Undergraduate Catalog

Foreign Language/Global Issues Requirement

Candidates for a baccalaureate degree at Western Illinois University are required to complete the Foreign Language/Global Issues requirement established for their major program of study. Students will complete at least one of the options listed below, as determined by their academic department. Students should refer to the specific Foreign Language/Global Issues requirement for their degree program in the Academic Departments, Programs, and Courses section of this catalog.

  1. Successfully complete one of the following options:
    • Complete three years of high school language study in a single language with an average grade of C or better.
    • For students whose native language is English, pass an appropriate test offered by the WIU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
    • Complete, with a grade of C or better, a University-level course which meets the goals and objectives of the foreign language requirement.
    • For international students whose native language is not English and who have been admitted to WIU, satisfy WIU’s admission requirements for English language proficiency.
  2. Earn credit for a General Education course that is designated as “Global Issues.”
  3. Earn credit for a 300-level or higher course in the major, or in another department, that is designated as “Global Issues.”
  4. Successfully complete a WIU Study Abroad program of sufficient length and breadth.

General Education Courses Designated as Global Issues

  • ANTH 110—Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
  • ECON 351—Global Economic Poverty Issues
  • ENG 358—Studies in Non-Western Literature
  • F L 101—Introductory Seminar in World Languages and Cultures
  • GEOG 100—Introduction to Human Geography
  • GEOG 110—World Regional Geography
  • GER/HIST 337—The Holocaust
  • HIST 115—World History to 1500
  • HIST 116—World History since 1500
  • HIST 211—Technology and Science in World History
  • HIST 241—History of Latin America
  • HIST 245—History of Asia
  • HIST 311—History of Flight Culture
  • HIST/WS 318—Women and Gender in European History
  • HIST/GER 337—The Holocaust
  • INAG 310—International Agriculture in Developing Countries
  • IS 325—Global Social Networks
  • MUS 394—Music in World Cultures
  • NUTR 300—Food and Culture
  • PHYS 150—Energy and the Environment
  • POLS 228—Fundamentals of International Relations
  • POLS 267—Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics
  • POLS 329—Latin American Politics
  • REL 110—Introduction to Eastern Religions
  • REL 111—Introduction to Western Religions
  • REL 365—Islam
  • SOC/WS 285—Women: A Global Perspective
  • WS/SOC 285—Women: A Global Perspective
  • WS/HIST 318—Women and Gender in European History

Discipline-Specific Courses Designated as Global Issues

  • AAS/GEOG 466—Geography of Africa
  • ACCT 343—Intermediate Accounting III
  • ANTH 305—Applied Anthropological Methods
  • ANTH/REL 324—Religion, Magic, and Shamanism
  • ANTH/PSY 353—Cultural Psychology
  • ANTH 415—Environmental Anthropology
  • ANTH/BOT 463—Ethnobotany
  • ARTH 393—Gender and Embodiment in the Visual Arts
  • ARTH 496—History of Contemporary Art
  • BC&J 351—Comparative Broadcasting Systems
  • BC&J 353—International Communication and the Foreign Press
  • BC&J 456—International Public Relations
  • BOT/ANTH 463—Ethnobotany
  • CHEM 342—Fundamentals of Environmental Chemistry
  • COMM 381—Intercultural Communication
  • CS 320—Ethical, Social and Legal Issues in the Digital World
  • CSTM 440—Green and Sustainable Construction
  • ECON 470—International Trade
  • ECON 479—Microfinance in Action
  • EDS 428—English Language Learners and Bilingualism: Theory, Policy, and Practice
  • ENG 350—Postcolonial Literature
  • ENG 357—Nation and Literature
  • ENG 392—National Cinemas
  • ENG/REL 492—Religion, Literature, and Film
  • FIN 497—International Financial Management
  • GEOG/AAS 466—World Regions
  • HIST 304—United States Military History
  • HIST 307—U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1898
  • HIST 312—Technology, Culture, and Society
  • HIST 346—Japan
  • HIST 347—Modern East Asia
  • HIST 380—World War I
  • HIST 421—Seminar in Global Environmental History
  • HRM 444—International Human Resource Management
  • INAG 361—International Agriculture Travel Study in the Western Hemisphere
  • INAG 362—International Agriculture Travel Study in the Eastern Hemisphere
  • MGT 485—International Management
  • MKTG 317—International Business
  • MKTG 417—International Marketing
  • MUS 390—European Art Music I
  • MUS 391—European Art Music II
  • NURS 316—Transcultural Nursing
  • POLS 322—European Politics
  • POLS 331—United States Foreign Policy
  • POLS 334—Politics of the Global Economy
  • POLS 338—The United Nations and International Organization
  • POLS 353—Terrorism and Political Conflict
  • POLS 400—Comparative Public Policy
  • POLS 440—National Security and Arms Control
  • POLS 446—Conflict Resolution and International Peacekeeping
  • POLS 465—Genocide in Our Time
  • PSY/ANTH 353—Cultural Psychology
  • REL/ANTH 324—Religion, Magic, and Shamanism
  • REL 350—Hinduism
  • REL 355—Buddhism
  • REL 456—Religion and War
  • REL/ENG 492—Religion, Literature, and Film
  • RPTA 462—International Tourism
  • SCM 411—Global Supply Chain Management
  • SOC 440—Global Sociology
  • SSED 354—Methods for Teaching Social Studies PreK–2nd Grade
  • SSED 495—Teaching with a Global Perspective
  • SW 380—Social Justice and Diversity
  • THEA 390—World Theatre History I