The Croft Institute for International Studies is home to some 225 international studies majors, who come from 4 foreign countries and 27 different states. The Institute accepts 70 students each fall into the international studies undergraduate degree program. A student must be accepted into the Croft Institute in order to major in international studies at The University of Mississippi.
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Croft Incoming Student Retreat 2022
Successful applicants to the Croft Institute for International Studies will rank near the top of their high school class and have a composite score of 28 or higher on the ACT (the equivalent of 1250 on the math and critical reading portions of the SAT or 1310 or above on the SATR) and an unweighted high school GPA of 3.50 or higher. The Croft Institute encourages well rounded students with strong GPA's and students with strong language skills to apply even if their test scores do not quite match the above requirements.
Because the major in international studies covers a wide range of academic disciplines, including anthropology, business, economics, history, political science, and sociology, we are looking for applicants with a strong background in social studies, English, and mathematics. Foreign language is an integral part of the Croft program, and we are particularly interested in students who have taken four or more years of a modern language and those who have traveled outside of the U.S.
The Institute each year awards eight Croft Scholarships to its most competitive incoming freshmen. Known as Croft Scholars, the holders of the Croft Scholarship receive $8,000 per year for four years. These are among the largest and most prestigious scholarships available at the University, and they may be combined with most other forms of financial assistance. Croft scholars must maintain a GPA of at least 3.4. The Croft on-line application is both for admission into the program and for the Croft Institute scholarship competition. If you would like to be considered for other University of Mississippi scholarships, you must complete the general UM Scholarship application available through the UM on-line special programs and scholarship application.
Croft students specialize in one of eight languages taught by the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Mississippi: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Students advancing well in their primary language may add a secondary language specialization in any of the above languages, or in Italian, Portuguese or Swahili.
The Arabic Language Flagship and Chinese Language Flagship programs offer a four to five year rigorous curriculum, including summer study in Oxford and multiple periods abroad, that are aimed to bring students to professional proficiency in those critical languages.
International Studies is an interdisciplinary major in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi. It focuses on the connections between politics, economics, and culture at the international level, providing students with both an understanding of how the contemporary world works and the tools to succeed in it.
Students develop both qualitative and quantitative skills: they hone their writing ability and learn to make statistical analyses. Croft classes are taught in small classes by the Institute's professors. These small classes foster discussion, reflection and analysis. Other courses taught by the larger community of the faculty in the University can also count for the major, giving Croft students a wide variety of choices. International studies majors are required to specialize in a foreign language and study abroad for at least one semester in a country where that language is spoken.
Any student at the University of Mississippi can minor in international studies. Students do not have to apply to the Croft Institute to declare international studies as their minor. Students can notify the College of Liberal Arts or just simply start taking the required courses.
The minor in International Studies provides a broad overview of the contemporary world, including politics, economics, and culture. It requires students to reach the 300-level in a modern language other than English, and can be paired with any major.
Croft students form a special community within the University. You'll find yourself among a group of diverse, academically-minded students, with whom you'll quickly form friendships and forge intellectual bonds. The Institute is housed in its own beautifully restored pre-Civil War building centered in campus, between the historic University Circle and the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union. From our porch overlooking the Grove to our computer lab on the third floor, students feel at home in our building.
Our students are represented by the Croft Senate, which keeps the faculty and staff informed of students' needs and plans social activities and service opportunities for Croft students. The Croft staff is dedicated to helping you make the most of your time at the Institute. The staff also host the new student retreat, the Fall reception, and a Visiting Speaker Series that brings experts from all over the world to address vital contemporary issues.
Students use the Croft Porch for studying and socializing
Seniors working hard on their theses in the study room
Croft's Arabic and Chinese Flagship students gather for a picnic
Pumpkin painting at the 2022 fall picnic
The B.A. in International Studies combines the dedication to intellectual inquiry of the liberal arts with the practical skills sought after by today's employers. The courses students take here at the Institute, the time they spend abroad, and their mastery of a new language give them a deeper appreciation for the complex interactions that drive today's global society, the diversity of people and cultures, and the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Second, the skills they develop in writing, speaking, languages, and quantitative and qualitative analysis will makes our graduates competitive in a wide variety of fields at the global level. Whether you become a Foreign Service Officer, a financial adviser, an international marketer, an attorney, a teacher, a journalist, or something else; whether you work for the government, a large multinational corporation, a non-profit organization, or small business; whether you live in the United States or abroad, a B.A. in International Studies will not only prepare you for a successful career, but it will help you live a richer and more fulfilling life.
Graduates from the Croft Institute go on to a wide variety of professions, but wherever they go, they take with them the confidence and open-mindedness of a true global citizen.
