<p>Hi. There was another thread may be similar to this one about the Best Colleges for Political Science/Government and Economics, but I think that they were mostly talking about JD/MBA. Which I'm not really interested in, I'm interested in Political Science, but not to get into law school, I'm more interested in the International Relations aspect of it.</p>
<p>There is another current thread asking about International Relations.
Some colleges strong in that area include:
Georgetown, George Washington, American, Johns Hopkins, and Tufts.</p>
<p>The answer will vary, depending upon what you want to do with it. International relations is a subfield of political science which deals with the relations between states and international organization. It is an academic field--and to be a professional academic you need a Ph.D. At the undergraduate level, virtually any good university or LAC will have sufficient courses to prepare you for graduate school. My basic advice if this is your end goal is to go to the best undergraduate school that you can.</p>
<p>But "international relations" can mean something else. Many students and programs use that term when they really mean international studies--which is an interdisciplinary field combining international relations (from political science), international economics and area studies (mid-east, east-asian,etc). I don't know why the terms are used incorrectly but I guess "IR" as a shorthand sounds better than "IS." Other programs refer to it as "global studies,", or foreign service, or international service. Its really all the same thing. This is a professional field of study pursued by people interested in careers in the international arena--ranging from government (foreign service,etc), business, banking,etc.) This can be studied at the undergraduate level although most people in the field have masters degrees. It is considered a professional program as opposed to an academic one. The best programs in international studies (both undergraduate and masters degree level) are at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Princeton, Tufts and Columbia. American University and George Washington University also have strong programs. By the way, although it is possible to get a Ph.D in some of the graduate international studies programs--that degree is designed for professionals as opposed to academics.</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna College has an excellent government department. Its international relations major is particularly strong.</p>
<p>any top school that isnt more engineering/science focused (MIT, CalTech)</p>
<p>If you're interested in Europe, The University of Pittsburgh has the largest collection of European Union documents in North America.</p>
<p>Here is a list that may be helpful</p>
<p>NRC is outdated.</p>
<p>But at any rate, in addition to those mentioned (The DC schools - Georgetown, American, and GWU. Plus Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Columbia, Claremont), also be sure to take a look at Occidental.</p>