<p>Hi! I am an international student and my intended major is international relations and economics (double major). Please help me to judge which school is better for me. Great thanks!</p>
<p>Both are very good schools. How important is location to you? UVA is obviously much closer to Washington (Internships!!!) than Madison. Madison is also in the middle of nowhere. Charlottesville is too, to a certain extent, but there is generally more going on in Charlottesville on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Check out this link.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/191105-rank-ma-international-relations-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/191105-rank-ma-international-relations-programs.html</a></p>
<p>Agree^^about the internships in DC if you head to UVA.</p>
<p>The link about MA international relations programs isn’t really a fair comparison of the two schools, seeing as UVA does not have a stand alone MA program. (PhD only)</p>
<p>First off, congrats!! Those are two really amazing schools. If you are looking for that true big American college experience, I would strongly encourage Wisconsin. Its a fantastic school and extremely popular because it has amazing academics and a reallly great social atmosphere. Incredible football and basketball, beautiful campus, diverse population and a wide variety of classes and activities. I know a lot of information about both schools so feel free to PM me!! Good Luck :)</p>
<p>Many international students like to spend weekends in DC, Philadelphia and NYC. That is much easier in Cville because it is on an Amtrak line and is within a reasonable distance.</p>
<p>UVa’s “Department of Politics” used to be named “Government and Foreign Affairs”. I liked the old name much better. </p>
<p>UVa also has the new Batten program for Leadership and Public Policy, which will be growing over the next few years, including a soon-to-come bachelor’s degree. I don’t know how much those programs will stress international relations, but the new Dean of that program used to be head of GW University’s international relations program.</p>
<p>You have offers from two excellent schools. I suggest looking at the department websites at each to see if the faculty and programs offered have you favoring one. Keep in mind that there are a few departments at UVa that might be of interest, besides [the</a> Batten School](<a href=“http://batten.virginia.edu/]the”>http://batten.virginia.edu/), as Charlie mentioned. </p>
<p>[U.Va</a>. | Department of Politics](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/politics/]U.Va”>http://www.virginia.edu/politics/)
[U.Va</a>. | Political and Social Thought](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/pst/]U.Va”>http://www.virginia.edu/pst/)
[U.Va</a>. | Political Philosophy, Policy and Law](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/ppl/]U.Va”>http://www.virginia.edu/ppl/)
[U.Va</a>. | Global Development Studies & Global Development Studies](<a href=“http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/globaldevelopment/]U.Va”>http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/globaldevelopment/)
[U.Va</a>. | Department of Economics](<a href=“http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/economics/index.html]U.Va”>http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/economics/index.html)
[McIntire</a> School of Commerce | International Business Concentration](<a href=“http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/academic_programs/undergrad/concentrations/Pages/InternationalBusiness.aspx]McIntire”>http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/academic_programs/undergrad/concentrations/Pages/InternationalBusiness.aspx)</p>
<p>Also, check out these faculty, whose specialties are in international and Development Economics:
<a href=“http://news.clas.virginia.edu/economics/x14603.xml[/url]”>http://news.clas.virginia.edu/economics/x14603.xml</a></p>
<p>Caligirl, are you saying that UVa isn’t a “true American college” with all of those characteristics you listed? UVa has fantastic academics, a vibrant social scene, and a talented student population. The Grounds are the most stunning I’ve encountered…and I have a feeling I’ve visited more college campuses than most. Our international student population is very happy here!</p>
<p>I’ve noticed that you’ve commented on a few UVA vs. ___ threads lately. Are you a current UVa student or do you attend another college?</p>
<p>DeanJ, no not at all! UVA is an amazing school! What i meant by “big american college experience” was a super ra-ra environment that a huge state school like Wisconsin has. Virginia is filled with school spirit and has one of the most beautiful campuses around, but Wisco is really for someone looking for that work hard, play hard attitude with a huge student body and a lot of really great sports teams. Wisco’s kind of the typical large collegiate experience. And no I’m not a Cav, but I love your school! I’m going to Boston College this fall and I can’t wait!!! and CC was super helpful in helping me make that decision. I was between a few schools, so I can relate to a lot of the people I’ve been responding to. Just paying it forward and returning the favor!</p>
<p>See, I would disagree, because UVA definitely has a “work hard, play hard” attitude. Perhaps the football and basketball teams aren’t the “best”, but that hasn’t kept students from going out and supporting the team and being “ra-ra”. While UVA isn’t the size of a Penn State or UT, 13k undergrads plus all the grad students isn’t anything to laugh at either.</p>
<p>Both great choices. A little clarification though…</p>
<p>“Madison is also in the middle of nowhere. Charlottesville is too, to a certain extent, but there is generally more going on in Charlottesville on a regular basis.”</p>
<p>Not true. Madison is a city of over 200k in a metropolitan area of over 500k. It is also the state capital. Chicago is 2.5 hours away and Milwaukee 1.5 hours away. The Madison airport has daily direct flights to NYC, DC and other major cities. This is an exciting and dynamic small city.</p>
<p>The Dept’s of Political Science and Economics are among the top 10 in the country with incredible faculty. Econ has been hiring some of the world’s best lately. Within Poli Sci, the international relations faculty has become top notch. Add top notch language departments and a world renown history department.</p>
<p>Check these links if you haven’t already:</p>
<p>[UW-Madison:</a> Political Science Department](<a href=“http://polisci.wisc.edu/default.aspx]UW-Madison:”>http://polisci.wisc.edu/default.aspx)</p>
<p>[International</a> Studies Major - University of Wisconsin-Madison](<a href=“http://ismajor.wisc.edu/majoroverview.html]International”>http://ismajor.wisc.edu/majoroverview.html)</p>
<p>Grand Strategy Program</p>
<p>[The</a> Grand Strategy Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison](<a href=“http://grandstrategy.wisc.edu/]The”>http://grandstrategy.wisc.edu/)</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I was recruited as a faculty member by both Wisconsin and UVA and found both schools very attractive. My main reason for choosing UVA wasn’t very intellectual: I prefer the more temperate weather here, and the beautiful mountain scenery. Wisconsin is quite scenic too, with campus buildings overlooking lakes, but the lakes were frozen solid when I visited and the snow was coming down so hard it was hard to see out the windows. In fact my trip to the campus had to be postponed twice because winter weather closed the airport. I grew up in the snow belt of upstate NY and I just didn’t want to be dealing with that any more. Summers can be hot and humnid in Charlottesville, but school isn’t in session then so students and faculty are not required to be around. If you like cross-country skiing and suchlike, however, UW could be your place!</p>
<p>Both universities are located in sophisticated, cosmopolitan towns. Madison is bigger than Charlottesville and is the state capital. OTOH, as others have noted, Charlottesville is closer to the big East Coast cities, esp. DC.</p>
<p>Both UVA and Wisconsin have been affected by the recession but my sense is that UW has been hit harder, and is more dependent on the whims of the state legislature because a larger proportion of their funding comes from the state. In my field, they’ve recently lost quite a number of faculty because of noncompetitive pay, and they are poised to lose more.</p>
<p>Congratulations on two great choices!</p>
<p>I should have clarified, I didn’t necessarily mean to imply that Madison is a nothing-town, but that there isn’t a whole lot in close vicinity to it. Chicago and Milwaukee are both day trips, but possibly difficult to do if a student doesn’t have a car…and I don’t know what the public transit is like between Chicago and Madison. One of my best friends traveled through Madison for work a couple years back and said it was pretty sparse in the surrounding area. UVA can very much be the same way, but I know at the very least there is ample public transit and other ways to get to DC.</p>
<p>C’mon, Wahoogril, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that to justify the OP selecting U-Va over UW. You know full well that most U-Va students don’t go to DC any more often than UW students go to Chicago – DC is a a solid 2 and one-half hours away and U-Va is not a suitcase campus. U-Va students tend to stick around Charlottesville on the weekends. </p>
<p>The true comparison is Madison and Charlottesville, and there’s just no denying that Madison has a LOT more going on. </p>
<p>What it really boils down to is this. UW is every bit as good of a school academically as U-Va. But there are three very solid reasons for the OP to pick U-Va over UW.</p>
<p>One, UW is HUGE, twice the size of UW, which not only makes it less personal, etc., but makes it very difficult for the average student to take all the classes needed to graduate on time. UW boosters may quibble about the reasons for this, but there’s no question that UW has one of the lowest four year graduation rates of any major college in the U.S. U-Va, on the other hand, has the highest graduation rate (by far) among public universities and ranks as high as the Ivy League on this measure. Four year graduation rates are not only a good proxy for how academically serious the study body is – it means that your education ultimately costs less. </p>
<p>Second, Charlottesville may not be Madison but it does offer plenty to do and has MUCH, MUCH better weather. Again, you’ll hear a lot from UW folks about how the weather isn’t that bad once you get used to it, etc., but I’m sorry – it’s freezing cold in Madison, Wisconsin for most of the academic year and nothing can be done to change this. </p>
<p>Finally, U-Va is far more diverse than UW – something that is likely of high importance to an international student studying international relations. Part of the reason is demographics – unlike U-Va, UW is not located in state with a diverse population – but a major reason for UW’s lack of diversity is its lack of commitment to financial aid. U-Va does a much better job on this front as well.</p>
<p>There are multiple daily buses that run directly from the UW Union to Chicago and Milwaukee. While UW had some losses in faculty five years ago in the last few years they have been successfully hiring top people including some that came back after leaving for “greener” pastures a few years earlier. The new chancellor has been very active in adding income to hire top people in key areas. See:</p>
<p>[Carpe</a> diem! UW recruiters seize on others? woes to woo academic stars](<a href=“http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/university/article_1464031e-3c3f-11df-9a25-001cc4c002e0.html]Carpe”>http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/university/article_1464031e-3c3f-11df-9a25-001cc4c002e0.html)</p>
<p>The return of the stock market to pre-recession levels has also helped soften the impact of state budget cuts as UW has total endowments now approaching $5 Billion. Also the success UW has had in growing research funding to over $1 Billion annually helps cushion any cuts from the state as a significant portion of that money goes to support geenral university operations to the tume of around $300 Million.
UW is using the current budget cycle to work toward a funding model more similar to UVa’s with much greater freedom from state controls in exchange for flat state funding. </p>
<p>The weather–have not figured out a way to improve that. A good coat helps. Most people of student age don’t let that deter them much. For us older folks–I plan to retire just down the road from UVa in Lynchburg and enjoyed the 70+ weather a couple weeks ago. Not that it lasted.
But the weather toaday-madison 45 and sunny, cville 45 and rain. So event that can vary.</p>