Regional Concentrations
Study one part of the world with the depth to understand its languages, histories, people, and questions more fully.
Develop Expertise in a Region
International studies can cover a lot of ground. At Croft, students choose a regional concentration so their work has a clear place to take root.
A regional concentration gives students a specific part of the world to study over time. It connects language study, coursework, study abroad, and senior thesis research, helping students move beyond broad global awareness into deeper regional understanding.
Croft students choose one of four regional concentrations: Middle East and North Africa, East Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
A student’s region does not stand alone. It works with the thematic track they choose, the language they study, the country where they study abroad, and the questions they pursue through research. That combination gives the International Studies major its depth: students study global issues through a particular place, not just from a distance.
FAQs
Your thematic track helps define the kinds of issues you want to study, such as politics, culture, economics, health, identity, or public life. Your regional concentration gives those questions a place. Together, they help you build a Croft path that is both focused and flexible.
Yes. Croft students study abroad in a country connected to their language study and regional concentration. That connection helps students deepen what they have already begun on campus, using language, coursework, and daily life abroad to understand the region more fully.
Many Croft students also go abroad more than once through internships, fellowships, summer programs, research, or other opportunities. Your regional concentration helps shape the required study abroad experience, but it does not limit every international experience you may pursue as a Croft student.
Yes. Many Croft students use their regional concentration, language study, thematic track, and study abroad experience to shape their senior thesis research. By senior year, students have spent time building the context they need to ask stronger questions and produce original work.