Curricular Requirements

The following courses will be required of all global scholars students:

Global Citizenship and Contemporary Global Issues: These two semester length courses serve as the foundation for the Global Scholars curriculum. Global Citizenship is a prerequisite for Contemporary Global Issues and must be taken by the end of the student’s junior year. Contemporary Global Issues can be taken during the student’s senior year. 

World Languages: Students will complete a course of study in Spanish, French, Chinese, or Latin one level beyond level III. If a student finishes one level beyond level III at the end of their sophomore year, they will continue on for one more level as a junior.

History and Religious Studies: World History, Global Citizenship (S) (completed during sophomore or junior year), Contemporary Global Issues (S), as well as Comparative Religions (S).

Capstone Project: This culminating project is designed to demonstrate a student’s expertise on a globally significant issue. It will be completed with the help of voluntary faculty advisors and with lunch seminars and individual meetings with the Global Studies director. The project will culminate with a public defense of the work.

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A student must also take at least 2 elective credits from the following globally-focused courses. A course can be designated as a global scholar’s elective by the academic council if it is deemed to substantially contribute towards meeting the skills and knowledge delineated through Berkeley’s Global Scholars graduation profile. Students can choose 2 credits from any of these courses:

English: AP Literature; Empathy: The Heart of Character in Literature and Life (S); Exiting the Cave: Philosophy in Literature and Life (S); Rhetoric, Reasoning and Research; Understanding of Modern Man (S); Voices of Women (S)

World Languages: One level beyond the level IV or equivalent course

History and Religious Studies: Honors International Relations; AP European History; AP Economics; AP Comparative Government; Hitler and the Nazis (S); Modern China (S); Cultural History; International Civil Rights; Global Poverty; Contemporary Global Religions

Science: Oceanography (S); Marine Biology (S); AP Environmental Science; Microbiology; Microbes and Man; Criminalistics and Forensic Science; Honors Design Engineering