Why Choose BGInS?
An abiding strength of Carleton University is its long tradition of study and research focusing on international problems and perspectives. As Canada’s Capital University, Carleton offers faculty and students opportunities uniquely linked to its location in Ottawa by providing access to a wide range of national and international institutions, associations and agencies.
Carleton’s Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGInS) program takes advantage of Carleton’s strengths and location to provide an undergraduate education in global and international issues that can give you an advantage in today’s job market. The program has four interconnected components. The core course sequence provides all students with a common multidisciplinary foundation in global and international studies. The 18 specializations cover specific international and global themes or geographical areas, giving you the opportunity to focus your studies according to your interests. A second-language requirement and an international experience requirement are included so that you can graduate not only with new knowledge and skills, but also a transformed worldview.
Global and international perspectives
The BGInS program draws upon the two distinct but interrelated concepts of the “international” and the “global.” Scholars with an “international” focus tend to look at the world in and through the nation-state. They address issues relating to economics, law and politics, the international state system, and associated issues of trade, human rights and conflict. Scholars with a “global” focus look primarily at the shifting meanings of identity and belonging in the global community, especially in the face of the many changes wrought by globalization. They draw upon insights from the humanities (literature, religion, history and the arts) to look at the world outside and beyond the state, while problematizing the distinction of state and society in multiple ways.
The BGInS program is the first in Canada to emphasize both global and international approaches to the study of the world. It places these two viewpoints in creative tension with each other, allowing students to acquire a nuanced understanding of the world in which we live. It is multidisciplinary in that it examines the world through many different disciplinary perspectives; it is interdisciplinary in that it places these disciplinary perspectives in creative dialogue with each other.
The Carleton and Capital advantage
Over 80 faculty members from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Public Affairs contribute to the BGInS program. These faculty members include experts in a wide variety of topics related to global and international studies as well as specialists in a number of different world regions. Carleton is home to the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs (the administrative home of the BGInS program), the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (the pre-eminent graduate school of international affairs in Canada), and numerous other departments, schools and institutes with an international focus.
Where better to study the world and the relationships among its peoples than Ottawa, the national capital of Canada? As the seat of the Canadian federal government, the city is home to many of the country’s internationally-oriented institutions, including Global Affairs Canada. Ottawa is a thriving cosmopolitan centre where you will find a multitude of embassies, consulates, international agencies, scientific and cultural institutions, and national and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as a large concentration of globally oriented high-tech firms.
Careers
A global perspective, intercultural understanding and second-language abilities are increasingly important skills for success in the workplace. Graduates of the BGInS program will have acquired these skills through their experience of living overseas, their facility in a second language, and their knowledge of diversity and complexity in global social and cultural environments. A BGInS degree can provide the foundation for careers in advertising, business, communications, foreign service, journalism, marketing, policy analysis, public relations, public service, sales and many other fields.
Recent graduates of the BGInS program have begun their careers with the Government of Canada in bureaus such as Global Affairs Canada and Health Canada in roles such as Policy Analysts and Program Officers. Alumni are also beginning their careers in the private sector with various NGOs and not-for-profit organizations both domestically and abroad.
Graduate programs
The strong training in global and international studies that BGInS offers has resulted in our alumni pursuing graduate studies, law school and teaching programs in prestigious programs across Canada, internationally, as well as here at home at Carleton University. Examples of areas of study include: Law, Global Development Studies, Canadian Studies, Political Management, Environment and Sustainability, International Security, Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, and International Affairs. BGInS graduates are furthering their studies in Carleton programs including (but not limited to): NPSIA, SPPA, MPM, the Institute of Political Economy, and the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies.
If you think that you may wish to pursue an advanced degree, you are encouraged to research graduate programs early to ensure that you meet the relevant graduate-level requirements.
Admission requirements
Please refer to our website at admissions for the current admission requirements.