American Studies
American Studies (AMS) offers interdisciplinary study that explores American culture from multiple perspectives.
Department of Global and Intercultural Studies
Where Do You Want To Go?
The Department of Global and Intercultural Studies can take you into almost any career path, anywhere in the world, in fields as diverse as research, education, health care, museum curation, social work, international development, government, human relations, non-profit management, marketing, or publishing.
Our Mission
Together our programs foster critical self-awareness and engaged global citizenship that supports local diversity and respects individual dignity. Faculty and staff are committed to helping students develop the broad-based intellectual perspectives and the analytical skills necessary to understand, contextualize, and critically engage the opportunities and challenges of our diverse, changing, interdependent world.
Our courses examine global issues and intercultural experiences from a range of perspectives. We seek to promote broad-based, multidimensional, global and intercultural awareness focused on global frameworks and forces in the context of related socio-cultural issues.
We are committed to high-quality teaching, scholarship, and service to enhance students in their personal, civic, and professional roles and to connect faculty and students with constituents both across and outside the university. The department's governance is designed to help fulfill this mission by recognizing the importance of program autonomy and cross-program coordination and collaboration.
Our Programs
The Department of Global and Intercultural Studies (GIC) brings together 5 distinct but interrelated interdisciplinary programs and their associated fields and methods. Our curricula examines the multi-directional movements of people, capital, resources, culture, ideas, and information across regional, national, and continental boundaries in both historical and contemporary contexts. We believe we can better imagine and shape our futures through understanding.
International Studies
International Studies (ITS) is at its heart an interdisciplinary approach to studying the world. Students can choose from the ITS major or the ITS minor.
Latin American, Latino/a and Caribbean Studies
Latin American, Latino/a and Caribbean Studies (LAS) explores the cultures, histories, politics, arts, and societies of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) investigates how our lives are affected by gender race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, and nationality. Miami University offers a minor, a co-major, and a graduate certificate.
Religion
Comparative Religion at Miami University explores world religions, their histories, beliefs, and cultural impacts. Students gain interdisciplinary perspectives on religion’s role in society.
Go Further with an International Studies B.A.
This multidisciplinary program is for students desiring a broad foundation for understanding and analyzing important issues within an international and multicultural context.
Its flexible curriculum provides a basis for graduate work or careers in government service, international business, academia, tourism, public service, cultural relations, and law.
Overseas study is required as a part of this major.
WGS Co-Major
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is a dynamic, interdisciplinary major that investigates how our lives are affected by gender, race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, and nationality. It emphasizes the importance of understanding gender and sexuality as elements of wider social and political structures.
Career Path
A degree from Global and Intercultural Studies prepares students for many different career paths, including in the nonprofit sector, government service, international organizations, business, legal work, education, and health. Majors and minors in this department combine both social science and humanities skills, a distinctive combination desirable to employers.
Students pursuing an International Studies major or Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies co-major benefit from our uniquely interdisciplinary approach and will develop critical skills employers value and that support career development. These skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, intercultural communication, collaboration and teamwork, and leadership.
Alumni Testimonials:
- Kateryna Botsu ‘12 (International Studies) is now working as a strategy assistant at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Inaara Ladha ‘21 (International Studies, Comparative Religion, Economics) Inaara works in the humanitarian and international development space, where she focuses on how crisis response, international partnerships, and policy can effectively meet the needs of people affected by conflict, displacement, and natural disasters. She says, “As a triple major in International Studies, Comparative Religion, and Economics at Miami, my studies taught me to examine issues through multiple lenses and nurtured my curiosity about global affairs. My coursework helped me learn to translate complex historical, economic, and cultural dynamics into clear, accessible writing. That interdisciplinary training and inherent adaptability anchors my work in humanitarian assistance, shaping me into a thoughtful and forward-leaning public servant.”
WGS Graduate Certificate
The graduate certificate in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies is a 12–14 credit-hour program open to graduate students in any discipline, designed to complement a primary graduate degree. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum, students explore how gender and other social differences influence the production and dissemination of knowledge.
Upcoming Events
- Sheila Croucher, Ph.D.
- Phyllis Callahan, Ph.D.
- Darcy Donahue, Ph.D.
- Ann Fuehrer, Ph.D.
- Charlotte A. Newman Goldy, Ph.D.
- C. Lee Harrington, Ph.D.
- Cheryl Johnson, Ph.D.
- Sally Lloyd, Ph.D.
- Kimberly E. Medley
- Kathy McMahon-Klosterman, Ph.D.
Give to the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies
Help us prepare the next generation of leaders and global citizens. We have numerous scholarships, grants, and programs accepting contributions from donors like you.
Department of Global and Intercultural Studies
120 MacMillan Hall
Oxford, OH 45056
