A taste of world education
"The world perspectives major encompasses and embodies the whole liberal arts spirit," says a recent graduate. "It's a major that gives us a world focus through all areas, be they environmental science or any kind of science or art, and it gives us a taste of world education through social, political, economic, and other issues," says a world perspectives and political science major. "It's a complement to any major," says a senior, referring to the fact that all world perspectives majors must choose a second major. "It opened up our eyes to the world somewhat. . . . It stimulated an interest in current issues and international policies," says a recent graduate who also majored in history. She adds that she chose the world perspectives major because she's "interested by the world. I'm fascinated by the world; I'm fascinated by other cultures. I want to see them, and I want to go there."

From start to finish
"Each world perspectives student takes classes aimed toward a senior research project . . . which has world dimensions to consider. . . . I've had students do research projects on terrorism, ethics, world ethics, treatment of indigenous minorities. It ranges all over the place, but they're trying to take the classes that will lead them to be best prepared to do that research in their senior year," says a professor. "It's a very independent major," says a world perspectives and sociology major. "There are three core classes, and the student chooses the other six. I've liked that freedom and the ability to see different connections in different classes." A professor adds, "Students spend time talking with professors about how their classes interrelate with the world and what classes they should take next. For instance, if a student wonders, 'Why is Bosnia doing what it's doing?' she can go take a class and find out more. If a student is having trouble understanding the economy of the peso dropping in Mexico, he can go take an economics course and find out what's going on."

Freedom to investigate the world
"I chose the world perspectives major because I wanted the opportunity to investigate on my own," says a senior also majoring in business administration. "The world perspectives major is very undefined; no one is telling you what to do," says another senior. "You're asked to find a focus on your own, and you're constantly educating yourself, finding out what interests you, learning to ask questions and learning what kind of classes you can take to answer those questions. So you really have to take your education into your own hands." She adds, "You learn what education truly means. It's really learning to think for yourself and learning critical thinking skills that you can apply to every area of your life." One recent graduate, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in African history and comparative world history at Johns Hopkins University, says, "It gave me a chance to become responsible in a very direct way for my own education, and it taught me to ask questions. . . . The world perspectives major allows students to branch out and tackle problems they care about in the world in a very creative way." Another recent graduate, who focused on ethics,adds, "I think the main purpose of the world perspectives major is to get students to explore new worlds of thought."

Making strides toward a global community
"Once you become a world perspectives major, you can't help seeing connections with everything you look at," says a senior majoring in world perspectives and sociology. "It pushes you to think. You can't just take an issue for its surface value; you constantly analyze it from different angles and become a solid thinker." Another senior, who is majoring in world perspectives and business administration, adds, "One neat aspect of the program is the ability to combine different subjects that you didn't think had a connection." A junior enthusiastically notes, "I see how everything is interconnected, even interdependent. There's no such thing as being your own little island. Socially, we feed off each other through ideas, and it works the same internationally. International politics, economics, there's no such thing as a strictly American economy. We're interdependent on the world as well. . . . We're moving toward a world community."

Questioning, probing, analyzing
"World perspectives gave me a basis of analysis, an ability to question and say, 'Okay, I've reached this level, but I think there's another level to go beyond. Let's dig down deep and find what else is there,'" says another world perspectives and business administration double major. "The professors have a Socratic method of questioning, and you build on those questions. It's kind of frustrating sometimes because you don't necessarily get the answers immediately; you have to keep questioning and probing until you get down to what really causes problems." One recent graduate, who had a double major in world perspectives and religion and philosophy, along with a minor in Asian studies, chose the world perspectives major "because it gave me a broader picture and helped me think about things in a more global perspective, instead of just looking at them from a narrow focus. It helped me think clearly, and it helped me analyze things."

Foundation for a fast-paced world
A recent graduate who now works at Intel says one class in particular has had an impact on his job: "In Worldography I had a whole bunch of materials to absorb in a very quick time, and that is exactly what I feel is happening here at Intel. It never stops. It really challenged me to learn beyond, to really ask the questions. . . . It's helped me in such a fast-paced environment where the information is constantly changing." And a senior majoring in world perspectives and French says she feels that there are many career paths she could follow, "because I know everything is connected. I see the connections out there, and I see that nothing exists in isolation."