University Catalog 2025-2026

Global Perspectives (Certificate)

The Global Perspectives certificate allows students to document academic, professional, and co-curricular international involvement for future scholarship opportunities, employers, and graduate schools. The certificate is open to undergraduate students of any major and class standing. Both domestic and international students at NC State are welcome to apply for the certificate. By completing the Global Perspectives Certificate, students earn recognition for their international studies and activities; apply new insights to their academic concentrations, future career, and day-to-day life; and contribute to the internationalization of our university.  Students may complete the certificate through coursework taken while fulfilling degree requirements or through a combination of coursework and specified extracurricular activities. Upon completion, students will receive a notation on their transcript and an official certificate documenting their global experience during their studies.

Contact 

Dr. Nora Haenn, Director of Undergraduate Programs
nora_haenn@ncsu.edu
Website

Plan Requirements

Students must complete four components for this certificate. To successfully complete the certificate, NC State students must be in good standing and achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 overall for the required courses.

I. Language Requirement

Students must complete either the equivalent of WLx 201 in the language in which they met the university foreign language requirement, or at least three credit hours at any level of study in a new language. For students with native speaking ability in a foreign language, this requirement is waived and substituted with an additional course from the Global Understanding Course requirement.

II. Global Understanding Courses

Students must complete 9 credit hours from the list of Global Understanding Courses, which may simultaneously fulfill GEP, major, or minor degree requirements. Students may substitute a course with U.S. multicultural emphasis in place of one of the required courses. Students may also substitute for the required courses study abroad or other courses that have significant international subject matter.

III. Additional Requirement

To deepen students' international learning and help internationalize the NC State Campus overall, completion of the Global Perspectives also requires completion of one of the following:

  • An additional Global Understanding Course outside a student's major or minor (3 cr hours)
  • Residency in Alexander Global Village (one semester)
  • Supervised international internship (45 hours)
  • Participation in an NCSU student club focused on global cultural awareness or foreign languages (45 hours)

IV. Capstone Essay

Students must prepare an integrative capstone essay which synthesizes the coursework and experiences around which they created their Global Perspectives Certificate. The essay will respond to a prompt provided by Certificate program staff. 

Global Understanding Course List

AFS 240African Civilization3
AFS 248Survey of African-American Literature3
AFS 275Introduction to History of South and East Africa3
AFS 276Introduction to History of West Africa3
AFS 342Introduction to the African Diaspora3
AFS 343African American Religions3
AFS 349African Literature in English3
AFS 440Senior Seminar in Africana Studies3
AFS 442Issues in the African Diaspora3
AFS 444African American and African Women Leaders 3
AFS 475History of the Republic of South Africa3
AFS 476Leadership in Modern Africa3
AFS 479Africa (sub-Saharan) in the Twentieth Century3
AFS 491Study Abroad in Africana Studies3
AGI 194International Learning Experience in AGI3
ALS 494International Learning Experience in Agriculture and Life Sciences1-6
ANT 315The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors: Archaeology of Mesoamerica3
ANT 325Andean South America3
ANT 330People and Cultures of Africa3
ANT 335Archaeology of Ancient Egypt3
ANT 340Peoples and Cultures of the Nile Valley: Archaeology of Egypt3
ANT 345Anthropology of the Middle East3
ANT 346Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia3
ANT 351Contemporary Culture in Japan3
ANT 354Peoples and Cultures of the Pacific3
ANT 360Cross-Cultural Constructions of Race3
ANT 371Human Variation3
ANT 444Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women3
ANT 450Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Living3
ANT 460Urban Anthropology3
ANT 461Wealth, Poverty and International Aid3
ANT 464Anthropology of Religion3
ANT 471Understanding Latino Migration 3
ANT 475Environmental Archaeology3
ARE 194International Agribusiness Management Study Abroad1-6
ARE 345Global Agribusiness Management3
ARE 494Agribusiness Study Abroad1-6
ARC 140Experiencing Architecture3
ARC 141 Introduction to Architectural History3
ARC 241History of World Architecture3
ARC 242History of Western Architecture3
ARC 289Architectural Travel Study I3
ARC 490Architecture International Studio6
ARS 251The Arts of a World Capital: London3
ARS 252The Arts of Vienna 19003
ARS 353Arts and Cross-Cultural Contacts3
ARS 354The Arts and the Sacred3
ARS 410Art and History of World Puppetry3
BUS 426International Financial Management3
BUS 464International Marketing3
COM 392International and Crosscultural Communication3
COM 447Communication and Globalization3
CS 224Seeds, Biotechnology and Societies3
CS 230Introduction to Agroecology3
EC 348Introduction to International Economics3
EC 448International Trade3
EC 449International Finance3
ENG 209Introduction to Shakespeare3
ENG 219Studies in Great Works of Non-Western Literature3
ENG 220Studies in Great Works of Western Literature3
ENG 221Literature of the Western World I3
ENG 222Literature of the Western World II3
ENG 224Contemporary World Literature II3
ENG 246Literature of the Holocaust3
ENG 248Survey of African-American Literature3
ENG 251Major British Writers3
ENG 255Beyond Britain: Literature from Colonies of the British Empire3
ENG 261English Literature I3
ENG 262English Literature II3
ENG 326History of the English Language3
ENG 329Language in Globalization 3
ENG 349African Literature in English3
ENG 361Studies in British Poetry3
ENG 362Studies in the British Novel 3
ENG 375African American Cinema3
ENG 385Biblical Backgrounds of English Literature3
ENG 392Major World Author3
ENG 394Studies in World Literature3
ENG 439Studies in English Renaissance Literature 3
ENG 448African-American Literature3
ENG 451Chaucer3
ENG 452Medieval British Literature3
ENG 453Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature3
ENG 460Major British Author3
ENG 46218th-Century English Literature3
ENG 463The Victorian Period3
ENG 464British Literature and the Founding of Empire 3
ENG 465British Literature and the Dissolution of Empire3
ENG 466Transatlantic Literatures3
ENG 485Shakespeare: Revisions and Resources3
ENG 486Shakespeare, The Earlier Plays3
ENG 487Shakespeare, The Later Plays3
ENG 490Studies in Medieval Literature3
ENT 207Insects and Human Disease3
FOR 248Forest History, Technology and Society3
FOR 414World Forestry3
FOR 415World Forestry Study Tour1
FTM 482Global Brand Management in Textiles and Apparel3
FTM 483Global Trade & Sourcing3
FTM 494International Industrial Internship in Textile Management3
FW 221Conservation of Natural Resources3
FW 405Tropical Wildlife Ecology3
FW 445Human Dimensions of Conservation Biology in the Bahamas3
FW 460International Wildlife Management and Conservation3
FW 465African Ecology and Conservation4
GD 203History of Graphic Design3
GD 490Graphic Design International Studio6
HA 201History of Art from Caves to the Renaissance3
HA 202History of Art From the Renaissance Through the 20th Century3
HA 395History of Art: Study Abroad3
HA 40119th Century European Art from Revolution to Post-Impressionism3
HA 404Italian Renaissance Art and Material Culture3
HI 205Western Civilization Since 14003
HI 207Ancient Mediterranean World3
HI 208The Middle Ages3
HI 209From Renaissance to Revolution: The Origins of Modern Europe3
HI 210Modern Europe 1815-Present3
HI 214History and Archaeology of Ancient Latin America3
HI 215Colonial Latin America3
HI 216Modern Latin America3
HI 217Caribbean History3
HI 221British History to 16883
HI 222History of British Cultures and Societies From 16883
HI 232The World from 1200 to 17503
HI 233The World Since 17503
HI 263Asian Civilizations to 18003
HI 264Modern Asia: 1800 to Present3
HI 270Modern Middle East3
HI 275Introduction to History of South and East Africa3
HI 276Introduction to History of West Africa3
HI 307Jewish History3
HI 317Cuba Today: Historical and Sociopolitical Perspectives3
HI 318Environmental History of Cuba: Prehistory to the Present3
HI 325Law and Society in European History3
HI 332Germany and the World Wars3
HI 335The World at War3
HI 326From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: Information in History3
HI 337Spy vs. Spy: Cold War Intelligence History3
HI 338Empire, War, and Revolution in Russia3
HI 342Global Environmental History3
HI 361Global History of American Food and Drink3
HI 370Modern Egypt3
HI 371Modern Japan, 1850 to Present3
HI 374Visual Culture of Modern South Asia3
HI 375Global History of Travel and Tourism3
HI 376Global Migrations3
HI 377The Silk Road in the Medieval World3
HI 378Global Games: Sport History around the World3
HI 381Change-makers in a Global Context3
HI 395History: Study Abroad1-3
HI 400Civilization of the Ancient Near East3
HI 402Early Christianity to the Time of Eusebius3
HI 403Ancient Greek Civilization 3
HI 404Rome to 337 A.D.3
HI 405History and Archaeology of the Roman Empire3
HI 406From Roman Empire to Middle Ages3
HI 407Islamic History to 17983
HI 408Islam in the Modern World3
HI 409The High Middle Ages3
HI 410Italian Renaissance3
HI 411Trials of Faith: Religious Reformation in Early-Modern Europe3
HI 412The Sexes and Society in Early-Modern Europe3
HI 414From Kings to Revolution: The History of Early-Modern France3
HI 415The French Revolution3
HI 418Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany3
HI 419Modern European Imperialism3
HI 421European Intellectual History: The Eighteenth Century3
HI 422European Intellectual History: The 19th Century3
HI 423Women in European Enlightenment3
HI 425Tudor and Stuart England3
HI 42920th Century Britain3
HI 430Modern France3
HI 437Topics in Central and East European History3
HI 451The Vietnam War3
HI 453United States-Latin American Relations Since 18233
HI 465Oil and Crisis in the Gulf3
HI 466History of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict3
HI 467Modern Mexico3
HI 469Latin American Revolutions3
HI 470Exploring World History3
HI 471Revolutionary China3
HI 472Fashion, Food, and Fun: Material Culture in Chinese History3
HI 473Japan's Empire in Asia, 1868-19453
HI 474Modern India3
HI 475History of the Republic of South Africa3
HI 476Leadership in Modern Africa3
HI 477Women in the Middle East3
HI 478Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa3
HI 479Africa (sub-Saharan) in the Twentieth Century3
HI 483Science and Religion in European History3
HI 484Science in European Culture3
HSS 392International and Crosscultural Communication3
IDS 203Humans and the Environment3
IDS 310Animals in the Global Community3
IS 200Introduction to International Studies3
IS 250Globalizing North Carolina3
IS 301International Cultural Competency before Study Abroad1
IS 302International Cultural Competency after Study Abroad1
IS 393Theories of Globalization3
IS 395Special Topics in International Studies1-3
IS 491Senior Seminar in International Studies3
IS 495Advanced Special Topics in International Studies3
IS 498Independent Study in International Studies1-6
LAR 222Perception and Behavior for Designers3
LAR 444History of Landscape Architecture3
LAR 465Landscape Architecture International Studio6
MB 200The Fourth Horseman: Plagues that Changed the World3
MUS 201Introduction to Music Literature I3
MUS 202Introduction to Music Literature II3
MUS 215The Beatles and the British Invasion3
MUS 310Music of the 17th and 18th Centuries3
MUS 315Music of the 19th Century3
MUS 350Music of Asia3
NR 303Humans and the Environment3
PB 213Plants and Civilization3
PB 219Plants in Folklore, Myth, and religion3
PHI 319Black Political Philosophy3
PRT 430Tourism, Poverty, and Health3
PRT 449Human Dimensions of Natural Resources in Australia/New Zealand3
PRT 450Sustaining Natural Resources in Australia/New Zealand3
PHI 420Global Justice3
PS 203Introduction to Nonprofits3
PS 231Introduction to International Relations3
PS 236Issues in Global Politics3
PS 332Causes of War and Peace3
PS 335International Law3
PS 336Global Environmental Politics3
PS 339Politics of the World Economy3
PS 341European Politics3
PS 342Politics of China and Japan3
PS 343Government and Politics in South Asia3
PS 345Governments and Politics in the Middle East3
PS 353Issues in Latin American and Caribbean Politics3
PS 431The United Nations and Global Order3
PS 432Violence, Terrorism, and Public Policy3
PS 433Global Problems and Policies3
PS 441Politics and Policies of the European Union3
PS 443Seminar in Latin American & Caribbean Politics3
PSE 220From Papyrus to Advanced Functional Materials: The Power of Paper in Society2
REL 210Religious Traditions of the World3
REL 220Religion in the Contemporary World3
REL 230Asian Religions3
REL 309Religion and Society3
REL 311Introduction to the Old Testament3
REL 312Introduction to the New Testament3
REL 331The Hindu Tradition3
REL 332The Buddhist Traditions3
REL 333Chinese Religions3
REL 334Japanese Religions3
REL 340Islam3
REL 350Judaism3
REL 383Religion, Globalism, and Justice3
REL 402Early Christianity to the Time of Eusebius3
REL 407Islamic History to 17983
REL 408Islam in the Modern World3
REL 424Religion and Politics in Global Perspective3
REL 472Women and Religion3
REL 473Religion, Gender, and Reproductive Technologies3
REL 482Religion and Conflict3
REL 489Interpretations of Religion3
SMT 232Recycling to Create a Sustainable Environment2
SOC 203Current Social Problems3
SOC 205Jobs and Work3
SOC 207Language and Society3
SOC 220Cultural Geography3
SOC 261Technology in Society and Culture3
SOC 307Sociology of Immigration3
SOC 311Community Relationships3
SOC 342International Development3
SOC 351Population and Planning3
SOC 402Urban Sociology3
SOC 414Social Class3
SOC 432Violence, Terrorism, and Public Policy3
SOC 450Environmental Sociology3
SSC 185Land and Life3
SSC 455Soils, Environmental Quality and Global Challenges3
STS 302Contemporary Science, Technology and Human Values3
STS 322Technological Catastrophes3
STS 323World Population and Food Prospects3
STS 402Peace and War in the Nuclear Age3
SW 440International Learning Experience in Social Work6
WGS 330Women and Health3
WGS 444Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women3
WGS 472Women and Religion3
WGS 473Religion, Gender, and Reproductive Technologies3
WLAR 301Advanced Intermediate Arabic I3
WLAR 311Professional Arabic Skill-Building3
WLAR 318Egyptian Culture through Film3
WLAR 320Arabic for Professional Purposes3
WLAR 330Media Arabic3
WLAR 351Modern Arab Popular Culture3
WLAR 440Modern Arabic Short Story3
WLCH 301Intermediate Chinese III3
WLCH 302Intermediate Chinese IV3
WLCH 351Modern Chinese Popular Culture3
WLCH 401Advanced Chinese: Readings in Literature and Social Sciences3
WLCH 402Advanced Chinese: Readings in Literature and Science3
WLCL 200Survey of Roman Literature3
WLCL 210Classical Mythology3
WLCL 215The Ancient World in Modern Media3
WLCL 225Roman Topography3
WLCL 320Masterpieces of Classical Literature3
WLCL 325Gender, Ethnicity & Identity in the Ancient World3
WLCL 395Special Topics in Classical Studies3
WLCL 398Independent Study in Classical Studies1-3
WLFR 320Franco-Belgian Comics and Graphic Arts3
WLFR 401French Graduate Reading3
WLFR 212French: Language, Culture, and Technology3
WLFR 301Survey of French Literature from the Middle Ages through the Enlightenment3
WLFR 302Survey of French Literature from Romanticism to the Contemporary Period3
WLFR 306French Business Communication3
WLFR 307Business French3
WLFR 308Advanced Conversation: Contemporary French Cultures3
WLFR 309French Phonetics and Pronunciation3
WLFR 310Advanced Written Communication3
WLFR 315French Civilization and Culture3
WLFR 318The Heritage of French Cinema3
WLFR 321French Cultures and Contexts3
WLFR 411Approaches to French Translation3
WLFR 425Literature, Cinema and Culture of the Francophone World3
WLFR 492Seminar in French Studies3
WLGE 212German Language, Culture, Science, and Technology3
WLGE 301Advanced German3
WLGE 302German Oral and Written Expression3
WLGE 307Business German3
WLGE 311Introduction to German Translation3
WLGE 315Germanic Civilization and Culture3
WLGE 318New German Cinema and Beyond3
WLGE 320Introduction to German Literature3
WLGE 323Twentieth Century German Literature3
WLGE 325German Lyric Poetry3
WLGE 390German Studies Topics3
WLGE 398Independent Study in German1-6
WLGE 401German Graduate Reading3
WLGE 420Current Issues in German-Language Media3
WLGE 430Cultural Artifacts in the German-Speaking Countries3
WLGE 440Green Germany: Nature and Environment in German Speaking Cultures3
WLGE 492Senior Seminar in German Studies3
WLGE 499Internship in Germany, Austria, or German-Speaking Switzerland1-6
WLGR 399Directed Readings in Greek3
WLHU 301Twentieth Century Hindi & Urdu Fiction3
WLHU 302Modern Hindi & Urdu Poetry3
WLHU 351Hindi-Urdu Popular Culture3
WLHU 401Hindi Literature and South Asian Cultural Contexts3
WLIT 308Italy in the Globalized World3
WLIT 208Italy Today: Media, Culture, and Society3
WLIT 315Made in Italy: Where Heritage, Culture & Culinary History blend with Technological Innovation3
WLIT 318Italian Society Through Cinema3
WLJA 301Intermediate Japanese III3
WLJA 302Intermediate Japanese IV3
WLJA 342Classical Japanese Literature in Translation3
WLJA 344Early Modern Japanese Literature in Translation3
WLJA 345Modern Japanese Literature in Translation3
WLJA 351Contemporary Culture in Japan3
WLJA 3573
WLRU 303Russian Literature in Translation: The Nineteenth Century3
WLRU 304Russian Literature in Translation: The Twentieth Century3
WLRU 318Russian Cinema and Society3
WLJA 401Advanced Japanese I3
WLJA 402Advanced Japanese II3
WLLA 399Directed Readings in Latin3
WLPO 401Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers3
WLSP 212Spanish: Language, Technology, Culture3
WLSP 295Intermediate Special Topics in Spanish3
WLSP 331Spanish Oral and Written Expression I3
WLSP 332Spanish Oral and Written Expression II3
WLSP 333The Sounds of Spanish3
WLSP 335Spanish for Native and Heritage Speakers3
WLSP 336Spanish for Business3
WLSP 337Spanish for Tourism in the Hispanic World3
WLSP 338Advanced Spanish for Native and Heritage Speakers 3.0
WLSP 340Introduction to Hispanic Literatures and Cultures3
WLSP 341Literature and Culture of Spain I3
WLSP 342Literature and Culture of Spain II3
WLSP 343Literature and Culture of Spain III3
WLSP 351Literature and Culture of Latin America I3
WLSP 352Literature and Culture of Latin America II3
WLSP 353Literature and Culture of Latin America III3
WLSP 360Hispanic Cinema3
WLSP 370Hispanic Sociolinguistics3
WLSP 395Study Abroad Programs in Spanish3
WLSP 399Intensive Spanish Oral Proficiency Workshop1
WLSP 400Methods and Techniques in Spanish Translation and Interpretation3
WLSP 401Spanish Graduate Reading3
WLSP 402Introduction to Spanish Linguistics3
WLSP 405Spanish-English Comparative Grammar3
WLSP 411Topics in the Culture of Spain3
WLSP 412Topics in the Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean3
WLSP 413Spain and the Americas in Transatlantic Perspective3
WLSP 445Spanish Environmental Cultural Studies3
WLSP 492Seminar in Hispanic Studies3
WLSP 495Advanced Study Abroad Programs in Spanish3