Four-Year Degree & Development Plans
Below we’ve provided a four-year development plan for students in our program. This development plan will help students set and achieve meaningful goals, with a particular focus on preparing for life and work beyond Butler.
We’ve also provided four-year degree plans for many of our majors to illustrate how students could complete a degree from our department in four years. These degree plans suggest which classes students should generally plan to complete each semester they are at Butler.
We know that each student will chart their own path at Butler with the help of their advisors. Neither the development nor the four-year degree plan should be seen as prescriptive. Instead, each plan should be seen as a directional guide helping students stay on track during their time at Butler.
First Year:
- Develop relationships with academic advisor, faculty, staff and other majors/minors
- Explore extracurricular opportunities, both related and not related to the discipline
- Develop a four-year plan for coursework
- Add a major/minor, if necessary
Sophomore:
- Develop interest in a sub-field associated with the discipline by exploring courses and pushing one’s boundaries in selecting courses
- Pursue a leadership role in extracurricular activities
- Start attending career fairs
- Identify potential career paths/post-graduate plans
- Identify potential internship opportunities and/or Service Learning courses
- Begin resume building
- Consider study abroad opportunities
Junior:
- Prepare for graduate or professional school entrance exams and secure recommenders OR identify potential career path
- Complete an internship and/or Service Learning courses
- Pursue a leadership role in extracurricular activities
- Explore possibilities for conducting independent research or getting involved with a faculty member’s research
- Begin completing an honors thesis proposal, if applicable
- Apply for the Butler Summer Institute, if applicable
- Continue resume building
Senior:
- Apply to graduate/professional school OR jobs
- Complete honors thesis research, if applicable
- Polish resume or CV
| 1st YEAR FALL | 1st YEAR SPRING |
| FYS 101 | FYS 102 |
| IS 101 or SW 270-IS | IS A (Intro) |
| Foreign Language | Foreign Language |
| PCA | TI |
| Elective/2nd Major | Elective/2nd Major |
| 2nd YEAR FALL | 2nd YEAR SPRING |
| NW | AR |
| Foreign Language | Foreign Language |
| WB | ICR |
| Elective/2nd Major | Elective/2nd Major |
| IS B (Int. Arrangements) | IS C (Research) |
| 3rd YEAR FALL | 3rd YEAR SPRING |
| IS D (Int. Relations) | IS 390 |
| IS Area 1 | IS Area 1 |
| GHS | IS Area 2 |
| Elective/2nd Major | GHS |
| Elective/2nd Major | Elective/2nd Major |
| 4th YEAR FALL | 4th YEAR SPRING |
| IS 410 | IS Area 2 |
| IS Area 1 | IS Elective |
| IS Area 2 | Elective/2nd Major |
| Elective/2nd Major | Elective/2nd Major |
| Elective/2nd Major | Elective/2nd Major |
NOTES
A major in International Studies requires 42 credit hours; 33 of those hours must be 300+ level courses. This four-year plan leaves enough room for a second major and/or study abroad.
This plan assumes no transfer credits, advanced placement credits, or placement into a foreign language. If a student tests into the second, third, or fourth semester of a foreign language, fewer foreign language courses are required.
As an interdisciplinary program, International Studies is reliant on other departments for many of its courses. Thus, this four-year plan depends on which courses are offered in other departments and the timing of those courses.