Applying to the Global Studies Major

All UCLA students who plan to pursue the Global Studies major must apply for entrance to the major.

The application period is the end of the Fall Quarter of the Junior Year. By the end of that term, students must have done the following:

earned a minimum grade of a 'B' in Glbl St 1
completed all preparation courses* by the end of the Fall Quarter of their Junior Year with a minimum UC GPA in these courses of 3.25.
shown that they plan to continue with the required course sequence for the major by enrolling in Glbl St 100A (Winter) and registering for a Glbl St 110A/110B travel study program (Summer)
submitted an application at the end of the Fall Quarter of their Junior Year, and be formally accepted into the major

*Completion of level 3 of the foreign language is acceptable when applying for the major. Level 6 of the foreign language is required to complete all preparation requirements, but can be done once accepted to the major. The minimum prep GPA of 3.25 will still need to be met with this course.

The Global Studies major is designed for highly motivated students who are looking for a rigorous course of study leading up to a senior thesis of sizable length (35-50 pages of text) on an issue related to globalization of their choosing. The Chair has found that in order to better ensure that students are capable of undertaking such a demanding major, that they must be as prepared as possible, and should show excellence in their academic work at UCLA (or another UC) to date. Note that meeting the minimum preparation requirements does not guarantee admission to the Global Studies major. Admission to the Global Studies major will be on a competitive basis, using the above qualifications as a minimum standard for consideration. Students are asked to have a backup major in mind when applying, just in case they are not accepted to the Global Studies major.

Incoming UCLA Students: Incoming freshmen and transfer students may come to UCLA as Pre-Global Studies majors, however please note that that designation has no bearing on being accepted to the Global Studies major, as they will still need to apply for it. In fact, it is recommended that students enter UCLA with a major other than "Pre-Global Studies" to ensure a backup major in case they do not get accepted into Global Studies, or want to pursue a double major. Also, transfer students interested in pursuing the Global Studies major should have completed as many preparation courses prior to coming to UCLA as possible, leaving only Glbl St 1 to be taken at UCLA during the Fall Quarter of their Junior Year (unless taken during a prior summer term).

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The application period for the Global Studies major is now closed. It will reopen for 2013-14 during the 2013 Fall Quarter. Please check back for the specific dates.

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After the application period has closed and grades for Fall Quarter courses have posted, the Chair of Global Studies will review the DPR of all applicants modeled for the Global Studies major.

Important: Students applying for the Global Studies major will need to show good faith effort that they intend to continue with the required course sequencing by enrolling in Glbl St 100A for the Winter Quarter, as well as registering for a Global Studies travel study program (Glbl St 110A/110B) for the following Summer, as they will need these courses to be on track with the Global Studies major, if admitted. Registration for Glbl St 110A/110B will begin on November 15th and will be done via the UCLA Travel Study website. Students are strongly encouraged to register for a Glbl St 110A/110B on that day (a small deposit is required to secure a spot in one of these programs), as well as Glbl St 100A as soon as their 1st pass begins for that term. The Chair will be verifying enrollment in these courses when determining qualifications for the Global Studies major.

Students who are not admitted to the Global Studies major will have the option of dropping Glbl St 110A/110B, but no refund of the deposit will be given. These students are encouraged to remain in the Glbl St 110A/110B program, as the courses can be used towards any two of the three electives for the Global Studies minor, which they are encouraged to pursue.

Note: If you have completed any preparation coursework outside of UCLA prior to the application period, you must ensure that this coursework posts to your DPR. Please contact the UCLA Admissions Office if any non-UCLA coursework is still pending.

By the way, if you would like to verify that the courses you have taken are applying towards the preparation requirements correctly, please feel free to have your DPR modeled for the Global Studies major at your College Counseling Unit.

The notification period for entrance to, or denial of, the Global Studies major is targeted for Week 2 of Winter Quarter, if not before. Students are asked to refrain from inquiring about their application status until after notifications are sent out.

Note that the application pertains only to the Global Studies Major. For information on the Global Studies Minor, instead, please refer to the Minor Worksheet, available on the Global Studies website.