<p>Hi, I'm new to College Confidential so I will learn how this works as I go along. I'm a high school senior and I'm interested in majoring in either political science OR international relations. What are the best colleges for those two majors respectively? I would to study in Chicago but would be open to studying in the Midwest Area of the United States or even elsewhere in the United States if they have a good political science or international relations major? </p>
<p>A lot depends, of course, on your particular interests, personal preferences, finances, and admissability, but here are the schools to consider:
In Chicago, Northwestern or U Chicago would be the best places for political science. U Chicago would be the best choice for IR. </p>
<p>Depending on what you consider the Midwest, there are many other good political science departments in the region: Michigan, Washington U, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The James Madison College at Michigan State deserves a look, too.</p>
<p>For international relations, you should consider the School of Global & International Studies at Indiana. Global Studies at Minnesota is developing some interesting options. Ohio State is underrated IMO, but it offers a well-structured and coherent International Studies program with a large number of options. At Notre Dame, the International Peace Studies program at the Kroc Institute and the International Development minor at the Kellogg Institute are worth a look. Among liberal arts colleges, consider Macalester for its international focus.</p>
<p>Since many IR programs require a regional specialty, if you have an interest in particular counties or world regions, you should consider the language and area studies strengths of the various schools:
Africa: Indiana, Wisconsin
East Asia: Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Washington U
Latin America: Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State
Middle East: Ohio State, Chicago, Michigan, Indana (especially Central Asia).
Russia & Eastern Europe: Ohio State, Chicago, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin
South Asia: Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan
Southeast Asia: Michigan, Wisconsin
Several of these schools also offer Language Flagship programs: Chinese (Indiana, Ohio State, Minnesota); Swahili (Indiana), Russian (Wisconsin); Turkish (Indiana); Arabic (Michigan State). DePaul might be suitable for Arabic studies.
Among liberal arts colleges, check out Oberlin for East Asian Studies and Earlham forJapanese Studies.</p>
<p>If you have an interest in public policy studies, check out the programs at Chicago, Michigan (Ford School), Indiana (Public & Environmental Affairs), and Ohio State (Glenn School).</p>
<p>Hey @Zapfino wow, great list…I am bookmarking this! </p>
<p>U Chicago is the way to go, it outranks any of the competition you’re giving it. It’s also very hard to get into very similar to an Ivy </p>
<p>I feel like you’re being a little lazy. All you have to do is look up U.S News Rankings or google lists of top Political Science schools in “midwest” in “your state”. I agree U Chicago is the best bet but it’s very competitive. Better study! Good luck.</p>