Diven Honored with Award
Professor Polly Diven received the 2025 Hillman-Orr Award from the World Affairs Council of West Michigan.
Jun 23, 2025
Grand Valley International Relations
Welcome to International Relations (IR) at GVSU!
Are you interested in international events and trends? Can you envision a career in global affairs, international business, or law? Have you imagined working for a multinational corporation or an international non-profit institution? The IR program is a good place for you to start.
IR equips majors and minors with the tools they need to understand global and international trends. Our students seek to understand issues of global importance, including development, the environment, security, human rights, migration, and the interconnections between governance, economics, power, and identity.
Our curriculum includes a strong interdisciplinary core, enhanced by a flexible set of electives that allow you to configure your studies to meet your own interests.
Please explore our website and contact our Program Director, Professor Polly Diven, ([email protected]) for additional information.
News
Avabella Madison awarded the Batchelder Political Science Scholarship
The Political Science Department is pleased to recognize Avabella Madison as our Batchelder Scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year.
May 13, 2025
Noah Boggs Awarded the Paul B. Henry Congressional Internship
Noah Boggs, who has a double major in Political Science and International Relations, was awarded this years Paul B. Henry Congressional Internship and will be working in Representative John Moolenaars office in Washington, DC this summer.
May 6, 2025
PLS Major wins the Thomas M. Seykora Award
Political Science major, Nancy Boyd, won the Thomas M. Seykora Award for Outstanding Contribution for 2024-25. The Seykora Award recognizes seniors who, through their involvement, have made significant contributions to the GVSU campus community.
May 6, 2025
Retirement of Professor John Constantelos
The Department of Political Science announces the retirement of Professor John Constantelos, who taught European and EU politics, international political economy and a variety of world politics and research methods courses for thirty years at GVSU.
Apr 22, 2025
Spotlights
Anne Marie Carson
Graduate of the Georgetown Law, Co-Chair of Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions at Miller Johnson in Grand Rapids
Jillian Zirnhelt
Peace Corps Fiji, IMF Researcher, now Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the University of Pittsburgh
Samuel Yocca
Global Programs Advisor, Georgetown University
Cody Gradwell
Peace Corps Mongolia, now Teacher at Orcholon International School, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Khalil Rahal
2006 Graduate Leads Economic Development in Detroit