<p>I am surprised that people mention schools like Rochester, Northwestern, Georgetown, UCLA, Columbia and Cornell for poli-sci, yet nobody hear has said a peep about MIT, when the fact is (and perhaps a surprise to some people here), the MIT political science department actually is tied with those of UCLA and Columbia and is higher ranked than are the departments of those other 4 schools. </p>
<p>Perhaps the issue is that MIT does not teach “international relations” per se. Yet I would argue that that’s fairly irrelevant, especially at the undergraduate level, as it’s just a name. It seems to me that MIT poli-sci grads seem to do just fine securing international-relations-type jobs. </p>
<p>MIT’s political science department specializes in national security matters and technology policy, which befits MIT’s long-standing history of tight integration with the Department of Defense. For example, there are numerous laboratories and office buildings around MIT that require security clearances to enter. </p>
<p>What I think is happening is that MIT’s huge brand-name in science and engineering tends to blind people to the fact that MIT has other strong programs. I’ve found that lots of people are surprised to learn that MIT has a highly regarded and highly ranked poli-sci department. </p>
<p><a href=“MIT Department of Political Science”>MIT Department of Political Science;