<p>Right now I'm in the process of working on my college list, and I need to eliminate a few more schools off of the list (visits for all of the schools isn't an option). I already have schools with good IR programs such as Tufts, Georgetown, John Hopkins, etc. on my list, but I was wondering how strong the IR programs are at the following schools? For the schools that don't have an IR major, are there options to do a self-designed poli-sci with IR focus major? I want to go into foreign service after college, if that's important. </p>
<p>Northwestern
Emory
USC
Virginia
W & M
Carleton
Wash U
Rice
UCLA</p>
<p>Have you looked into the George Washington University? DC might be a good place to be if you want to get into international relations, plus they are usually ranked in the top 10 IR programs in the nation.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have looked into George Washington. I’m planning on applying there, but I’m just working on cutting down my list right now. The schools I listed in the first post are the ones where I’m not sure about the programs.</p>
<p>W & M has a joint degree program with University of St Andrews in Scotland for IR.
You actually get a degree from both schools. St Andrews is highly ranked in IR in the UK.</p>
<p>You might want to apply to St Andrews. It is somewhat easier to get into as an American, because we pay full tuition.</p>
<p>I would guess Columbia would also be good for IR.</p>
<p>I live in a developing country with a large US Embassy, USAID presence and hundreds of governmental agencies and NGOs. I’m in the private sector, but I interact quite a bit with “official Americans” and I can tell you categorically that where you do your undergrad has very little bearing on your success in the field. </p>
<p>(Now graduate school is another story: there you see the same names over and over, mostly Georgetown, Princeton, Harvard, Tufts, JHU.)</p>
<p>The key factor during your undergrad years is to gain exposure through courses – not necessarily IR; economics. history, political science are also good – through internships and summer jobs, through connections with professors and alumni, through travel and language study opportunities. Then spend a couple of years in the NGO/consulting world, take the Foreign Service exam and you’re off!</p>
<p>You have a good list of good schools. If I were to eliminate, I’d focus more geographically so that visits would be possible. I hope you have a safety you’re not mentioning as well.</p>
<p>If you like Carleton, you might look at some of the other academically strong LACs like Macalester, Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Weselyan. If you are female, Smith, Wellesley. All well represented in the State Department and with excellent alumni networks and career counseling.</p>