Off-Campus Experience

Kaitlyn Fletcher

The International Affairs major includes a 3-credit Off-Campus Experience (OCE) requirement as part of the degree program. The goal is to provide a range of experiential learning opportunities for students that further develop aspects of the IAFS curriculum, from language learning to policy-making.

The Off-Campus Experience provides International Affairs students with:

  • Community engagement, locally and globally
  • Practical applications that enrich academic coursework
  • Through study abroad, an international education experience and exposure to cultural diversity and language skills development, expanding and deepening students’ knowledge of geographic concentration
  • Through internships and service-learning in the non-profit sector, business, or government, support for students' hands-on learning on institutional, political, and economic issues relevant to international affairs, as well as professional development for future career plans

Fulfilling the OCE

To fulfill the Off-Campus Experience requirement, students will complete 3 upper division credits which must include an experiential learning component and must not be applied to any other IAFS requirement. Opportunities to fulfill the requirement include the following options: 

  • An upper division study abroad course offered through the . 
    • Fulfillment of the Off-Campus Experience through study abroad is subject to the student's final transcript from the Office of Education Abroad.
  • One of the following: For service learning classes, service learning projects must have some international application such as intercultural communication, language skill development, policy, etc.
    • IAFS 4930: Internship in International Affairs - Offers credit for internationally-focused work with a variety of organizations in the United States and abroad.
    • IAFS 3000: Global and Local Engagement (this special topic only; other topics not applicable) - Experiential course which includes 30 hours of a service-learning or volunteer project as part of the course requirements.
    • EDUC 4125: Secondary World Language Methods
    • LEAD 4000: Leadership in Context and Emerging Challenges
      • Requires a prerequisite course of LEAD 1000 or LDSP 1000 (minimum grade C-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors). Must be a Leadership Studies Minor student. 
    • CYBR 5550: Designing for Defense
      • This is a graduate level and challenging class with an application process. Please see the Designing for Defense website for details and speak with your IAFS advisor.
  • A course approved by the program.
  • Credit-bearing off-campus experience pre-approved by the program (contact your advisor).

​Petition to Substitute a Class for the OCE

To petition to substitute an additional Functional Area or Geographic Concentration class for the OCE, and submit it to your IAFS advisor. Submission deadlines are:

  • November 1st - May graduates
  • April 1st - August and December graduates
  • Please note: The program will not consider petitions submitted in the student's final semester

Please contact your advisor with any questions about the OCE requirement.