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Courses & Program Requirements

The International Relations (IR) Program includes dozens of elective courses drawn from different departments across the Faculty of Arts & Science as well as a handful of core TRN courses offered by Trinity College (also see menu for individual TRN course pages). Many upper-year courses in IR have prerequisites determined by their home departments or programs. Please ensure that you plan accordingly so that your program of study fulfils the prerequisite requirements for courses you wish to take in upper years. Please consult with the Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar regarding course prerequisite and availability.

The International Relations Program Office is open to accepting courses that are not formally part of the IR program requirement as long as it is relevant and meet the IR inclusion standard of substantially and directly addressing relations between and among countries at the state or society level. If you find a course that is relevant and meets this standard but is not included as a formal requirement or course option of the IR program, please feel free to email us with a course description/syllabus at irpro@trinity.utoronto.ca so that we can review the course and potentially have it counted towards your IR program requirement.

The following summarizes the requirements and suggested sequence of required courses in the International Relations (IR) Specialist program, IR Major program, and the Certificate in International Affairs (U of T Global Scholars). Students also have the option to take an accompanying Focus with their IR Specialist or Major program. Students may change from the IR major program to the IR specialist program or vice versa. Students may also change their Focus if they wish to do so. Please email the IR program office to make these changes.

IR Specialist Program

Required courses by year of study: IR Specialist Program Completion Requirements

IR Major Program

Required courses by year of study: IR Major Program Completion Requirements

Focus in IR (Specialist and Major)

  • Focus in Canadian Foreign & Security Relations (Major and Specialist)
  • Focus in International Economy (Specialist)
  • Focus in International Law & Human Rights (Major and Specialist)
  • Focus in Transnational Exchanges (Major and Specialist)

Those students choosing to add a Focus should be guided in their selection of courses at the third and fourth year level by the courses listed in the specific Focus group they choose: IR Focus Completion Requirements

IR Certificate in International Affairs

Required courses: IR Certificate in International Affairs (U of T Global Scholar) Completion Requirements

Core TRN Courses: 2022-2023 Academic Year

List of Courses Associated with the IR Program

Below, you can also find a full list of courses for the 2022-2023 academic year associated with the International Relations Program and a link to their academic calendar descriptions:

Program Requirements in Year 1

  • ECO101H1: Principles of Microeconomics
  • ECO102H1: Principles of Macroeconomics
  • ECO105Y1: Principles of Economics for Non-Specialists
  • GGR112H1: Geographies of Globalization, Development and Inequality
  • HIS102Y1: Empires, Encounters and Exchanges
  • HIS103Y1: Strategy and Statecraft: War and Diplomacy in European History
  • MUN101H1: Global Innovation I: Issues and Perspectives
  • MUN102H1: Global Innovation II: Challenges and Solutions
  • MUN105Y1: Global Problem-Solving: Laboratory Opportunities
  • POL101H1: The Real World of Politics: An Introduction
  • POL106H1: Contemporary Challenges to Democracy: Democracy in the Social Media Age
  • POL107H1: What Went Wrong? A Post Mortem of Political Disasters, Catastrophic Policy Failures, and Epic Marches of Folly
  • POL109H1: Might and Right: Power and Justice in International Relations
  • TRN150Y1: National versus International
  • TRN151Y1: Global Governance
  • TRN152Y1: Justice and Global Conflict
  • VIC181H1: Events in the Public Sphere: World Affairs
  • VIC183H1: Individuals and the Public Sphere: Shaping Memory
  • VIC184H1: Individuals and the Public Sphere: History, Historiography and Making Cultural Memory
  • VIC185H1: Events in the Public Sphere: Social Justice

Program Requirements in Year 2

  • ECO231H1: Economics of Global Trade
  • ECO232H1: Global Macroeconomics and Policies
  • ECO200Y1: Microeconomic Theory
  • ​​ECO202Y1: Macroeconomic Theory and Policy​
  • ECO206Y1: Microeconomic Theory​​
  • ECO208Y1: Macroeconomic Theory
  • POL208H1: Introduction to International Relations
  • TRN250Y1: Empire, Nationalism, and the History of International Relations

Program Requirements in Year 3

  • TRN350H1: Scarcity, Sustainability, and the Future of International Relations
  • ECO320H1: Economic Analysis of Law​​
  • ECO341H1: The Economic History of the 20th Century: Trade, Migration, Money and Finance before 1945​​
  • ECO342H1: Twentieth Century Economic History: Institutions, Growth and Inequality​​
  • ECO362H1: Economic Growth​​
  • ECO364H1: International Trade Theory​​
  • ECO365H1: International Monetary Economics​​
  • ECO368H1: Economics of Conflict
  • AFR353H1: International Relations of Africa​
  • CAS310H1: Comparative Colonialisms in Asia​
  • CAS320H1: Comparative Modernities in Asia​
  • EAS324H1: The Asia-Pacific in the Nuclear Age​
  • EAS345Y1: The Rise of Greater China: Issues & Topics
  • EAS357H1: Mao’s China and Beyond​
  • EAS372H1: The Postwar, Cold War and Divided Koreas​
  • EAS373H1: Revolutionaries, Rebels, and Dissent in Korea’s Long 20th Century​
  • EAS375H1: Postwar Japan: Crisis, Apocalypse​
  • NMC372H1: Islam and Muslims in the Balkans
  • HIS311Y1: Introduction to Canadian International Relations​​
  • HIS312H1: Immigration to Canada​
  • HIS315H1: Vietnamese Histories​
  • HIS316H1: Competing Colonialism in Northeast China The Harbin Experiment​
  • HIS317H1: 20th Century Germany​
  • HIS319H1: Histories of the Horn of Africa​
  • HIS324H1: British Imperial Experience, 1600-2000​
  • HIS325H1: Imperial Russia​
  • HIS328H1: Modern China​​
  • HIS330H1: Germany from Frederick the Great to the First World War
  • HIS334H1: World War II France​​
  • HIS338H1: The Holocaust, to 1942​
  • HIS339H1: History of Modern Israel​​
  • HIS340H1: The Ottoman Empire, 1800-1922​
  • HIS341Y1: Germany Among the Global Empires 1840-2010​
  • HIS342H1: Political and Psychological Liberation in 20th Century Africa​​
  • HIS343H1: History of Modern Intelligence​​
  • HIS344H1: The Global Cold War​​
  • HIS347H1: The Country House in England 1837-1939​​
  • HIS349H1: History of Britain: Struggle for Power​
  • HIS351H1: Twentieth-Century Russia​
  • HIS353Y1: Poland: A Crossroads of Europe​
  • HIS355H1: A History of Pre-modern Medicine​
  • HIS356H1: War in Canadian History​
  • HIS359H1: Regional Politics and Radical Movements in the 20th Century Caribbean​​
  • HIS361H1: The Holocaust, from 1942​​
  • HIS364H1: From Revolution to Revolution: Hungary Since 1848​​
  • HIS370H1: Modern Palestine​
  • HIS371H1: Canadian Political History​
  • HIS376H1: The United States: Now and Then​
  • HIS377H1: US Foreign Relations​
  • HIS378H1: America in the 1960s​​
  • HIS379H1: Vietnam at War​​
  • HIS382H1: China from the Mongols to the Last Emperor​
  • HIS384H1: The Baltic Sea Region from the Vikings to the Age of Nationalisms​
  • HIS385H1: The History of Hong Kong​
  • HIS386H1: Fascism​​
  • HIS388H1: France Since 1830​
  • HIS397H1: Political Violence and Human Rights in Latin America​
  • JHA384H1: Japan in the World, Mid-16th to Mid-20th century​
  • JHA394H1: The Asia Pacific War​
  • NMC355H1: Ottoman Empire: The Age of Reform​
  • NMC373H1: Modern Iran​
  • RLG309H1: Religion and Human Rights
  • HIS304H1: Topics in Middle East History
  • HIS326H1: Topics in Chinese History​
  • HIS348H1: Topics in Gender History​
  • HIS372H1: Topics in U.S. History​
  • HIS389H1: Topics in History​
  • HIS389Y1: Topics in History
  • AFR353H1: International Relations of Africa​​
  • AFR354H1: African Cultures and Development
  • AFR359H1: The Horn of Africa – Critical Perspectives​
  • CAS310H1: Comparative Colonialisms in Asia​
  • CAS320H1: Comparative Modernities in Asia​
  • ECO324H1: Economic Development​​
  • ECO341H1: The Economic History of the 20th Century: Trade, Migration, Money and Finance before 1945​​
  • ECO342H1: Twentieth Century Economic History: Institutions, Growth and Inequality​​
  • ECO362H1: Economic Growth​​
  • ECO364H1: International Trade Theory​​
  • ECO365H1: International Monetary Economics​​
  • ECO368H1: Economics of Conflict
  • GGR314H1: Global Warming​​
  • GGR320H1: Geographies of Transnationalism, Migration, and Gender​
  • GGR326H1: Remaking the Global Economy​
  • GGR329H1: The Global Food System​
  • GGR338H1: Social Transformation and Environment in the Majority World​
  • GGR341H1: The Changing Geography of Latin America​​
  • GGR342H1: The Changing Geography of Southeast Asia​
  • GGR343H1: The Changing Geography of China
  • GGR344H1: Institutions and Governance: Germany in Comparative Perspective
  • JPA331H1: Rise of China as a Global Power
  • JPA376Y0: Transforming Global Politics: Comparative and Chinese Perspectives​​
  • NMC378H1: Modern Arab History​​
  • POL301H1: Colonial Legacies and Post-Independence African Politics
  • POL302H1: Politics and Society in 20th Century China​
  • POL305H1: Introduction to Latin American Politics and Societies​
  • POL307H1: Japanese Politics​
  • POL309H1: Contemporary Africa Politics: Dynamics and Challenges​
  • POL312H1: Canadian Foreign Policy Performance​
  • POL313H1: Canadian Foreign Policy Process​
  • POL324H1: European Union: Politics, Institutions and Society​
  • POL325H1: Contemporary Latin American Politics​
  • POL326H1: The Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy​
  • POL327H1: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Complex World​
  • POL328H1: Politics and Government in South Asia​
  • POL329H1: Experiences of Conflict​​
  • POL340H1: International Law: Foundations​
  • POL341H1: International Law: Operation of the International Legal Order​
  • POL347H1: U.S. Government and Politics: Constitutional Structure and Development​
  • POL351H1: Gender, Politics, and Public Policy in Comparative Perspective​
  • POL358H1: Conflicts, Minority Rights and Para-States in Europe​
  • POL359H1: Enlarging Europe: The European Union and Its Applicants​
  • POL360H1: Topics in Latin American Politics​
  • POL361H1: Global Political Economy: History and Theory​​
  • POL362H1: Global Political Economy: Policy and Analysis​
  • POL377H1: Topics in Comparative Politics I​​
  • POL380H1: Topics in International Politics​
  • POL384H1: Global Environmental Governance from the Ground Up​
  • POL386H1: U.S. Government and Politics​
  • WGS340H1: Women and Revolution in the Middle East
  • TRN307H1: International Experience I
  • TRN308H1: International Experience II​
  • TRN377Y1: Trinity Comprehensive Paper I
  • ECO351H1: Special Topics in Economics​​

Program Requirements in Year 4

  • TRN409H1: Selected Topics in International Studies
  • TRN410H1: Researching Critical Cases in Contemporary International Relations
  • TRN411Y1: Selected Topics in International Studies​
  • TRN419Y1: Comparative American, British and Canadian Foreign Policy​
  • TRN421Y1: Fragile and Conflict-Affected States in Global Politics
  • ECO403H1: Topics in Development Economics and Policy​​
  • ECO419H1: International Macroeconomics​​
  • ECO429H1: Economic Thought after 1870​​
  • ECO430Y1: Reading Course or Thesis​​
  • ECO431H1: Reading Course or Thesis​​
  • ECO459H1: International Trade Regulation​​
  • ECO465H1: International Finance​
  • GGR418H1: Geographies of Extraction​​
  • GGR419H1: Environmental Justice​​
  • GGR430H1: Geographies of Markets​
  • HIS401H1: The Cold War through its Archives​​
  • HIS402H1: Canada and Decolonization​​
  • HIS405Y1: Canadian Foreign Relations​​
  • HIS411H1: Great Trials in History​​
  • HIS415Y1: Nationalism & Memory in Modern Europe​​
  • HIS416H1: Orientalism and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Germany​​
  • HIS417H1: The Oldest Profession in Canada: Sex Work Histories in Comparative Contexts​​
  • HIS429H1: Canada and Empire in the Twentieth Century​​   ​​
  • HIS439H1: Russia’s Empire​​
  • HIS445H1: Nationalism​​
  • HIS451H1: World War II in East Central Europe​​
  • HIS457H1: The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire​​
  • HIS465H1: Gender and International Relations​​
  • HIS470H1: History, Rights, and Difference in South Asia​​
  • HIS473H1: The United States and Asia since 1945​​
  • HIS479H1: US Foreign Policy Since World War II​
  • HIS483H1: Space and Power in Modern Africa  ​​
  • HIS487H1: Animal and Human Rights in Anglo-American Culture​​
  • HIS492H1: Empire & Colonization in the French Atlantic World​​
  • HIS493H1: Humanity in War: The Modern Evolution of the Law of Armed Conflict​​
  • HIS494H1: Gandhi’s Global Conversations​​
  • HIS498H1: Independent Studies​
  • AFR451H1​: Special Topics in African Studies
  • AFR451H1: Special Topics in African Studies  ​
  • POL409H1: Political Economy of Technology: From the Auto-Industrial to the Information Age​​
  • POL410H1: Topics in Comparative Politics III​​
  • POL412H1: Human Rights and International Relations​​
  • POL413H1: Global Environmental Politics​​
  • POL417H1: Politics of North-South Relations​​
  • POL435H1: Business and Politics: Power in a Global World​​
  • POL441H1: Topics in Asian Politics​​
  • POL442H1: Topics in Latin American Politics​​
  • POL445H1: Politics of Growth in Developing Countries​​
  • POL456H1: Global Summit Governance and Diplomacy​​
  • POL459H1​​: Military Instruments and Foreign Policy
  • POL466H1: Topics in International Politics III​ ​
  • POL467H1: The Politics of Immigration and Multiculturalism in Canada​​
  • POL469H1: Ethics and International Relations​​
  • POL472H1: The Comparative Political Economy of Industrial Societies​​
  • POL477H1: Advanced Topics in International Political Economy​​
  • POL486H1: Topics in International Politics I​​
  • POL487H1: Topics in International Politics II​​
  • TRN409H1: Selected Topics in International Studies​​
  • TRN410H1: Researching Critical Cases in Contemporary International Relations​​
  • VIC476H1: Capstone Seminar in Foreign Policy

 

Please Note: In the event of discrepancies in program requirements and course offerings between this website and the Faculty of Arts & Science Calendar, the Calendar shall take precedence. In order to improve and update the program, the requirements for IR change from time to time. The requirements that apply to you are the ones listed in the Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar at the time you enter the program (view Archived Faculty of Arts & Science Calendars here).

COURSE CALENDAR & TIMETABLE

Students enroll in and take courses offered by the Faculty of Arts & Science. The two main tools used for course selection and enrollment are the Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar, which includes information on courses, programs and the rules and regulations of the university, and the Faculty of Arts & Science Registration Instructions and Timetable, which contain scheduling information and enrollment procedures. If you have any questions about the Calendar or Timetable, please contact your College Registrar’s Office.

ACCOMMODATIONS

If you have a consideration that may require accommodations, please contact U of T Accessibility Services: 416-978-8060 or accessibility.services@utoronto.ca.