Sailing against the Wind: Marketing International Studies Degrees

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65879/3070-6335.2026.02.01

Keywords:

International Studies, Enrollments

Abstract

We present the findings of survey research designed around questions related to International Studies programs in the United States. The main goal of this research is to determine the current enrollment challenges and strengths facing IS programs, while identifying common curricular features and structures of the major. The survey research also reports what strategies programs use to increase enrollment and improve the curriculum. We find that most programs in our sample report declining numbers of students. We identify external (enrollment declines, perceptions of effectiveness of the degree) as well as internal (low administrative support, curricular design, and program competition) forces at play in these declines. Among the options available to IS program administrators and professors, recruitment and curricular updates are perhaps the best options available to leverage for program survival and growth. 

Author Biographies

  • Josiah Marineau, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

    Josiah Marineau earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in Comparative Politics and International Relations. He teaches classes on Russia and its Near Abroad, Model United Nations, and US Foreign Policy. His reach focuses on the countries of the South Caucasus and the changing geopolitics of the region. He is an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

  • Melissa Buice, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

    Melissa Buice holds a PhD in Comparative Politics and International Relations from the University of Tennessee. Her areas of teaching and research include Latin American Area Studies, political economy, and social movements. She has  held academic positions at the University of Missouri, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

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Published

2026-03-26

Issue

Vol. 2 (2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Josiah Marineau, Melissa Buice (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.