<p>
</p>
<p>I’m confused about this. On the web page linked from post #5, the caption above the 3rd table is “Top Undergraduate Programs”. In the complete survey results (cited in a footnote at the bottom of that linked web page), Q56 of the 2009 results is:
“What are the 5 best colleges or universities in [country X] for undergraduate students to study IR?”</p>
<p>Is this not the form of the question that went out to participants in the current survey year (the one that generated the rankings we’re discussing)? </p>
<p>If it is the exact question that went out, perhaps many participants thought they were evaluating the quality of the undergraduate experience as a whole for IR students. Hopkins is virtually tied for 13th in the table; this is about equal to its overall USNWR ranking, right? </p>
<p>I wouldn’t be too surprised if many participants simply turned in 5 schools from the top of the USNWR list, with a substitution here and there reflecting personal experiences. Not because they are uninformed or uncooperative, but because the question is too hard to answer by judging from personal experiences alone.</p>