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Hey. What are the top places to study international relations? I've picked to go to American University next fall and I'm wondering about other schools with better programs. Also, what do most people do with international relations degrees? Can you not go into diplomacy, but instead go into business, law, ect? I'd like to keep my options open because I'm interested in international relations but don't necessarily want to work in government.

By Crnchycereal (Crnchycereal) on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 05:12 pm: Edit

Georgetown SFS is regarded as the best school for IR. Tufts, GWU, and Brown also have excellent programs.

By Flashlightclock (Flashlightclock) on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 05:14 pm: Edit

For the subject of your interest, Georgetown is the place to go. It is a solid school with excellent academic reputation and has a great campus. Georgetown it is!

By Atomicboxx (Atomicboxx) on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 05:21 pm: Edit

How easily would it be for me to transfer from American to Georgetown, Tufts, Brown with straight A's after a year or two? Would it help to take summer school courses at those schools?

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 06:06 pm: Edit

You're going to be right there in Washington, D.C. It wouldn't hurt to just visit the Georgetown admissions office in person and ask them directly. You'll also start a relationship with someone in the office who'll be able to help you later on when you decide to transfer. But you've got to get those straight A's first. BTW, you know that your high school transcript and SAT scores will be part of your transfer application package? You might also ask what the percentage of transfers are at these schools since they historically take such low numbers of transfers.

By Rubenhan (Rubenhan) on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 09:05 pm: Edit

why would you move out from American U? I heard American University has really strong if not the strongest IR program. If you want to move, Johns Hopkins has a really stellar IR program.

By Reebster (Reebster) on Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 09:45 pm: Edit

Top IR undergrad Schools, according to the only rating list I have seen, are

1. Tufts (Fletcher is why)
2. Princeton
3. JHU (SIAS 5-year program)
4. Georgetown
5. UPenn
6. Harvard
7. Cornell
8. UW-Madison
9. MIT
10. Stanford

Source: The Gourman Report, 1999

By Fonzie (Fonzie) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 04:49 am: Edit

UW-Madison doesn't... have an IR major, but political science can be geared towards more international issues. I didn't actually know the gorman report rated it so highly!

By Pattykk (Pattykk) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 07:56 am: Edit

Take a look at www.apsia.org/apsia/index.php. It lists twenty-nine graduate programs.

By Jakery (Jakery) on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 03:53 pm: Edit

Has anyone heard anything about The New School's MA program in International Affairs? How about Columbia and City College (CUNY)? How do these programs compare and are there any others in the NYC area?

By Chemy (Chemy) on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 04:57 pm: Edit

IR = poli sci

some schools (the ones on the gourman list) SAY they are "tops in IR" but thats only because they SAY they have an "IR department"

at mos universaties... "IR" is really just a part of the poli sci department.

also TUFTS poli sci isnt in the top 50... look at the NRC rankings

the top 10 schools in political science according to National academy of science (NRC) , educational effectiveness:

1. University of Michigan 8.09 4.31

2. Yale University 7.77 4.24

3. Harvard University 7.46 4.17

4. University of California-Berkeley 7.28 4.13

5. Stanford University 6.78 4.02

6. University of Rochester 6.69 4.00

7. University of Minnesota 6.33 3.92

8. Princeton University 6.28 3.91

9. University of Wisconsin-Madison 6.06 3.86

10. University of Chicago 5.92 3.83

some other good ones:

mit #11

duke #13

cornell #15

columbia #22

johns hopkins #24

syracuse #33

georgetown #51

tufts #57

By Atomicboxx (Atomicboxx) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 08:34 am: Edit

MIT beats georgetown political science?? What the hell? MIT is a technical school.

By Moojuice (Moojuice) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 09:44 am: Edit

wtf, those rankings are screwed up!

Good schools for IR work:

Georgetown
George Washington
American
Claremont McKenna College
Tufts

Grad Work:

Monterey Institute for International Studies - best in the nation, in my opinion

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 11:32 am: Edit

I really think that International Relations and Political Science are different. Sorry to the poster who thinks otherwise... but you're wrong.

Political science usually involves, well, about 10 poli sci courses. IR, on the other hand, requires those poli sci courses, as well as economics, foreign language, and other classes (usually totalling about 30 courses at Tufts). You can hardly say that, at most, 1/4 or so of the major (being poli sci) is indicative of the entire major. That's like saying that an engineering department isn't good because the physics isn't tops.

By Metz (Metz) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 02:53 pm: Edit

Umm, yeah, every school that has an IR major also has a Poly Sci or Gov major. They are obviously different, or they wouldn't have two different departments.

By Chemy (Chemy) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 02:57 pm: Edit

no that's not true.. most schools have IR, but they are within the political science department or some affiliated special program

the only reason that a college would create a special "IR Department" would be because they want to be ranked in some crackpot ranking...

in other wordsd , any university with a great political science department (michigan, yale, berkeley, harvard, stanford et al) also has a great IR program, even if they don't call it a "department". .. ... sorry but too many of you are tufts or georgetown trolls

By Metz (Metz) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 04:00 pm: Edit

"no that's not true"
How is it not true? Can you find me a school with an IR major that DOES NOT have a PS or Gov. major?

"most schools have IR, but they are within the political science department or some affiliated special program"
Wow, so you are claiming that schools that have such huge IR departments that they become their own major are worse than small IR programs that are only a focus of a Poly Sci dept? That makes no sense whatsoever.

"the only reason that a college would create a special "IR Department" would be because they want to be ranked in some crackpot ranking..."
Thanks for proving your ignorance. The Tufts IR program and Georgetown SFS both pre-date the USNews and Gourman rankings.

"in other wordsd , any university with a great political science department (michigan, yale, berkeley, harvard, stanford et al) also has a great IR program, even if they don't call it a "department" "
Hmmm, then can you answer me this? Why does Harvard Law have a joint program with Tuft's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Yale Law School have a joint program with Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs? Why would any student take the time to specialize in IR at another university when their schools has a better Poly Sci dept? Hmm, maybe because they are different.

Georgetown and Tufts undergrad programs are both amazing because they draw from the resources of grad schools that have great faculty which send tons of alumni into interesting jobs around the world.

Yes, Georgetown (The School of Foreign Services) and Tufts (The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy) have entire SCHOOLS dedicated to IR as opposed to it being a specialization that's part of the Poly Sci dept.

But, Chemy, you're right. I think they created those schools inorder to move up the rankings which didn't exist at the time.

By Chemy (Chemy) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 04:45 pm: Edit

face it, schools like harvard, yale and even amherst are better for IR because they have better poli sci departments..... look up where the current U.S. ambassadors to big countries like russia, china, france, the united nations all went to school if you dont believe me!

harvard, yale and amherst are the most represented schools in the US foreign service... georgetown is up there because it's also a good school, but tufts is not among the top 20.

face it, the NRC ranking has georgetown poli sci #51, and tufts #57 in the country! that ranking alone says it all.

the bottom line is, IR programs are nice (i mean, #57 in the country isnt THAT bad), BUT any decent political science department offers way more for a prospective undergraduate than the unbelievably mediocre departments at tufts or georgetown

By Metz (Metz) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 05:34 pm: Edit

Clinton is a graduate of the Georgetown SFS and his ambassador to the UN was a graduate of Tufts.

Though I haven't seen the numbers, I wouldn't be surprised if HYP/AWS were over-represented as US Ambassadors (though there are definitly ambassadors from Tufts/GU). Except that US Ambassadors to specific countries are cushy jobs given out to the president's friends, who are almost always part of the good ol' boy network (i.e. N.E. boarding school followed by a HYP education). In addition, most of the people that go to those schools are just pretty damn smart, so it likely that they will eventually be successful in busienss/law/etc. and make the necessary connections.

A much more accurate way to asses employment opportunities would be to look at jobs below ambassadors/diplomats/etc. I mean, you don't judge a Poly Sci program by the number of people that become president.

"face it, the NRC ranking has georgetown poli sci #51, and tufts #57 in the country! that ranking alone says it all."
Yeah, that ranking says it all. It says what their Poly Sci rankings are, except you are still yet to explain how if IR is separate dept. from PS, it is still somehow being factored into the PS ranking. You are also yet to explain some of the other BS you've stated.

"BUT any decent political science department offers way more for a prospective undergraduate than the unbelievably mediocre departments at tufts or georgetown"
Yeah the constant visits by politicians/diplomats/etc. to Tufts and GU and the internship opportunities at GU really make for a mediocre IR experience.

By Chemy (Chemy) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 05:51 pm: Edit

you know... harvard and yale have "constant visits by politicians/diplomats/etc.", too.

and clinton went to Yale Law and was a rhodes scholar at Oxford... all of his important connections were made at YALE and OXFORD, not gtown.

By Crnchycereal (Crnchycereal) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 06:01 pm: Edit

Yeah, you're right, HYP are much better at IR. After all, they have Madeline Albright teaching there, and so will former Spanish PM Aznar. Oh wait, that's G-Town!

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 06:09 pm: Edit

Tufts International Relations requirements:

Language Requirement
The IR Program requires of all of its students oral and written proficiency in a language other than English. Proficiency is defined as successful completion of eight semesters (or equivalent) of university-level language instruction. All students wishing to major in international relations are required to comply with this requirement. Courses used to fulfill this requirement may not overlap with the core, thematic cluster, or seminar requirements.

Core Requirements (eight courses)
Political Science 51 International Relations
Economics 1 Microeconomics
Economics 2 Macroeconomics
One course in international economics*
One course in United States foreign policy*
One course in theories of society and culture*
One course in the historical dimension*
One course in the arts or literature of the language used to satisfy the IR culture requirement

Thematic Cluster Requirement (four courses)
All majors must choose one of the following five thematic clusters and complete four courses within that cluster. A complete list of courses that qualify for each cluster is contained in the academic planning guide.

1. FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS

2. REGIONAL AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Choose one of the following:
Africa
East and Southeast Asia
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Latin America
Middle East and South Asia

3. GLOBAL CONFLICT, COOPERATION, AND JUSTICE

4. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
Choose one of the following:
International economics and trade
International economics and finance
International economics and environment
International economics and development

5. NATIONALISM, CULTURE, AND IDENTITY


Seminar or Research Requirement (one course)
All students must take one seminar course from the list contained in the academic planning guide. Students should make every effort to choose a seminar that relates to the thematic cluster chosen above. Alternatively, majors may fulfill this requirement by completing a one-semester directed research project or a two-semester honors thesis under the guidance of a faculty member who is listed among the international relations core faculty. Additional limitations on this research option are described in the academic planning guide.

Please explain to me how this is REMOTELY a mere part of the poli sci department.

By Path1 (Path1) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 07:10 pm: Edit

can someone explain the difference between IR, political science and public policy at the undergraduate level?

By Moojuice (Moojuice) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 07:24 pm: Edit

IR is international politics and affairs while political science is generally just national politics, right? They're basically the same, but IR has a more global focus than PS. I have no idea what public policy is specifically, but it sounds like government... which is political science.

By Bicoastal (Bicoastal) on Wednesday, May 05, 2004 - 12:15 am: Edit

I hope I can clarify things a bit.

I'm a grad student at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs -- a program similar to Fletcher (Tufts), SAIS (Hopkins), Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, GW Elliot School of International Affairs, etc...

The distinction is probably better made between "int'l affairs" -- which is interdisciplinary and requires that you take classes in econ, poly sci, stats, language, area studies and the like -- and "int'l relations", which is usually thought of as an area within the political science department. For example, a friend of mine just got accepted into Columbia's poly sci PhD and is going to specialize in international relations. This means he'll take courses in international relations theory -- realism, neo-liberal institutionalism, and many other "isms".

This distinction doesn't hold in every case - you'll find some schools of "int'l relations" that are more similar to int'l affairs schools -- USC comes to mind, but in general the latter are usually thought of as professional programs while the former are more academic programs.

As for schools of international "affairs", the best, at least at the grad level, are usually thought to be SAIS, SIPA (Columbia), Fletcher (Tufts), and Georgetown. The Kennedy School at Harvard and the Wilson School at Princeton are super prestigious, though they're more public policy/administration and not exclusively international affairs. Affairs is a very broad area and can include anything from human rights, to finance and business, to public policy.

There's an Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs that gives information about these programs. Their website is
http://www.apsia.org/apsia/index.php

By Fonzie (Fonzie) on Wednesday, May 05, 2004 - 01:58 am: Edit

if you are shooting for one of the highest grad schools (like harvard or gtown) would attending one of the above ranked universities be a significant advantage?

I'm going to UW-Madison (ranked in the two polls shown) but deciding between majoring in political science (with international aspects) and a different pre-med type track (Chemistry maybe). If it is a significant help for internships or possible grad school placement then it could play a big part in my decision. Thanks

By Berns19 (Berns19) on Wednesday, May 05, 2004 - 02:51 am: Edit

I'm going to UChicago this fall and I'm planning to have dual concentrations (Chi-speak for majors) in Russian language and international studies and try to get the four year master's in international relations at the same time. Has anyone had any experiences with Chicago and IR in general? Thanks.

By Fonzie (Fonzie) on Thursday, May 06, 2004 - 01:37 am: Edit

anyone?

By Chemy (Chemy) on Thursday, May 06, 2004 - 02:42 am: Edit

yes, you should go for the best university possibel... particulerly ones ranked high in poli sci

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Thursday, May 06, 2004 - 02:56 pm: Edit

Fonzie: It depends. If you want law or med school, then your GPA will play a fairly large role. For grad school, it depends on how strong the departments are. I would advise you to not get too far ahead of yourself - you're still in high school, so don't worry about graduate school until you are at least a junior.

I disagree with Chemy's poli sci being equivalent to IR. They are not. They're different. He really doesn't know what he's talking about - it's like comparing physics to engineering. Certainly, poli sci forms the basis of what you learn in IR; however, the subjects are quite different, with IR being a lot more rigorous. There is economics, language, and poli sci involved. Often, you have to concentrate in an area; you could focus on international relations with China, learn Manderin, and take your courses as they relate to China. You don't get that in poli sci.

By Chemy (Chemy) on Friday, May 07, 2004 - 11:16 pm: Edit

"Often, you have to concentrate in an area; you could focus on international relations with China, learn Manderin, and take your courses as they relate to China. You don't get that in poli sci."

thats nonsense becuz u can do that in poli sci as well.

plain and simple, going to the best poli sci program is much better than going to a top-ranked IR program... becuz the top IR programs r really jsut the same as the top poli sci programs, they just dont have a special separate department arent called "IR."

it is MUCHHHHHHHH better when they are combined - like in the case of harvard, berkeley, yale, etc.

By Drvenkman (Drvenkman) on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 05:35 am: Edit

For the graduate level, I'll second the poster who said Columbia, Tufts, Georgetown, and Hopkins (SAIS) are generally considered the top tier, along with Harvard and Princeton (though these two have a more public admin focus). Note that these are all 2-year professional programs, not just PhD feeders.

At the undergrad level, you obviously can't go wrong with some of the Ivies or Stanford. And Georgetown and Tufts undergrads benefit from the strength of the grad programs. In fact Georgetown IR is so strong that they send a large number of people into the Foreign Service straight out of undergrad.

One point to consider is that most of the top IR grad programs value work experience. A DC undergrad program like Georgetown, GW, or American gives you year-round internship opportunities with Federal agencies and related think tanks. You're not going to get that at a rural college.

I use IR and IA pretty interchangeably, although I suppose the distinction given above is pretty accurate. But they're definitely not poli sci. Anyone who says that Tufts IR is weak because of their poli sci ranking is simply not familiar with the discipline. Their program is top-notch.

By Tasha (Tasha) on Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 11:05 pm: Edit

What do you guys think of American Graduate School in International Relations and Diplomacy (AGSIRD) in Paris as well as the American University of Paris (a new Joint Masters in French and english in IR) in terms of ranking?