Concentrations
Regional concentrations are open to students of all majors and offer an interdisciplinary approach to the study of a particular region. They combine course work at Washington College in History, Economics, Anthropology, Political Science, and Culture and Literature with at least one semester abroad in the region of focus. Current regions of study include African Studies, Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, Near Eastern Studies, and West European Studies.
The regional concentration is designed to serve students who wish to develop a focus on a particular world region, for those who plan to enter business, government, or international agency service and for those who are preparing for graduate study of a particular region.
Common Requirements
Students who wish to concentrate on a region are required to take two of the following introductory courses during their freshman and sophomore years:
- ANT 105: Introduction to Anthropology
- ECN 111: Introduction to Macroeconomics or ECN 112: Introduction to Microeconomics
- POL 101: Introduction to Political Science or POL 104: Introduction to World Politics
Students may substitute other introductory level courses that pertain to their region with approval from the Director of International Studies. Examples include, but are not limited to, Philosophy 112, Introduction to Comparative Religion: Eastern for African or Asian Studies, or Art 200, History of Western Art for West European Studies.
History 103, 104: Modern World History is also strongly recommended unless the student's background already is adequate in this area.
Students must study one foreign language pertaining to their region offered at Washington College to the 200 level, or at least one semester of language in a Washington College abroad program. Students also may fulfill this requirement by demonstrating competency at the 200 level by passing the appropriate language test. Students are encouraged to continue their language studies beyond this level.
In addition, by the beginning of the spring semester of the senior year all students pursuing a regional concentration must submit a substantial research paper of acceptable quality on a topic relating to the region of concentration, approved by their faculty adviser(s). Students are free to revise or adapt a paper written for one of the required courses for the concentration or to adapt a chapter of the senior thesis to fulfill this requirement.
Finally, students must pursue upper-level coursework in their region of specialty, both at Washington College and in the region itself, as indicated in the concentration descriptions below.