<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I got accepted to JHU, but I was wondering about its strength in the International Relations/Political Science fields...</p>
<p>I've heard of its reputation for premed, bio, etc, but I've always wondered if JHU could provide for myself a concrete foundation for an undergraduate institution (in terms of my intended major International Relations...)</p>
<p>All thoughts are appreciated...thanks!</p>
<p>International Studies at JHU at the undergraduate level is truly one of the strongest in the country primarily because of the diversity of the curriculum but also the faculty. There is also the 5-year BA/MA combined opportunity with SAIS in DC which can't be beat.</p>
<p>I've always heard that JHU and Georgetown have the strongest International Relations programs in the country.</p>
<p>not so guys. i myself am extremely interested in international relations and plan to study it in hopkins. unfortunately i was waitlisted. but i have a friend who is majoring in that in hopkins and he said that the program is underfunded and small-scale. There is the 5 year program with SAIS which is top notch but only a handful of students get to expericence that. Furthermore, the SAIS is solely for graduate students and undergrad students don't get the resources they have. All in all, he concluded that undergraduate international relations has never been placed a great deal of emphasis except for, the SFS school in georgetown or tufts or GWU's Elliott. He decided to also major in economics since IR is so 'weak' in jhu. Try to talk to current students to get a sense of the program instead of relying on rankings.</p>
<p>We must note that SAIS of hopkins is top notch in the world. incomparable except for columbia's SIPA.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree with hdwang. My son graduated JHU with an international studies major. Upon graduation, he had a number of job offers--accepting one with a Washington think tank which had a minimum requirement of a MA degree (he had only the BA). They waived the MA requirement only because he went to Hopkins (that's how highly they think of the program). He's now getting a Ph.D at a top program.</p>
<p>For IR, JHU is one of the best. Also, since it's in the college and not in a special school (like at Georgetown) it allows you to study other subjects as well and double majoring is pretty easy, I think. Also, the study abroad departement is currently being ameliorated, so that's a plus too. Another advantage is the schools proximity to D.C.</p>
<p>The 5 year program with SAIS or Science Po is also very alluring (but it's probably very competitive to get in, so I wouldn't go to Hopkins just because of that).</p>
<p>This said, I'm a prospective IS major and will most likely turn down JHU.</p>
<p>^Hmm, if you are a prospective IS major, why in the world would you turn down JHU?</p>
<p>^Because of BIGUSNEWSANDWORLDREPORT!!!!!!!!!!111111111oneone1!!!</p>
<p>coolguyusa, thanks for sharing your thoughts!</p>
<p>imathriver, main reason: social life at JHU. i don't think that i would fit in at this school. most likely i will go to penn, because i got into the Huntsman program of International Studies and Business which is pretty awesome. (but seriously, i would have turned down JHU for Duke or Brown too... maybe JHU is stronger in my major, but then again, I like the idea of having a life...)</p>
<p>peace!</p>
<p>wait...what do you mean you "like the idea of having a life..."</p>
<p>is it that difficult to have a social life? From what I've heard so far, JHU is rigorous as expected of an institution of that caliber, but most current students have been telling me there's a great balance between academics and a "social life"</p>