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Foreign Service, Minor

Saint Louis University offers an 18-credit minor in foreign service. This interdisciplinary minor is intended to help participants prepare for an international career, whether with the U.S. State Department, with international non-governmental organizations, with international organizations or in the private sector. It is open to any undergraduate enrolled at SLU; all majors qualify.

Upon joining the program, students must meet individually with the program director to receive help selecting electives tailored to their career goals.

Required Courses
POLS 1600Introduction to International Politics3
POLS 3640International Law3
Political Science Electives6
Select two courses with the 'Foreign Service Political Science' attribute, such as:
POLS 2520
Introduction to African Politics
POLS 2530
Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics
POLS 2550
Political Systems of the Sub-Sahara
POLS 2560
The Politics of Asia
POLS 2570
Introduction to Latin American Politics
POLS 2590
Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
POLS 2600
Introduction to International Political Economy
POLS 2640
International Terrorism
POLS 2691
Theory and Practice of Human Rights
POLS 2820
American Foreign Policy
POLS 3500
East Asian Political Economy
POLS 3520
Communism, Capitalism and Social Justice
POLS 3567
Political Development in Contemporary Spain
POLS 3600
Problems of Globalization
POLS 3620
International Organization and the Management of World Problems
POLS 3630
International Security and Conflict Resolution
POLS 3650
International Relations of Africa
POLS 3810
Latin American-U.S. Relations
POLS 3914
Foreign Service Internship
POLS 3918
Overseas Fieldwork
POLS 4500
Russian Political Culture
POLS 4520
Political Change
POLS 4530
Authoritarian Politics: Rigging Elections and Clinging to Power
POLS 4590
Crisis of Leadership
POLS 4610
International Relations: Theory and Practice
POLS 4630
The European Union: Politics and Political Economy
POLS 4650
War, Peace, and Politics
POLS 4662
International Challenges
POLS 4692
Theories of World Politics
POLS 4730
Seminar: Contemporary Political Ideologies
Elective Courses6
Select two courses with the 'Foreign Service Elective' attribute, such as:
Or any modern language beyond the intermediate level
ECON 3790
Economies of Latin America
ECON 3850
Political Economy European Union
ECON 4300
International Trade
ECON 4310
Exchange Rates and Global Economics
ECON 4560
Economic Development
FREN 3010
Discovering the French-Speaking World
FREN 3020
Text, Voice, & Self-Expression
FREN 3030
21st-Century France
FREN 4110
Language & Linguistics
FREN 4160
French for the Professional
FREN 4170
French and the Sciences
FREN 4180
French and International Relations: Global Simulation
FREN 4220
French and Francophone Media : Qu’est-ce qui se passe ?
FREN 4290
Women and Global Issues
FREN 4670
Postcolonialism and Violence, Issues of Representation in Francophone Culture, Literature and Film
GR 3010
Communicating in Written German: The German Media
GR 3020
Communicating in Spoken German: Contemporary Issues
GR 3200
German Cultural History
GR 3250
German Culture Studies II
GR 4010
Fluency in German
HIST 1710
China and Japan Since 1600: Samurai, Revolutionaries, Entrepreneurs
HIST 3140
Twentieth Century Europe: Era of World Wars, 1914-1945
HIST 3250
World in Conflict Since 1945
HIST 3290
Russia Since 1905
ITAL 3010
Written Communication in Italian I
ITAL 3020
Oral Communication in Italian I
ITAL 4010
Written Communication in Italian II
ITAL 4020
Oral Communication in Italian II
PSY 4270
Cross-Cultural Psychology
RUSS 3010
Communicating in Russian: The Arts
RUSS 3020
Communicating in Russian: History and Politics
RUSS 4010
Presenting Research in Russian
SOC 1180
World Geography
SPAN 3010
Written Communication
SPAN 3020
Eloquent Communication in Spanish
SPAN 4000
Advanced Spanish Grammar
SPAN 4050
Span Phonetics & Phonology
SPAN 4630
Narrative of the Spanish Civil War
THEO 2520
Comparative Religious Ethics
THEO 2710
Religions of the World
THEO 2715
Jerusalem: Three Faiths, One City
THEO 3335
Christians In Middle East
THEO 3415
Christ and Color: Liberation Theology
THEO 3710
Arts of Hinduism and Buddhism
THEO 4510
War and Peace in the Christian Tradition
THEO 4810
Latin American Politics, Theology, & Culture
Total Credits18

Continuation Standards

Students with a minor in foreign service must maintain a 2.00 grade point average (GPA) in courses for the foreign service minor.