Elifnaz Caliskan has always had “diplomat” in her future. Whether living in her birthplace in Turkey, in Spain or in the Netherlands, international relations has always been on her mind — and more recently, her transcript.
The sophomore government and politics major is one of the first students in this university’s history to declare a concentration in international relations. The Maryland Higher Education Commission approved a proposal by the University Senate last spring allowing students majoring in government and politics to declare a concentration in international relations starting this semester.
Representatives from the behavioral and social sciences college were not able to provide the number of students who have declared the concentration because the drop/add registration period is still underway.
Caliskan began applying to schools in the Washington area when she found out her father would be relocated to the nation’s capital in 2015. She decided to attend this university to pursue a degree in government and politics, knowing she was choosing a school that, unlike many others, did not offer a degree in international relations.
Her father’s colleague encouraged Caliskan to take advantage of the broader opportunities at this university and to learn about U.S. government, Caliskan said.
“She told me, ‘I know you want to be a diplomat, but you can’t be a representative without knowing U.S. politics, and you can’t negotiate without knowing the laws here,'” Caliskan said.
Still, there was demand for a more solidified path in international relations coursework, said Scott Kastner, director of undergraduate studies in the government and politics department.
“Initially, it was a lot of students who were pushing for a more formal course of study in international relations, and that kind of put it on our radar,” Kastner said.
Andrew Harris, University Senate programs, curricula and courses chairman, presented the proposal to the University Senate for the concentration in August 2015. The concentration requirements include existing government and politics courses.
The university is not offering any new international relations courses this semester, but “one of our goals is to offer more moving forward,” Kastner said. Having a concentration within the government and politics major can help students with job opportunities by showing they focused their studies in a more specific field of study, Kastner said.
“Now that I can focus on [international relations], I have the holistic education, but I also have that specialty that will appear on my transcript,” Caliskan said.
Junior government and politics major Giselle Miranda has also declared the concentration.
“American politics is cool, but I feel like I have more ties to other countries,” Miranda said.
Both Miranda’s parents are Salvadoran, and she recently returned from a three-week study abroad program at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The outlined proposal requires students completing the concentration earn 24 credits in existing government and politics classes that focus on international relations.
“I heard rumors about [the school] adding [the concentration], but didn’t think it would be during my time at Maryland,” Miranda said. “It’s perfect. I’ve done pretty much half of the concentration already.”
Students who have already completed some of the requirements can count their earned credits toward the concentration coursework without being required to retake any classes, Kastner said.
