Our planet’s human population has now surpassed 8 billion. We are united by our common humanity but often divided by race, culture, class, gender and citizenship. While our societies are more intertwined and interconnected than ever before, violent conflict, profound inequality, and stark injustice remain distressingly common, while the institutions created to collectively manage global problems are underpowered, underperforming and under increasing strain. Some societies have achieved unprecedented levels of human and economic development, but in doing so are testing the limits of the earth’s capacity to sustain human and nonhuman life.

These are the issues and challenges that animate both students and faculty in Global Studies (GS). We grapple with big questions in an increasingly complex world, and we believe that making sense of them requires both innovative classroom teaching and opportunities for experiential learning.  Global Studies field courses – offered in recent years in Costa Rica, India, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Morocco and Chile – provide students with unique opportunities to explore how global processes interact with the cultures and histories of particular countries.  GS students also have access to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship program, which provides funding and logistical support for internships in Ghana.  Closer to home, GS students have taken on key leadership roles with the International Students Overcoming War (ISOW) initiative, which provides scholarships and support for students from conflict-affected countries to study at Laurier.

The Global Studies degree is adaptable to your specific interests. You can choose to study broadly across our program, or to complete one of our three Concentrations – in Peace and Conflict, Culture and Identity, or Development and Sustainability. If you are looking for something a bit different, the Social Entrepreneurship Minor, delivered by Global Studies on behalf of the Faculty of Arts, will equip you with additional tools and innovative approaches for making a difference in Canada or abroad.  Or if a career as a public policy professional appeals to you, consider completing the International Policy Option, which will provide you with a solid foundation for professionally-oriented graduate programs.

The career paths of Global Studies graduates are both diverse and inspiring.  Our alumni can be found all over the globe working in a wide variety of settings – from government, to international development and humanitarian aid organizations, to refugee settlement agencies, to the education sector, to major global corporations. There is also a wide range of graduate school options for Global Studies alumni. In Waterloo alone, many of our best students continue their studies through the Balsillie School of International Affairs (which offers both an MA in Global Governance and an MA in International Public Policy), through Laurier’s MA in Global Justice, Religion, and Culture – a collaboration between the Department of Global Studies and the Department of Religion and Culture – or through the University of Waterloo’s MA program in Peace and Conflict Studies.  Further afield, our partnership with the University of Sussex – one of the world’s top-ranked schools for development studies – offers GS students a pathway to one of 16 MA programs offered through Sussex’s School of Global Studies.

Your time with us here at Laurier is short, so plan to make the most of it! We’re here to help you on the journey.

Your Experience and Career Guide

Make the most out of your university career by taking advantage of all that Laurier has to offer you. Explore the Global Studies experience and career guide to learn ways you can extend your classroom experience into the world and the career opportunities available to you.