Program Information

Director's Welcome

Dr. Dipak K. Gupta,
Director

The International Security and Conflict Resolution (ISCOR) major at San Diego State University is an innovative, unique, and comprehensive program designed to provide students with an understanding of world affairs and a commitment to conflict resolution. The only program of its kind in California, ISCOR is located in three colleges within San Diego State University: The Colleges of Arts and Letters, Professional Studies and Fine Arts, and Sciences. Its interdisciplinary program stresses the following goals:

• To examine the increasingly interdependent and interconnected global system
• To analyze a world experiencing both increased cooperation and conflict
• To assess international issues from a variety of viewpoints and perspectives

The major draws from courses offered by faculty in several different colleges at SDSU: Arts and Letters; Professional Studies and Fine Arts; Sciences; and Health and Human Services. It promotes critical thinking, tolerance of various views, and pragmatism in its students.

Fundamentally, ISCOR is meant to address changes in the nature and meaning of international and global security. The program envisions international security as involving more than the traditional focus on military power and the threat or use of force. It extends into other arenas that include human rights, globalization, the environment, economic development, terrorism, and homeland security.

The ISCOR program emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach for its students within three areas of emphasis: Cooperation, Conflict and Conflict Resolution; Global Systems; and Environment and Security. Students are required to apply theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom to the real world by way of internships and study abroad. In addition, students are required to study a foreign language and engage in original research outside of the United States.

Ultimately, the success of ISCOR is indicated by the quality and diversity of its student body. The major has grown steadily from its inception in 1995-1996, attracting students from a variety of disciplines and from around the globe. Currently, it is among the largest departments and programs in the university in terms of student enrollment. Students with the ISCOR major have gone on to serve at various levels of government, in international business, and in governmental and nongovernmental organizations. A number of the graduates have joined Masters and Ph.D. programs in universities, such as the London School of Economics, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, etc.