<p>Hi I'm currently a Freshman in high school, and know I have a long way to go. My goals are to either be working in the UN, or maybe starting a big NGO. I am particularly interested in the African areas, specifically in the conflict areas. I want to know what majors sould I consider going for in College, and what are the best colleges for it. Also, do you have any tips, ideas, strategies, etc. on getting into these colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>IR major, or international development or developmental economics (if you like econ).
Georgetown SFS, Tufts Fletcher, JHU SAIS, Woody Woo Princeton, the list goes on.</p>
<p>Oxy has a UN program.</p>
<p>I think if you really want to work at the UN or an NGO, then you will find a way, regardless of the college you go to. It’s not like the UN only hires from 5 colleges…</p>
<p>Just get the best grades you can and try to take the most challenging courses your school offers…</p>
<p>There are may, many schools you could attend. Utimately, you’ll probably want to get a graduate degree in a specialized area (public policy, public affairs, area studies, etc.). So, you have lots of options for a undergraduate education. Decide where the right fit lies when you are a bit older.</p>
<p>That said, here are few names to keep in the back of your mind or to keep you motivated… Personally, I would think about top LACs with a strong social justice mission (Haverford, Grinnell, Macalester) also you should look at specialized programs at major universities at Georgetown SFS or George Washington SIA, for Ivys I’d think about Princeton (can apply to Woodrow Wilson for junior year) or Brown.</p>
<p>p.s. Tufts Fletcher and JHU SAIS (mentioned in post #2 above) are for graduate degrees only.</p>
<p>But JHU and Tufts are consistently ranked in the top 3 schools for undergrad IR too. Any of these schools would give you fantastic prep in IR/public effairs/etc. for the UN or an NGO. Agree with pointoforder - take challenging classes and do well. Also make sure to get involved in extra curriculars in your school or community (Model UN would be a good start). Try and get leadership somewhere if you can and build close relationships with your teachers so they can write you good recommendations.</p>
<p>Consider schools that have strong African Studies programs:
[Boston</a> University | African Studies Center](<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/africa/]Boston”>African Studies Center)
<a href=“http://www.africa.harvard.edu/[/url]”>http://www.africa.harvard.edu/</a>
[Indiana</a> University - African Studies Program](<a href=“http://www.indiana.edu/~afrist/]Indiana”>http://www.indiana.edu/~afrist/)
[African</a> Studies Center, Michigan State University](<a href=“http://africa.isp.msu.edu/]African”>http://africa.isp.msu.edu/)
[Welcome</a> to the African Studies](<a href=“http://www.african.ohio.edu/]Welcome”>http://www.african.ohio.edu/)
[Center</a> for African Studies, UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://africa.berkeley.edu/]Center”>http://africa.berkeley.edu/)
[Center</a> for African Studies at the University of Florida](<a href=“http://web.africa.ufl.edu/]Center”>http://web.africa.ufl.edu/)
[Kansas</a> African Studies Center - KU](<a href=“http://www.kasc.ku.edu/]Kansas”>http://www.kasc.ku.edu/)
[African</a> Studies](<a href=“http://africa.unc.edu/]African”>http://africa.unc.edu/)
[Africa[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“The MacMillan Center |”>The MacMillan Center |]The</a> Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale](<a href=“http://africa.wisc.edu/]Africa[/url”>http://africa.wisc.edu/)
[African</a> Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.africa.upenn.edu/asc/aboutconsortium.html]African”>African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania)</p>
<p>Wisconsin and Michigan State are especially good. I would also add UCLA and Northwestern, and there probably are some others.</p>
<p>Most of them also will have an IR or International Studies programs. My recommendation would be to do a double major in a traditional discipline + African studies or to do a major in a traditional discipline + a minor or certificate in African Studies. In lieu of a traditional social science discipline, consider a major in a skill-based field, e.g., nursing, nutrition, international agriculture, etc.—something that provides skills that might contribute to solving real world problems. You also might consider a skill-based field for graduate work, e.g., public health ([Tulane</a> University - Master’s International / Peace Corps Program](<a href=“http://www.sph.tulane.edu/publichealth/academics/miprogram.cfm]Tulane”>http://www.sph.tulane.edu/publichealth/academics/miprogram.cfm)), nutrition ([Home</a> - Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy - Tufts University](<a href=“http://nutrition.tufts.edu/]Home”>http://nutrition.tufts.edu/)), nursing ([Penn</a> Nursing Science](<a href=“http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/academic_programs/grad/masters/program_detail.asp?prid=41;]Penn”>http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/academic_programs/grad/masters/program_detail.asp?prid=41;) [; FPB Nursing Capstone Blog](<a href=“http://fpbnursingcapstone.blogspot.com/”>http://fpbnursingcapstone.blogspot.com/</a>)), or even business (for microfinance: [Microfinance</a> Degree Programs](<a href=“http://www.accion.org/Page.aspx?pid=547]Microfinance”>http://www.accion.org/Page.aspx?pid=547).)</p>
<p>OP, also see my post in this thread; it makes several relevant points for you to consider:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/902677-political-science-vs-international-relations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/902677-political-science-vs-international-relations.html</a></p>
<p>Languages are very important for the UN and NGOs working internationally. Make sure you pick up at least one second language with fluency. Start in high school, but take it seriously! Most colleges will have more than enough language study but check on the language(s) you opt for.</p>
<p>Totally agree with momwonders: study languages. So many young Americans have these grand ideas of working internationally – and speak only English. We have a well deserved reputation for being linguistically ignorant (and, frankly, arrogant.) Not being fluent in at least one foreign language will be a major disadvantage when applying to top grad schools - and a huge handicap when applying for international jobs where you’re competing against multi-lingugal candidates.</p>
<p>I just started learning French this year, and am planning on taking it all 4 years of high school. I was also considering to take Spanish next year, and also taking that for the remainder 3 years of high school. Many people told me not to, since it will be hard, especially learning French and Spanish together at the same time. I will also be starting from the beginning in Spanish. What do you think I should do? I plan to go further and learn more of the language in college, which also may be extremely hard. I know in Georgetown SFS, you have to be atleast level 5(equivalent to natives) in another foreign language by the end, and don’t let you graduate from georgetown unless you do. What do you think about me studying both French and Spanish in high school, and taking it further in college?</p>
<p>Thanks, all your replies have greatly helped and interested in majors I didn’t even know of before.</p>
<p>dragonis, you can certainly do both French and Spanish simultaneously, if you want. However, keep in mind that getting into Georgetown, Princeton, Tufts, etc is hard and requires good grades and tough classes. You should take as rigorous a course load as you can handle – so don’t take an extra language class if you think it will take time away/affect your grades in your other classes. </p>
<p>Another possibility is to focus on French in high school and do Spanish over the summer at a community college. Also, look into studying abroad while still in high school. Some programs, like Rotary Club, have exchanges that cost very little. A year (or even a semester) abroad is a highly regarded EC. </p>
<p>Whatever you decide, you should certainly take language classes in college: frankly, they’re more effective because they cover the material quicker and you’ll be surrounded by motivated classmates. If, as a college freshman, your French/Spanish is good enough, you can test out of the lower level classes and go directly into the more advanced writing/literature courses.</p>
<p>One thing to note- The UN, has a quote system- people from certain countries need to hold certain postions especially those from developing countries</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Its not about languages but about experience especially experience in a developing country</p></li>
<li><p>If you think schools at the undergrad level like Georgetown, Princeton, Tufts, Stanford e.t.c would give you an edge in the UN then u must be jking. Opportunities in the UN are open to people who graduated at the Masters level in these schools like MSFS from Walsh, MAs from Fletcher and Woodrow Wilson. Graduate degrees is what gets u into the UN</p></li>
<li><p>The UN is also run like a family business, you need connections to get in, not the school you go to</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Do not be discouraged by the posting above. There are many international development organizations as well as the UN, first of all and secondly positions with the UN are attainable for those with qualifications. But the real point about selecting colleges is not the name but what you will learn there. And those that have strong international relations programs as well as language and communities of interested students and professors are the ones you want to choose on the undergraduate level. </p>
<p>By the way, consider Peace Corps for getting international expereince after college.</p>
<p>^ I strongly agree with momwonders’s comments.</p>
<p>One thing I can’t stress enough is that people who think the only (or best) pathway to international development careers is via schools like Georgetown are absolutely wrong. The last thing people in developing countries need are more wannabe ambassadors out of Georgetown. If you really want to make a difference, languages/cultural knowledge, experience, and real world competences are what count and what will get you where you want to go. IR programs and the like have their place, but they’re not a substitute for strong competencies in economics/ag econ, business, public health, law, etc. Keep that in mind as you consider schools. In a number of ways, universities like Wisconsin, Michigan State, and others are as good as or better than the Georgetowns—they have a real “buzz” around international development concerns. They have longstanding involvement in international development projects, strong study abroad programs, specialized centers with interdisciplinary breath and depth in languages and areas studies, large numbers of international students, etc. </p>
<p>[UN</a> Careers](<a href=“UN Careers”>http://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?lang=en-US)</p>
<p>I believe Seton Hall has the only undergrad program directly tied to the UN.</p>
<p>As for grad school, try [The</a> University for Peace](<a href=“http://www.upeace.org/]The”>http://www.upeace.org/)</p>
<p>I go to Michigan State and we have one of the largest African studies/African language programs in the US - those would be great as specializations, but as a core program, look into James Madison College - major in international relations. We have several courses geared towards international organizations/global governance and it is a residential college. Obviously it is not on the same level of Georgetown in terms of prestige etc. but in terms of Africa we have a great selection of courses to choose from and would be possibly a good safety to have (depending on what type of school you are looking to attend). We also have one of the largest, best study abroad programs in the US (tons of opportunities to all sorts of African countries, from Ghana and Mali to Kenya, Malawi, South Africa etc.).</p>
<p>The UN goes to great lengths to make sure they hire people from all countries. Because of this, while someone from the Gambia may be competing with a couple other people from his country, an American could be competing with thousands of other Americans for one or two spots. However hard it is to land a job at the state department, it is infinitely harder to land one at the UN.</p>
<p>Sefago wrote “Its not about languages but about experience especially experience in a developing country”</p>
<p>that’s absurd (and very naively american.) language is key, sefago. in developing countries in particular, where corruption is an everdyday occurance, without strong language skills your “experience” may be limited to getting fleeced and losing money for the NGO you work for.</p>
<p>I think what he was trying to say is that experience is more important than language. Both are important yes, but experience moreso. No need to bash his nationality, nor generalize about 300 million people. It’s rude and tends to make you look obnoxiously ignorant.</p>
<p>Anyone can sit up in an ivory tower and study languages all day. However that tells you little about the people’s culture, and does not give you the experience needed to begin a career in the UN. Experience can be gained withought a language. Sure it may be harder, but even the strongest language barrier can be broken.</p>
<p>There’s also the fact that English is spoken widely throughout the world. Even in the undeveloped parts. I was in rural Haiti, arguably one of the more isolated parts of the world, and some of the kids spoke decent English; enough to communicate without any problems.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t understand why you associate language and theft. Do people tell you before they rob you? The fact of the matter is, people in America get cheated, because knowing a language doesn’t prevent fraud. Same with Europe and other countries around the world. However, if you have experience with an area and know the locals are prone to tricking foreigners, you can avoid getting fleeced, even if you don’t speak the language.</p>
<p>you can go to any college to get into the UN. Just do well and go to as prestigious a college as you can, and it’ll be easier. internships help loads too.</p>
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<p>As, I said its not about languages but experience. Yes knowing a language might help but several countries have multiple languages and English is the official language of a lot of countries. A language does give you a hint about the culture of the people but not a complete picture. Living, and interacting with people in certain areas is more important than taking a couple of college language classes, putting it on your resume and think thats going to help. Most recruiters know that college classes dont even help you that much since a lot of Romance languages have dialects in various countries.</p>
<p>For example Spanish in college is more of the kind you will find in Spain. Different from what you will find in Latin America. French Creole as spoken in Mauritius would not be easily understood by an Advanced french student who learned from the book.</p>
<p>From your experience living in a different country, and working in a different country you are more likely to reach conversational levels of that language which is more important than just “studying a language in class.” Yes, start studying a language but you would need to be at conversational level to compete for international jobs. </p>
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<p>Funny, I am not even American. </p>
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<p>Exactly- you can land a job in the state dept immediately after graduation, but UN jobs, especially the good ones such as Country Budget officers and stuff like that will be typically people with significant work experience and from a wide range of countries. The UN will prefer people who have worked extensively in a developing country.</p>
<p>The peace corps is a good program, and I would recommend it too.</p>
<p>Seems Overcore said everything I wanted to say. I just read his/her post.</p>