<p>If anyone on here knows anything about Indiana University--Bloomington, University of British Columbia, University of Rochester, University of Colorado--Boulder or the University of Miami in regards to international relations, there input would be much appreciated. I am a high school senior accepted to each of these schools and before that May 1st deadline, I would like to know as much as possible. Planning to major in international relations, I seek any knowledge in regards to IU, UBC and UR the most, but other information would be undoubtedly helpful. I would rather attend a smaller school, but if the program at a large school is worth it, I will not mind attending said larger school. The fact that IU is building a new School of Global and International Studies intrigues me and I want to know how the current faculty compares to the other mentioned schools and their respective IR programs. Really, any info would be nice on the above schools' IR programs. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Rochester is the only one of those schools that shows up anywhere in Foreign Policy magazine’s “Ivory Tower” rankings of IR programs, as one of the top 20 PhD programs (<a href=“Inside the Ivory Tower - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower</a>). For what it’s worth, Rochester also gets the best undergraduate US News ranking, by a pretty wide margin. Rochester offers smaller classes than the other 3. It’s a more selective school, so it has a higher concentration of very capable students (which may affect the quality of classroom discussion or the level of instruction).</p>
<p>What about your net costs for these schools?</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply! I had found much the same during my research. Indiana, Rochester and CU Boulder all offered scholarships placing them at $36,000, $51,000 and $40,000 a year, respectively. UBC is about $20,000 to attend and UMiami is around $60,000.</p>
<p>As tk21769 indicated, Rochester would be the strongest of these schools for undergraduate education…</p>
<p>Some considerations in favor of Indiana:
It has very strong and extensive programs in languages and area studies. So, if you are interested in particular world regions that is a factor to consider. It has national resource centers in languages and area studies in the following regions: East Asia, Africa, Latin America, Russia/Eastern Europe, and Inner Asia/Uralic studies. It also has Language Flagship Programs (<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/)in”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/)in</a> Chinese, Swahili, and Turkish. IU also has a strong political science dept., which is relevant since a good many of the courses for an IR major consist of courses in the political science subfields of international relations and comparative politics. (IU is not as highly ranked in economics and history, other relevant fields for IR, but in general, IU’s social science depts. are not weak either.) Bloomington is one of the country’s best college towns. it is relatively easy to double major or complete more than one minor or certificate program at IU, and to take courses across the several schools at IU. IU offers excellent cultural opportunities (music, film, etc.). IU has a large number of international students. It is relatively close to Chicago (there are daily shuttle buses).
Some considerations not in favor of IU:
It is huge (though relatively well-run for such a large school). It can be very humid in spring and summer (sometimes, Virginia humid). The snow isn’t too bad in winter, but thick, low-hanging clouds in the winter can be depressing (though Rochester is much snowier). Outside Bloomington, southern Indiana can be pretty redneck. Greek life is huge (not a positive, imo). </p>
<p>I really appreciate all the helpful advice given on this page! While I believe I will be attending UR in the fall, money may become an issue. As a result, could you tell me anything about current faculty members at IU in regards to international relations or political science, zapfino?</p>
<p>Due to financial restrictions and being a direct admit to the School of Global and International Studies, I will be attending Indiana University–Bloomington this fall.</p>
<p>Good choice, you just gotta believe “I will do well” and you can succeed wherever you go. Prestige is overrated and saving the dough is important especially if going for graduate school or a masters. Best of luck at IUB!</p>