International Relations/ Global Health

BIGeastBEAST
Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:54:25 +0000

There are multiple threads that discuss this topic. Tufts, Georgetown, George Washington, American, Virginia and other schools located near the D.C. area are at the top. Of course, your Ivy’s are all good too.

However, since most IR work will shuttle you towards the government, it’s not uber important what school you go to. Any recognizable school and a good GPA is sufficient, depending on what you want to do. I assume you want to work for the State Department, UN, or USAID.

When being hired, your work experience far outweighs education. Education typically just determines your payscale/GS level. For example, with a masters degree you can get hired at a GS 9, a bachelors degree will get you hired at a GS 5/7. Mostly it’s irrelevant because you have scheduled raises and promotions - so it all evens itself out eventually.

Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to offer some advice. If you are really sure that you want to do that line of work, explore your options a bit more. Figure out what specific kind of work you want to do, then find out what skills/background you need to do it. “Working in Africa” is quite broad and general. If global health interests you, the best route is medicine. If that isn’t your cup of tea, I suggest Pharma, followed by civil engineering.

I know a guy who was a BioMechanical Engineer major (went on to get his MS/PHD) and now designs prosthetic limbs for for people all around the world, including Africa, which he’s made extended visits to multiple times.

If you are really passionate about working in this field (do a little soul searching, because the reality is far less appealing than the fantasy), you need to identify needs. What are the needs of international relations and global health? Do they need people who know stuff about international relations they learned from books and lectures? Or do they need people to administer medicine, provide healthcare, design clean water systems/wells and infrastructure, translators, ect?

University of Iowa is a good school, if you really like it there, don’t transfer.