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Do International Studies Students Have a Broader Global Awareness Than Other College Students?

ABSTRACT Purpose: Common knowledge seem to suggest that international studies (IS) programs are at the forefront of helping their students better understand the world beyond United States borders. The purpose of this study is to test the proposition that IS students have a greater global awareness than other college students. Method: Hanvey’s (1976) five dimensions of global perspective were operationalized into 45 specific questions. A questionnaire consisting of these questions and a few demographics were circulated among students of 10 universities in the United States. A statistical method of Differences-in-Differences was used to compare the global perspective of IS students with other college students. Results: Controlling for different initial levels of awareness between freshmen/sophomore of IS students and students of two control groups, the findings do not support the hypothesis that IS programs have enhanced the global awareness of their students. The findings suggest that increases in global awareness of senior IS students are due to their initial predisposition and the process of maturation rather than their course of study. Comments: The null findings of this study suggest a scholarly and professional discussion on the future direction of IS programs is needed.