International Relations and Global Affairs Career Pathways

Your Career Adviser

Your career adviser at the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS) can help you find internships, externships, summer research experiences, job shadowing, mentoring, and other opportunities for real-life work experience in international relations and global affairs.  

The Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) also offers advice for students on how to take advantage of the opportunities within and without Grinnell to develop their knowledge of the world. An IGE Peer Mentor will guide you through the process of finding courses, internships, and travel programs that can help you to become familiar with new cultures and countries.  

Part of the IGE, the Global Kitchen offers programs for students that explore the different ways that cultures across the world cultivate, prepare, and serve the food they eat. A Global Kitchen course is a delicious way of learning more about the diversity of an essential aspect of the human experience.

Find Opportunities: Government, Law and Policy.

Grinnell alumni working in international relations and global affairs are willing and eager to connect with students and provide experiences and insights on their work. Your career community leader at the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS) can help you connect with Grinnell alumni in the career that appeals to you.

Recruiter Networking

Your CLS adviser can connect you with recruiters for jobs in international relations and global affairs.

The Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights puts our students in contact with scholars, public servants, and commentators on the world’s most pressing social and political issues. It also funds internships and sponsors study tours. 

Course-embedded travel

Grinnell offers credit-bearing courses that include experiential-learning travel, bringing the course topic to life and broadening students’ perspective.  

Find more information about upcoming CET offerings in GrinnellShare (login required) or in the IGE application portal. 

Interdisciplinary Coursework

Coursework across disciplines, including political science, history, sociology, and anthropology;

• The global development studies concentration, an excellent option for this career pathway;
• Study of a second language;
• Study abroad;
• Research; and
• Internships.

Meaningful skill in a second language is especially valuable in international relations. Grinnell offers opportunities to study languages through coursework, study-abroad programs, and fellowship programs such as the Critical Language Scholarship program. Students may also take a peer-to-peer course through the Alternate Language Study Option (ALSO), taught by native-speaking peers.

On-Campus Involvement

If you’re interested in diplomacy or conflict resolution, check out the Grinnell Listening Project. You can develop facilitation, listening, and community-building skills. In addition, involvement in the Rosenfield Program will allow you to shape campus programming and engage directly with speakers and ideas in international affairs.

Involvement in community-focused student organizations like International Student Organization (ISO) can also help you cultivate leadership, advocacy, and teamwork skills.

Language Houses

Language houses are associated with their academic department. The language houses provide students who speak or are learning to speak another language with an environment that is conducive to learning the language, culture, and customs of the country/countries of the language. Examples include:

• Chinese House
• French House
• German House
• Japanese House
• Russian House
• Spanish House

Model UN

At Grinnell College, the Model United Nations program lets students explore global political issues. Students participate as representatives from different countries to negotiate policy and collaborate on solutions to international problems. Model UN helps students build skills in diplomacy, public speaking, and critical analysis as they also develop a sense of the world around them.  

A study-abroad experience is also beneficial for students exploring international relations and global affairs. You’ll get firsthand exposure to different cultures, political systems, and global issues. Fellowships that support international work — such as the Pickering, Princeton in Asia, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Fulbright — also provide professional development opportunities. Staff at the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS) can guide you to these opportunities.

Interested in an unpaid internship, but can’t afford to live in a faraway city without a paycheck? The Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS) may be able to help. Financial support for internships, transportation, and more are available for students with need.