School of International Studies

About the School of International Studies

The School of International Studies (SIS) at the University of the Pacific is one of only six undergraduate schools of international studies in the United States. It is the only such school in the country that requires all students to study abroad. You can choose from over one hundred study abroad programs in more than 60 countries. We are proud to offer the country’s best cross-cultural training program that prepares you to study, live and work in another culture and supports you when you come home from a life transforming experience.

SIS offers a unique and challenging interdisciplinary program of study. The faculty brings to it a wide range of knowledge and experience from all regions of the world and in many different academic disciplines including politics, economics, history, geography, and anthropology.

The School of International Studies is the newest school at University of the Pacific. It grew out of the innovative programs of two of the three former Cluster Colleges (Callison College and Elbert Covell College) and the international majors offered by the College of the Pacific. SIS was established in 1987 with a gift from George and Isabelle Wilson. Funded by a grant from the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education.

The four majors (International Relations, Global Studies, Development and Cultural Change, and International Affairs and Commerce) are designed to prepare students for careers in government, business, public service, law, journalism, education and other professions in the most globally integrated society in human history. The core program of the major, includes a five-course introductory sequence which explores issues of economic and cultural globalization, war and peace, the problems of the global environment and other factors that will shape the world. We have recently added core courses in international development and cultural change, and a capstone course for seniors that synthesizes the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary core curriculum with the experiential learning of study abroad.  Additionally, all students study a foreign language, choosing from French, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. Many students learn other languages abroad.