petition available from your department’s Graduate Advisor, (or in PDF format downloadable from the web), indicating that they have secured the approval of the Graduate Advisor in their home department. On the petition there is a place to indicate the “explanation or justification” for your request. Please provide a paragraph or two explaining why you are interested in the emphasis, your MA or PhD research topic as it relates to globalization (if you are at a stage where you have a topic), a brief description of any courses you have taken as a graduate student that deals with global forces or processes, and anything else you deem relevant. Once the petition is completed and signed by your department’s Graduate Advisor, please send it to Richard Appelbaum (Sociology), Chair of the Coordinating Committee, who will review it and – if your proposal meets the requirements of the emphasis – will sign it and forward it to the Graduate Division. You must also fill out a form available from Jodi Cutler (cutler@global.ucsb.edu) in the Global & International Studies Office, HSSB 3044.
If you are interested in taking Global 201 (the gateway seminar) in the fall, please contact Richard Appelbaum (rich@isber.ucsb.edu) or Mark Juergensmeyer (juergens@global.ucsb.edu).