<p>I know the whole ranking thing is overrated, but I just saw this: </p>
<p>I always hear that JHU's international studies program is one of the best in the nation so I was slightly surprised to see it listed as number 19 in the undergraduate ranking (whereas GW is 10th?!) Anyways, it was so unusual that I had to post it.. well, regardless, that wont deter me from pursuing international studies at Hopkins :)</p>
<p>GW and AU ! :)</p>
<p>I've seen this post on many different forums in here and the conclusion is that it is bogus largely because it is simply a survey of faculty based on reputation and that's about it. In fact, a handful of schools don't have departments or dean in International Relations which means it loses a bit of crediblity. We can poke holes in it all we want and debate the differences between JHU and another school.</p>
<p>I think the most prevalent factor is the level of school reputation and selectivity meaning that simply based on selectivity, you're going to have stronger students at more selective schools and that follows suit down the line. For example if you are looking at IR schools in the DC area... your main pecking order is going to be:</p>
<p>Hopkins or Georgetown (depending on fit)
GWU
American</p>
<p>Been discussed...</p>