I am interested in international affairs, and would kill to study abroad at a school like the London School Of Economics. What are some American schools that offer study abroad programs with the London School of Economics (or schools of similar prestige)?
You can enroll directly at LSE as a study abroad student; it’s not necessary to attend a school that has a program there.
While there are some schools that are better known for their study abroad than others (Syracuse, Middlebury) most schools offer SA programs (often organized by other universities.) The better the school you attend, the better the odds of going to a prestigious university abroad.
If you’re serious about going into international affairs, you should look into top schools, and schools known for a good international focus: Georgetown, American University, George Washington and Tufts, among other respected schools.
Study languages. Study history and political science.
Study and live abroad.
Preferably in a non-English speaking country. Far too many American kids want to go into “international” affairs or business – without being able to speak a lick of a foreign language.
Don’t be one of them. Be, you know, international.
@katliamom, though what the prestigious universities abroad consider top American universities may differ some from what Americans may think.
If I have to generalize, I’d say they tend to respect the big research heavyweights.
As an example, UIUC has exchange programs with UTokyo, Keio, and Waseda (the top uni in Japan and the top 2 private unis in Japan, which is why Keio and Waseda are sometimes called the Harvard and Yale of Japan) and has a ton of study-abroad programs in general.
I notice that many of the top American privates tend to organize their own study-abroad programs as a consortium (for example, the Kyoto consortium organized by Columbia, the EDUCO consortium in Paris, etc.)
With 3-year undergraduate programs, LSE (and Oxbridge) don’t seem to do formal undergraduate exchanges with almost any American schools (though other English unis do). But there are ways to study at LSE and some of the Oxbridge colleges, and as you said, LSE offers a 1-year study abroad course (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/1047994-lse-study-abroad-p1.html)
It does vary, of course, and some of the top schools also have a variety of programs to choose from. But in my experience elite schools in the US also partner with elites in Europe. For example, the only way to study abroad as an American undergraduate at the Ecole Normale Superieure (the top school in France in literature, philosophy and math) is to attend Harvard, Yale, Princeton or one of a handful of other top schools. (And even those top schools are only allowed to send 1-2 people per year, per ENS’ restrictions.)
gwu has a joint IR masters program with LSE. gw also had the largest contingency of students studying at LSE in their undergrad study abroad program (called the general course), so that might be something to look at
Tufts has a relationship with a few of oxford’s colleges. You need to have a 3.7 GPA to participate in the exchange.
William & Mary (state school) has a 2-year joint degree programme with St. Andrews in IR (and in Economics, English and History). You spend Freshmen and Senior years in Virginia, Sophomore and Junior years in Scotland. You have to apply to the program as an incoming freshman.
I am also looking my career in international affair and I was finding some good university for the same, I read all comment here and I would like to thank you every one for their suggestion. It will help me lot for selection of perfect university for me. While searching for the university I face one more problem of perfect student accommodation in London but my problem was solved by Theuniversityliving.com they helped me find a suitable accommodation in London .
My son loved USC Marshall Study Abroad program to Barcelona, Spain. It was amazing for him and there’s only a 3% acceptance rate into the program.
One thing to keep in mind. If you have merit aid then it may be best go to a study abroad program that your school approves or has a relationship with because it you go with an outside study abroad company, you may have to forfeit the aid you would receive for that semester.
If you organize it yourself, you can save a LOT of money. I did a year on Freiburg, Germany, which I handled - there was NO TUITION and it was easy to set up. I was right alongside students in a US program from U Massachusetts and they paid full tuition for nothing but minimal admin help and a place to hang out. The credits are transferable to many unis as well.
Lots of colleges do. St Olaf does, Dickinson does (two excellent colleges for study abroad), plus the obvious suspects (G’Town, Tufts…)
Regarding the “free tuition” system, it’s worth looking into if 1° you’re already bilingual in either French or German and 2° are super independent. (And of course, do not expect any of the basic amenities you’re used to).
See the tumblr “ma salle de cours va craquer” or “ruines d’universités” to see what I mean…
http://www.lemonde.fr/campus/article/2014/12/11/ruines-d-universite-un-blog-qui-temoigne-de-l-insalubrite-a-la-fac_4537990_4401467.html
If you ask me, you might want to look into organizations/ platforms who specialize in these programs (study abroad). That way you’ll have the glimpse of who (college or university) offers what, in these terms.
Your interest is aligned with studying abroad I think it’d a good shot for you to study in a prestigious university abroad. Are America and London your only choice?
University of Denver has a fantastic study abroad program; I think last year, it had the highest percentage of graduating students who had studied abroad of any school in the US (76%, maybe?). The Cherrington Global Scholars program allows you to study abroad for the same cost as attending DU (a few costs are not included, but they even pick up the airfare). If you get merit or need-based FA, it applies even while you are abroad. DU is also pretty good in International Relations, I understand. They have about a zillion different study abroad programs (where they have established partnerships with specific schools), all around the world, or will help you do an independent arrangement if you want to go to a different school. If you go to du.edu/abroad you can search the different programs and read about Cherrington.