INTL 499: Senior Seminar

This course is designed to be a "capstone" course for you as you complete your studies at VCU with a major in International Studies and look forward to graduate school and/or a career in work related to your studies at VCU. To that end, we will look back on what you have done and learned while participating in the International Studies Program, and look forward to the practical matters of application to graduate programs and/or entering the job market with the skills that you have developed over the past years at VCU.

Early this semester, we agreed to implement the structure and assignments of a previous INT 499 syllabus for three of the four major assignments that are described in the shaded box below (omitting assignment 3) and to also have speakers and public programs for class attendance that focus on career opportunities for INTL majors.

Programs that bear on careers that utilize international studies will be listed in the calendar below.

Calendar

*January 19 and 26; February 3

February 16 - assignment 1 due
*February 23 - class presentations of assignment 1
March 2 - assignment 2 due
*March 9 - class presentations of assignment 2
April 6 - assignment 3 due
*April 13 - class presentations: assignment 3 and related research
*April 20 - class meeting: conclusions and anew directions

* Class meeting

Tentative Course Structure and Dates

There will be four major assignments due by the noted date. Satisfactory completion of all four will earn a grade of "A." Satisfactory completion of 3 a "B," of 2 a "C," 1 a "D."

Assignment 1: Develop a portfolio collection of syllabi, papers, exams, and assignments that correspond to the courses you have taken to fulfill the INTL major requirements. Reflecting on what you have learned and what questions/ideas continue to stimulate your interest and imagination, compose a 1.5-2 page paper, single-spaced, in 12 point font with 1 inch margins. Also assemble documentation related to your experiential learning (internship, study abroad, service learning) and compose a 1 page paper single-spaced, in 12 point font with 1 inch margins reflecting on that experience including thoughts on how it may relate to or serve future work and/or study interests. This assignment, submitting your written reports on the portfolio is due February 16. You may put a hardcopy in my mailbox or send it by email.

Assignment 2: Identify your goals of graduate study and/or career/employment. List concrete places of interest to you for further study or work. Make at least three contacts, gathering information from particular graduate schools and/or job profiles and expectations at potential employment sites. This assignment, your list and notes concerning the contacts you made is due March 3 and shoule be submitted electronically. Each class member will make a short presentation on March 9 that summarizes assignment 2.

Assignment 3: Visit the VCU Career Center to learn generally what they can do for you as a present student and soon to be alumnus. Write a resume with the help of people at the Career Center. Compose a single page narrative about your interests and qualifications for graduate study and/or about your interests and skills relevant to work that you seek. This assignment is due April 6 and may be submitted electronically by email.

Assignment 4: Meet together on April 20 to discuss your work for the seminar.