About International Relations
San Francisco is the most diverse, dynamic, international and progressive hub on the West Coast. San Francisco is a truly global city. In the wake of World War II, 50 nations came together here to draw up the United Nations Charter, signed on June 26, 1945. Nine years earlier, Professor Olivia Cowell had already founded our program, the first International Relations Department in the United States!
San Francisco is a meeting place for people from around the world and the second most ethnically diverse area in the U.S. SFSU is among the 20 most diverse U.S. campuses and enrolls about 2,000 international students. The city campuses are very accessible. Public transport options connect San Francisco and the East Bay, allowing you to enjoy everything the wider Bay Area has to offer. San Francisco and neighboring communities, including Silicon Valley, AI hub and global health nexus in South SF, offering access to thousands of international businesses and non-profits.
The Breadth of Our Programs
In the SFSU International Relations Department, we offer strong, career-enhancing foundation courses, providing an understanding of current debates in the field and why they matter. We also offer a variety of elective courses, each taught by expert faculty. We span the planet from Asia to the Americas, to Africa, to Europe. In addition, we offer courses in every major theme of international relations: international political economy, global governance, intercultural relations, national and ethnic identities, foreign policy analysis, development studies, immigration, environment, international security, diplomacy, human rights, terrorism, media and more.
The Diversity of Our Faculty and Student Body
Being part of our department is “living” International Relations. Our faculty members are devoted to our students, interacting closely. The diversity of our faculty in academic specializations, as well as in national origin, ethnicity, gender and religion, reflects the diversity of academia and the world.
Our faculty are equipped to speak to almost any issue on the global agenda from a variety of perspectives. They have backgrounds including political science, law, mass communication, human geography, anthropology, agricultural and resource economics, international relations and area expertise in Russia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Our student body is as diverse as our faculty. When you study International Relations at SFSU, you meet people from all over the world from all backgrounds and persuasions. Debates and discussions in the student lounge and on Discord are an integral part of your education.
From Our Community
“Coming here to this program has been a lifetime experience because it has changed the way I think. I feel like I have a place, like I belong in the class, and they value my participation because of that. It’s the sense of representing your people.”