What are Specializations and Streams?

  • The Specializations (BGInS Honours) and Streams (BGInS 15.0 Credit Degree) provide depth of knowledge in a particular subject area of global and international studies.
  • The BGInS program offers a choice of 18 different Specializations or Themes.
  • Students must choose one Specialization upon admission.
  • It is possible to switch during the course of the degree.
  • It is not possible to register in more than one Specialization/Stream at a time.
  • 15 of the Specialization are thematic, focusing on a disciplinary or multi-disciplinary topic in global and international studies.
  • Three of the Specialization are regional, covering a geographically-defined region of the world from a multi-disciplinary perspective.
  • Each Specialization and Stream is sponsored by a Carleton academic unit or faculty grouping.

a)Thematic Specializations and Streams

Image of a student looking at the Manhattan skyline while on an International Placement

International Placement – New York

b) Regional Specializations and Streams


Specializations (BGInS Honours)

The BGInS Honours degree offers a choice of 18 different Specializations.  All students must choose one Specialization upon admission, though it is possible to switch Specializations during the first or subsequent years of study if upon entry to the new specialization they would be in good academic standing. It is not possible to register in more than one Specialization at a time.  Each Specialization requires 7.5 credits and allows students to explore in much greater depth a particular aspect of global and international studies.

All the Specializations build upon, and complement, the core course sequence.  Some of the Specializations are disciplinary, offering the global and international dimension of an established academic discipline.  Other Specializations are multi-disciplinary, providing many disciplinary perspectives on some theme or region. They are roughly equivalent in credit weight to a major within the Honours Bachelor of Arts degree.  For those students intending to go on to graduate school, the Specializations provide the basis for entrance into cognate graduate disciplines.  (Note, however, that students intending to go on to graduate school in Economics will most likely have to take additional elective courses in quantitative economics; see the Specialization in International Economic Policy for further details.) Each Specialization is sponsored by a Carleton academic unit or faculty grouping.

Streams (BGInS 15.0 Credit Degree)

Students in the BGInS 15.0 credit degree must register in a 4.0 credit Stream.  It is possible to switch Streams during the first or subsequent years of study if upon entry to the new Stream they would be in good academic standing; it is not possible to register in more than one Stream at a time. The Streams are in the same 18 subject areas as the Specializations. Each Stream is sponsored by a Carleton academic unit or faculty grouping.