It begins with the fundamental concepts that still will need to interact with the international community that surrounds the school, concepts that draw from political science and economics, from history and anthropology, from language and culture. Knowing how those forces operate, our students can engage the professional community of international leaders that live and work in the neighborhood of the school. Our neighborhood in Washington is the center but not the circumference of an Elliott School education. Our students refine their understanding of international affairs in international student organizations, in the global institutions that surround the school, in study abroad Over three quarters of our students spend at least a semester abroad, learning how to apply their knowledge in different cultural and political environments.The International Affairs degree can be as broad as the world is wide or as tightly focused as any issue that urgently challenges the international community. It is a program that draws from the past and looks to the future, a future that begins the first day that a student walks into the Elliott School building.

Because the international affairs degree is broad, students can concentrate on a wide variety of topics. They focus on regions, such as Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America, or on the various topical areas of international affairs: foreign policy, trade, development, security, environment, conflict resolution, or science and technology policy. A number of our students take a second major in the Colombian College of Arts and Sciences, with history, economics, and languages being the most popular.

The International Affairs program is offered at George Washington University.