Seniors majoring in IECA engage in a year-long independent research project. During the Fall semester they choose their topic and in the Spring their research culminates in a 30-40 page paper, under the supervision of 2 faculty readers in appropriate disciplines.

In 2007-2008, papers focused on the general topic of "Rights and Wrongs” as students explored historical, cultural, political and economic issues affecting human rights.

Topics and representative projects from previous years have included the following:

THE ENVIRONMENT • Costs of Environmental Policies: German Industry and the European Union • Mexico Cleans Up Its Act: Environmental Consequences of NAFTA PEOPLE IN MOVEMENT: ISSUES OF MIGRATION • NAFTA and Migration • From Germany to Germany: A Study of East German Migration Patterns BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES • Reunification of the Korean Peninsula • Chile: Democracy, Free Trade and Mercosur DEMOCRACY AND CAPITALISM • The Restraints of Capitalism: How Asian Capitalism is Stifling the South Korean Economy • The New Poland ISSUES OF SOVEREIGNTY: WHO CONTROLS WHAT? • Giving up or Retaining Power? A look at Agriculture and France's Role in the European Union • Sacred Struggles: The Indigenous Fight for Land Rights in Historical and Modern Chile THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION • Making Coffee Fair: Globalization, Fair Trade, and Their Effects on Small Scale Coffee Farmers in Mexico • Closing the Gap: Reversing China's Income Inequality Through Globalization