Development

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has a long-standing tradition of strong support for international studies and currently serves as the UW System’s International Gateway for established and emergent international programs. With a mission emphasizing both international education and campus/community partnerships, UWM has over forty years’ experience providing academic and public education programs that focus on the global economy, international politics, security, technology, and other transnational issues.

In 1999, the State Legislature and the Board of Regents recognized UWM’s statewide role in international education by selecting UWM as the site for a groundbreaking, new Bachelor's Degree in Global Studies – the first degree program of its kind in the nation. As our society becomes ever more interconnected with other parts of the world – and more aware of the impact of global trends and processes which have long influenced our lives – this program seeks to give degree students the academic preparation to confront future challenges and to take full advantage of emerging opportunities.

Combining the strengths of a liberal arts foundation and pre-professional training, the Bachelor’s Degree in Global Studies offers a rigorous interdisciplinary program with latitude to accommodate a wide range of individual interests and needs. The program will soon offer five major tracks – Global Cities, Global Classrooms, Global Communication, Global Management, and Global Security. Declared Global Studies majors choose one of these tracks; students from all tracks are required to take three Global Studies “core courses,” annual “Think Tank Learning Community” one-credit courses, eight semesters of a foreign language, study abroad, and an international internship. In addition, there are upper division Global Studies core courses for all of the tracks except Classrooms.

The Implementation Plan for the Global Studies degree has been approved by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, UWM's Academic Program and Curriculum Committee, UWM's Letters & Science and Business Course and Curriculum Committees, and the CIE Academic Programs Advisory Committee.

The Bachelor’s Degree in Global Studies is administered by the Center for International Education (CIE) at UWM, which has been designated a U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center for Global Studies.