Study Abroad

International Relations students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of GVSU's many study abroad opportunities.

Click here for our helpful Study Abroad Guide for IR

Also, check out GVSU's Padnos International Centers, an incredible resource for students contemplating study abroad.

The GVSU Political Science department has recently developed a GVSU Partnership Student Exchange program with two universities in Perugia, Italy, the sister city of Grand Rapids. Students are expected to have completed the equivalent of four semesters of Italian language to participate. Click here for a brochure.

Spotlights

Tim Zeeb

Director of Bergman Consulting

Shingi Mavima

Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies, University of Toledo

Austin Saycocie

Graduate of Johns Hopkins School of International Studies, US Foreign Service, now posted to Laos

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

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News

Robach attends the National Conference of the World Affairs Council as a Student Scholar

Olivia Robach (PLS and IR double major) earned a scholarship to join student scholars from around the US to attend the annual conference of the World Affairs Council in Washington, DC in November 2025.

Dec 3, 2025