<p>I know this question has been asked a lot, but does Columbia offer an International Affairs major? I've seen a department of political science, but that's pretty much it. </p>
<p>Also, if they don't, how great is the subsection of the political science department that deals with international politics? I know that there's the School of International and Public Affairs, but isn't that a graduate school? </p>
<p>If anyone has an opinion of why Columbia's political science/international affairs department (or whatever they have) is better than Brown's, I would love to hear it. :)</p>
<p>Well, I’m transferring in from the School of Foreign Service (and still intend to pursue an IR related degree) so rest assured that Columbia does indeed have a good program (I’m not sure where I saw this, but it’s definitely top 5 undergrad and about equal with SFS). Brown is in the top 20, which is also very good; either way, you’re going to get a good education. I would say that, as you’ve noted, the presence of SIPA means that there will be high level research going on and it probably isn’t too difficult to get in on that as an undergrad. Lastly, you can’t deny the benefits the school surely reaps from being in the most cosmopolitan city in the world.</p>
<p>Found it! Well, I guess technically Columbia is #6 for undergrad (although it’s basically the same ranking as GTown), but anyone will tell you that graduate degrees in IR are far more important. I think that the combination of university-wide opportunities help bump Columbia up even further, to be honest.</p>
<p>No, we don’t offer an IR major for undergrads. </p>
<p>Undergrads wishing to study IR major in one of the Political Science programs, where they can select IR as their major or minor sub-field. I know, it’s very confusing.</p>
<p>The difference between selecting IR as your major or minor subfield is 1-3 electives and 1-2 seminars depending on the specific program you’re doing (Major vs. Concentration vs. Joint program)</p>
<p>Karot: I think Barnard has an IR program. If I got into Columbia, could I major in it there? If I got into Barnard, but not Columbia, would I be able to major in MESAAS at Columbia?</p>
<p>To my knowledge, the Barnard program is structured the same way as Columbia’s so while you can select IR as your major subfield within a degree in political science, there is no stand-alone major in International Relations.</p>
<p>Mesaas is a different department from political science and is not equivalent to a major in international relations or political science. I’m not sure if you could major in MESAAS as a Barnard student because there an equivalent program already exists at Barnard.</p>
<p>Karot: Does Barnard really have a Middle Eastern studies department? What it is? I don’t think I saw one; I only looked at their IR/IS subfield.</p>
<p>Karot: Never mind. I found Barnard’s Asian and ME Cultures program. It stinks that I can’t mind in it. Columbia’s MESAAS program seems more in depth.</p>
<p>Is it possible to get internships in the UN as an undergrad? What are the general internship/research opportunities for a person interested in IR?</p>