International Studies undergraduate students engage in research topics related to their specific interests in global topics and issues. Student research is mentored by faculty in International Studies and faculty with global interests in a range of academic disciplines. Students may receive credit for their research through enrolling in one of the following: honors thesis, senior project, or independent study in International Studies.

Recent Student Research News

Three International Studies Seniors (Ryann Hubbart, Lauren Philips, and Shannon Wallace) presented their research posters at the Spring Undergraduate Research Festival on March 29, 2023. 

Spring 2023 Honors Theses

Imagining Settler Colonial Decolonization: Debates Between African Nationalism and Non-Racialism in the Anti-Apartheid Movements 1940-1980
Student: Ryann Hubbart
Mentor: Ari Ariel, Associate Professor of Instruction, History and International Studies 

The Instrumentalization of Soft Power: Qatar’s Use of Aljazeera as a Public Diplomacy
Platform in the Case of Yemen
Student: Lauren Philips
Mentor: Ahmed Souaiaia, Associate Professor, Religious Studies

Beyond the Corn Belt: A Re/Turn to Reciprocity
Student: Claire Player
Mentor: E. Cram, Associate Professor of Communication Studies & Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies

Investigating Internal Colonialism in Contemporary Mexican Development and Implications for Indigenous Breastfeeding Practices
Student: Shannon Walsh
Mentor: Carly Nichols, Assistant Professor, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences

Past honors theses and senior projects can be found here.

Research and Creative Production in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

As part of a top-tier, AAU-accredited public research university, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences holds scholarly, scientific, and artistic discovery at the heart of our mission.

Throughout our departments and programs, our professors are at the forefront of their disciplines. They bring their world-class research and artistry into their classrooms, studios, and labs, giving students the unparalleled opportunity to learn right from the source of the latest innovations in knowledge and practice.

Graduate students and many undergraduates work side-by-side with faculty members, conducting breakthrough research and creative production that advances humanity’s understanding of ourselves and the complex, ever-changing world in which we live.

The creation of knowledge and understanding is an exhilarating and never-ending mission—and is at the core of every University of Iowa liberal arts and sciences education.