I am well aware that certain ivy schools are best known for x major or field.
For example, UPenn is very well known for its business school.
However, beyond that I am clueless as to which schools are best for what.
Could anyone tell me which Ivies have great undergrad programs in political/law/international relations/etc related majors?
Yes, I am aware that all eight are great institutions and would honestly be happy to get into any one of them, but which ones are the best and specialize in those specific fields?
Also, are there any special opportunities at the ivies for a politics/law based students (ex: the Woodrow Wilson school at Pton)?
Thanks! I would appreciate any help/response I can get.
(Note: I have set my application limit to 5/8 ivies)
I guess Harvard, Princeton or Yale are pretty well known for politics/law placement. But for international relations, look at Georgetown.
You do not choose them. They might choose you if you are lucky.
Choose your safety first.
@TheDidactic Thanks! Those were as expected haha but useful for confirmation
@ucbalumnus I have already figured out my safety schools. I will however not be applying to all eight ivies and some sort of feedback about choosing which to apply to would have been nice.
Foreign Policy magazine publishes rankings of undergraduate and graduate IR programs.
During the past ~10 years, Harvard and Princeton have placed consistently at/near the top of the undergraduate list. Columbia, Yale, and sometimes Dartmouth also have been placing in the top 10. Cornell and Brown run a few steps behind. You’d be fortunate to be admitted to (and be able to afford) any of these schools.
There are many excellent alternatives to the 8 Ivies. If you want less selective alternatives that also have highly-regarded IR programs, check out George Washington or American University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower
Tufts is also well known for IR, though my son thinks it rides too much on the coattails of the Fletcher School. It’s Global Leadership Institute puts on some pretty amazing programs and it’s Arabic department is excellent.
I don’t know much about the Ivies in terms of departments, but what my recent graduate learned is that many IR departments are organized as committees and don’t teach a lot of their own courses. He ended up feeling like he might have been better off just majoring in history and being less hamstrung by some of the IR requirements. So I’d suggest you dig deeper into the departments and try to figure out what the requirements really are and what the strengths and weaknesses of the programs are. IR in one place might be great if you are interested in economics, while another may have strengths in their Middle East courses and another might be ideal if you are more interested in South America.