<p>As you all know I am a British PhD aspirant, hoping to study in the US. My areas of special focus are Foreign Policy, Security Studies and Democratisation.</p>
<p>I know AU is regarded highly in my field, but was wondering why it is ranked so lowly in the world rankings, and even domestically within the USA.</p>
<p>Is there a big downside of which I am uninformed about.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>No one?</p>
<p>Any alumni?</p>
<p>This forum is still pretty small. Are you talking about undergrad rankings, or rankings for grad school in your field. They can be quite exclusive of one another. Not always but sometimes.</p>
<p>If I am a PhD applicant, why would I be focusing on UG studies?</p>
<p>Grad school, International Relations. I know its an ace in my field, but was wondering why it doesnt carry the equivalent reputation across the board generally.</p>
<p>You are still as clear as mud.</p>
<p>Word?</p>
<p>I just want to know why AU doesnt have the rep to back up its rep in IR.</p>
<p>My guess is that AU got lucky with its location and proximity to DC. Professors serve as advisors and consultants to government offices and they need to be close by. People who want to work in international relations/security studies usually go for DC/MD schools because it’s much easier to network with officials and gain internship experience without relocating for the summer. From my experience as a DC intern (and friends’), it’s QUITE hard to “get in” the network if you aren’t in DC full-time. In the summer, DC is overloaded with interns from outside of the area fighting to connect with the right people and it’s hard to get to know each other.</p>
<p>i dont know why, but you should try george washington university. it has a great rep in the political world and is about equally difficult to get into</p>
<p>This thread was from a year ago. Where do you think the OP is?</p>