top schools for undergrad INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

hopesanddreams · 11-06-2009, 02:25 AM

hi. i'm currently a senior, and i'm really unsure about which colleges to apply to. i'm going to apply under international relations (or undecided or political science if the school doesn't have international relations). Many of the supplements ask "why Stanford or why Brown," and I want to talk about how I want to pursue my passion for international relations. But it'd be foolish to write that if the school is really unknown for their international relations/poli-sci program.

So, currently I'm applying to these colleges: Brown, Stanford, UPenn, Princeton, Cornell.
Would it be good to apply under international relations for these schools? If not, what other colleges should I apply to under international relations?

Kulakai · 11-06-2009, 02:57 AM

Georgetown! Also, JHU's IR program is good.

ilovebagels · 11-06-2009, 04:00 AM

Penn is a great school for IR, and it can't hurt to apply as an IR major as it gives you lots to talk about in the "why Penn" section

(such as: Penn's One University policy and abundance of graduate and professional schools means you can supplement your IR education with highly relevant courses in business (wharton), law (penn law), communications (annenberg), and more. The Penn IR major encourages this to the point where such courses actually count as part of the major. Other universities may not even have such schools, or if they have them they may not let undergraduates take advantage of them).

confidentialcoll · 11-06-2009, 11:47 AM

Poli Sci with a focus on international politics at Columbia, is great entry into international relations. New York is also the international relations capital of the world. Columbia easily has one of the best departments in the country and one of the best environments in which to study and prepare to work in international relations. Georgetown's school of foreign service is also a great platform to enter Int. relations.

poi · 11-06-2009, 12:04 PM

Tufts and University of Rochester.

AUTransfer · 11-06-2009, 12:07 PM

American University (the honors program based on your other schools) and Georgetown.

AU's School of International Service (SIS) building is just finishing being completely rebuilt...so everything would be nice and shiny by the time you got there. And Georgetown has the reputation of having the best International Relations program in the country (while American's ranks 11th)

You can't beat the location for either of them when it comes to internships and faculty, and the alumni base provides basically endless networking in the International Relations field. Obviously if you go to any of your schools, you'll get a decent education. But if you want strictly international relations, here is the 2007 rankings from Foreign Policy magazine.

1. Harvard University 48%
2. Princeton University 46%
3. Stanford University 30%
4. Georgetown University 28%
5. Columbia University 28%
6. Yale University 23%
7. University of Chicago 21%
8. University of California-Berkeley 12%
9. Dartmouth College 11%
10. George Washington University 10%
11. American University 10%
12. University of Michigan 9%
13. Tufts University 8%
14. Swarthmore College 8%
14. University of California-San Diego 8%
16. Cornell University 6%
17. Brown University 6%
18. Williams College 5%
19. Duke University 5%
19. Johns Hopkins University 5%"

IBclass06 · 11-06-2009, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hopesanddreams

So, currently I'm applying to these colleges: Brown, Stanford, UPenn, Princeton, Cornell.
Would it be good to apply under international relations for these schools?

Yes, you would be well-served at any of those colleges.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hopesanddreams

what other colleges should I apply to under international relations?

hopesanddreams · 11-07-2009, 01:44 PM

thanks so much everyone!

hopesanddreams · 11-07-2009, 01:46 PM

and also, uc berkeley doesn't have International Relations or global studies...so under which major should i apply?

Phead128 · 11-08-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUTransfer

But if you want strictly international relations, here is the 2007 rankings from Foreign Policy magazine.

1. Harvard University 48%
2. Princeton University 46%
3. Stanford University 30%
4. Georgetown University 28%
5. Columbia University 28%
6. Yale University 23%
7. University of Chicago 21%
8. University of California-Berkeley 12%
9. Dartmouth College 11%
10. George Washington University 10%
11. American University 10%
12. University of Michigan 9%
13. Tufts University 8%
14. Swarthmore College 8%
14. University of California-San Diego 8%
16. Cornell University 6%
17. Brown University 6%
18. Williams College 5%
19. Duke University 5%
19. Johns Hopkins University 5%"

That list is flawed. UC Berkeley doesn't have anything remotely resembling an IR studies/affairs/relations program...

Many of the schools listed in Foreign Policy magazine IR ranking list does not have IR degree conferring programs. (not very useful for selecting schools for IR majors)

Check out Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, GWU, American, Middlebury, Claremont McKenna, Swarthmore, etc...

IBclass06 · 11-08-2009, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phead128

That list is flawed. UC Berkeley doesn't have anything remotely resembling an IR studies/affairs/relations program...

Many of the schools listed in Foreign Policy magazine IR ranking list does not have IR degree conferring programs. (not very useful for selecting schools for IR majors)

I agree with that view only if a person absolutely insists, for whatever reason, on having an undergraduate major in IR. As we all know, a major in IR is neither required nor perhaps even preferred for a career in international relations.

As examples,

It's absurd to assume that one would be better served by studying marine biology at Brown or Eckerd than Stanford or Duke simply because the former two explicitly offer it as a major.
It's absurd to assume that one would be better served by studying public health at UNC or Hopkins than biology at Emory; the field of public health is huge and incorporates a tremendous variety of specialists.

All of those schools in the FP list have exceptionally strong IR placement.

mini · 11-08-2009, 06:22 PM

Berkeley has a world class program in international relations:

Research and Teaching - Subfields - International Relations - Political Science Department, UC Berkeley

The largest program by far, with the most offerings, most faculty, most majors, and most minors (and with the highest proportion and highest number of students going abroad), and the most internships is American U.

swish14 · 11-09-2009, 09:18 PM

William & Mary has an excellent undergrad IR dept.

CJ Madison · 11-10-2009, 03:16 PM

I hear W&M is starting a new IR program where you do 2 years @ W&M and 2 yrs @ St. Andrew's in Scotland. What a great idea! Look forward to more info this.

St. Andrew's is one the "world's' best programs in IR, but does tend to focus more on the historical aspects of IR.

Something to look into if you are a junior/senior in HS.