Immigration Studies Minor

The Department of Human Development also offers an interdisciplinary minor in immigration studies that explores the complex and multiple ways in which citizenship is defined and experienced at global, societal, institutional, community and individual levels. The key focus is on the effect of contemporary conceptualizations of citizenship and their translation into policies and actual everyday practices on the lives of those deemed as immigrants, refugees or the displaced.

The minor applies a social justice and rights-based philosophy to an examination of citizenship, immigration, emigration and immigrant lives in transnational, national and local contexts. A key emphasis of the minor is to explore how discourse on belonging, justice and displacement intersect in a variety of global, national and localized contexts.

Minor requirements

  • A minimum of six courses including four core courses and two elective courses.

  • The four core courses will be taken within the Department of Human Development from the following list of five courses: 

    • HDEV 361 Global Migration Flows and Processes

    • HDEV 379 Migration, Citizenship and Human Rights

    • HDEV 404: Topics in Migration, Gender, and Human Rights

    • HDEV 465 Researching Immigrant Lives

    • HDEV 475 Practicum in Human Development (This course requires a 100 hour internship that must be focused on immigrant populations

  • The two electives are to be selected from courses that focus on immigration and immigrant-related issues and may be taken outside the Department of Human Development. Courses in the following departments: history, sociology, geography, English, Africana studies, Latin American and Caribbean area studies, and Asian and Asian American studies are applicable for elective courses for the immigration studies minor. The Department of Human Development must approve the courses. 
    • The first elective course will focus on immigration/immigrants with a historical emphasis.
    • The second elective will be a course that focuses in-depth on one specific immigrant community, population, or context.
  • If students are interested in the Human Development minor in Immigration Studies, they should contact the Department Academic Advisor.
  • For participation in the Human Development minor in Immigration Studies, a student must have declared a major (HDEV or other) and completed at least 56 credits.
  • For human development students, at least four of six courses for the Immigration Studies minor must be in addition to courses counted toward fulfillment of the human development major.
  • For students outside of human development, at least four of the six courses for the Immigration Studies minor must be in addition to courses counted toward the fulfillment of the student's major.
  • At least four of the six courses for the Immigration Studies minor must be completed at Binghamton University.
  • Courses for the minor in Immigration Studies must be completed with a grade of C or better. These courses may not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.