The Hamilton Lugar School of Global & International Studies at Indiana University is a leader in the study of international affairs. We make the world a better place by engaging with its governments, businesses, laws, and nonprofit sectors, and we pursue innovations and solutions from the strong foundation of a Big Ten research university.
The first step to changing the world is seeking to understand it. We’ll teach you how. HLS offers nearly 20 undergraduate majors and minors, more than 50 graduate and doctoral opportunities, and more than 300 study abroad programs. You’ll graduate fluent in at least one of the 80+ languages taught on campus and equipped with the tools necessary to make an impact on the world.
Undergraduate Programs
Complete an international relations degree with any of our 6 majors, 9 minors, and 6 certificate programs, or combine your HLS studies with any other IU program across our several colleges and schools for an interdisciplinary learning experience tailored to your goals.
Graduate Programs
Expand your professional competencies and reach new possibilities in your career through nearly 50 master’s, doctoral, and certificate programs at HLS. You can also double your prospects with a dual degree, including an MPA, MBA, or JD, through IU’s other professional schools.
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Get your copy of the Hamilton Lugar School Viewbook and learn more about our majors, languages, opportunities, scholarships, and the HLS experience.
Driving Passions with Expertise
Our undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs open realms of possibility and discovery. You can pursue direct involvement in foreign policy or combine a HLS program with any other IU major to prepare for the exact career that drives your passion.
Expert faculty bring their passion as mentors and thinkers to each major and minor, master’s and doctoral program, and language and professional certificate. They are scholars on human rights and climate change studies, linguists and sociologists, former humanitarian aid workers and diplomats. These teachers and doers are proud to represent an international affairs school and to foster the next generation of international policy-makers.
Embrace the challenge
“The world has always been of interest to me. Whether that was excelling in my Spanish classes and diving into Latin American cultures, learning about the colonial French roots of my parents’ home country of Guinea, or researching my religion and how the Arabian Peninsula influenced it.”
Ramatou Soumare
International Law and Institutions, class of 2022; Ramatou gave the student introduction for Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s foreign policy speech at the IU Auditorium in June 2019.
Speaking Globally
We teach more languages than any other university in the United States, with more than 80 program offerings from regions across the globe. We are distinct among international relations schools for our dedication to deep cultural fluency and our broad scope of cultural investment, from Arabic to Mongolian to Zulu.
Opportunities Outside the Classroom and Country
Indiana University stands out among international affairs colleges for its bustling student organizations, clubs, and service learning projects that bring degrees in global studies and international politics out of the classroom and into everyday life. You can also take your learning to more than 52 countries through IU’s study abroad programs.
Set the standard
#1Number of foreign languages taught in the US
#1Available Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowships
70%Undergraduate students travel abroad
Launching Your Career
From your earliest days on campus, you will have access to career development workshops and programs dedicated to your professional prospects. We offer one-on-one coaching, a mentoring program, and events with experts, recruiters, and HLS alumni. You can earn a competitive internship and carry your international politics degree into an impactful career with organizations like the United Nations, the Peace Corps, and the US Department of State.
Follow Your Future at HLS
We are committed to supporting and empowering your journey at Indiana University. Let us know how we can help nurture your world-changing ideas; once you’re here, we will equip you with the knowledge and expertise to put them into action.
#1Language Flagship programs in the US
#2Boren Scholars
Top 16Fulbright Scholars
Train on the world stage
"I’ve had the opportunity to intern with the U.S. Department of State at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China and studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea at Yonsei University. I also had the opportunity to attend the 63rd session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women with Professor Shruti Rana as a student delegate. I was also one of the first students to switch my major to International Law and Institutions. This joint degree between the Hamilton Lugar School and the Maurer School of Law helps students like me develop the expertise needed to make an impact after graduation."
Kimber Garland
International Law, East Asian Languages & Cultures and International Law & Institutions, class of 2020
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Language Flagship Programs
The Hamilton Lugar School houses Language Flagship programs in Arabic and Chinese (Mandarin). Indiana University is home to three programs, the most in the country.
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HLS Living-Learning Center
The LLC is a close-knit residential community for globally minded students who take part in a tailored program of activities that bridge the classroom with the world.
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Financial aid
School-, university-, and government-funded financial aid is available for tuition, Scholarships funded by the school, university, and government are available for tuition, internships, and study abroad.
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Growing up in Indiana, one learns early on that talent and accomplishments count—but honesty and integrity count more.
Sen. Richard Lugar
Land acknowledgement
The Hamilton Lugar School wishes to acknowledge and honor the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people, on whose ancestral homelands and resources Indiana University was built.
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies