After a discussion lasting approximately two years, the faculty voted on May 10 to overhaul the International Relations (IR) curriculum with a proposal presented by the International Relations Executive Committee (IREC).
Prof. Jack Ridge, chair of the Arts and Science (A&S) Curricula Committee, presented the proposal at the May 10 A&S faculty meeting, and it passed unanimously.
"The revisions adopted ... will enhance both the rigor and the coherence of the IR curriculum," Program Director Malik Mufti said.
Although there had been debate in the past about the exact shape these revisions would take, Mufti said, faculty collaboration in the overhaul was crucial for its success.
The IREC has been in the process of these revisions for a year and a half.
"During that time, we have consulted with the IR core faculty, the departments that play a big role in the IR program, and the new IR student body, the Director's Leadership Council," Mufti said. "Important feedback from each of these groups was incorporated into IREC's deliberations, and helped shape the final proposals."
The most significant change is a rearrangement of core and concentration requirements.
Core classes are broad introductions to the main themes, approaches, and debates within several disciplines, whereas the concentration requirement is meant to allow students to specialize in a specific area.
Previously, an IR major needed seven core classes and four thematic cluster courses.
When evaluating the current structure of the major, the committee decided that the "curriculum had become too top-heavy" and students needed more specialization, according to the proposal.
The new revision changes the number of required core classes to four and the number of concentration classes to seven. IR majors still must fulfill eight semesters of instruction in a foreign language.
The revision also changes the name of the concentration requirement from the 'Thematic Cluster Requirement' to the 'Thematic Concentration Requirement,' "in order to highlight our objectives of greater coherence and focus," Mufti said.
The two core requirements eliminated were one U.S. foreign policy class and one class in the arts or literature of the language that a student studies.
These requirements are now to be included in each student's area of concentration "in order to afford students a deeper grounding in their areas of specialization," according to the proposal.
Mufti said that the collaborative process that took place within the faculty committee included "direct contact with the departments all along to make sure they were on board," and various means of feedback from faculty, including an online discussion forum.
"We've been moving toward shaping reforms," Mufti said. "They've been altered many times. Most of the kinks have been worked out."
A few finer points still need to be refined, however.
"There are still a couple of things that need to be done to further refine changes and sub-concentrations that need to be worked out," Mufti said. "We also need to decide which courses meet each requirement."
He expects the final arrangement to be worked out within the year.
"We expect to complete everything during the fall semester and have the revised curriculum ready for incoming students after that," he said.
Students who have already begun the major will then have the choice of switching to the new system or completing the major under the old platform.
"I probably would not switch over to the new program," said IR major and sophomore Adam Levy, explaining that his double major with peace and justice studies and IR allows him to have more specialization in the former field and a broader background in his IR major.
"I would agree with the fact that the IR major is a little mixed up and doesn't allow you to specialize in one thing," Levy said, but added that he was grateful for extensive core requirements which had introduced him to fields in which he previously had scant knowledge.
"I would have never taken two econ classes without the requirement," Levy said.
"I think the changes are going to make the curriculum both more rigorous and more coherent," Mufti said. "[Now it is] such a hodgepodge, such that many courses that fulfill so many requirements, and the requirements are themselves unclear.
"We want to try and sharpen the focus of each concentration, with a sense that you're accumulating knowledge within the concentration," Mufti continued.
Mufti said that one goal of the changes was to help students feel that they have gained a cohesive body of knowledge by the time they graduate, a sentiment that he feels is lacking with the current curriculum.
International relations major and sophomore Josh Benjamin agreed that the department "is a little bit disparate" and could benefit from more focus.
The Curriculum Committee, comprised of 20 members from 11 different departments, suggested the changes after recognizing "an overwhelming consensus - among faculty, administrators, and students alike - that the IR curriculum had grown dysfunctional and needed to be revised."
The specific areas of concentration have also been revamped. Previously, there were five: Regional and Comparative Analysis; International Economic and Environmental Affairs; Global Conflict, Cooperation and Justice; Foreign Policy Analysis; and Nationalism, Culture and Identity.
Now there are six. Regional and Comparative Analysis and International Economic and Environmental Affairs have remained, but Global Health, Nutrition, and the Environment; International Security; The United States in World Affairs, and Identity and Ideology have replaced the other four concentrations.
The seventh concentration requirement encompasses what was previously the seminar or research requirement, allowing students to gain "knowledge built on knowledge" by conducting research in their area of specialization, according to the proposal.
The new categories, which allow for more sharply defined thematic offerings, were developed in the hopes that they would repair an old system in which too many classes could count for multiple requirements.
The previous Nationalism, Culture, and Identity requirement, for example, had 302 approved classes.
Finally, no more than three of the seven concentration classes can be an introductory-level course. At least two must be in the field of social science, one in history, and one in culture. One of these seven classes must analyze the role of the United States in the region or issue area that the student is studying.
According to a description given in the curriculum proposal, the international relations major at Tufts "offers a rigorous plan of study" for students interested in the field.
It includes the study of international and regional systems, foreign relations, the sources of international conflict and cooperation, the domestic and transnational actors and interest that influence states, and traditions that impinge on the international relations of particular states or regions.
Levy said that he would also like to see more research money made available for a department with so many students.
"I wish it were easier to get money and to get internships," the sophomore said.
