<p>Hey, I'm currently a junior at Amherst College majoring in political science. My overall GPA is 3.5 and my major GPA is a little over 3.6. I haven't done anything particular noteworthy on the extracurricular front (other than serving as editor-in-chief of a political magazine on campus) and have no IR-related internship experience. I'm hoping to do well on the GRE (I'm usually a good test taker luckily...got over 1500 when I took the SAT in high school). Also, I'm hoping to publish a thesis my senior year. When all's said and done I'll likely finish with no better or worse than a 3.6 GPA overall and cum laude honors.</p>
<p>I really want to go to graduate school in IR and am worried that I've goofed off too much at school and excessively damaged my GPA, dooming my future. I'm also really clueluess about the IR graduate admissions process in general. My questions for you all: Do I have a shot at Tufts/Georgetown/Johns Hopkins Master's programs with a good GRE? These three schools are the ones I've researched, which other graduate schools are notable for strong Master's programs in IR? Which schools should I be aiming for? Are there any course requirements (i.e. econ, language) for graduate IR? What steps should I take between now and whenever I apply to make myself a more competitive applicant?</p>
<p>In the first place, the top progams like SAIS & SIPA like people who've had some work experience. The average student is late 20s and has a few years of real-world work, to give you an idea.</p>
<p>Your GPA is well within the average range for all top programs, and if you do a thesis so much the better. Plus, if you can up your GPA (maybe take a gut language course at UMass or something to get an easy A or two) next year, you might even make Phi Beta Kappa, which isn't bad.</p>
<p>What specific area of IR do you want to get into? If you look at most of the big programs, they all have multiple facets - economic development, peace & security studies, regional studies, etc. You'll need to narrow down a concentration before you apply to the program.</p>
<p>Also, you don't say if you have another language. If you're planning an advanced degree in IR, that's going to be a given. If you haven't started a language before the program, I think you're somewhat at a disadvantage - I'd start now given that Amherst has such a good language-teaching curriculum.</p>
<p>Paraguay, thanks for the quick reply and the tips.</p>
<p>First of all, unfortunately, I can't make Phi Beta Kappa at Amherst. The cutoff most years is in the low 3.8s. I'm at a 3.5 now and, even if I got an A in every class until the end of college, the best overall GPA I could get is a 3.7</p>
<p>As for specific concentrations, I'm still not dead set on anything, but I'd lean toward regional studies focused on the Middle East.</p>
<p>Your GPA is by no means going to doom you to not get into good programs. However, your lack of work or international experience will hurt. Take a couple years off of school and go work first.</p>
<p>Or, better yet, apply now and if you don't like the results, go work and apply again. I know a few who did that and it worked out beautifully. Keep above a 3.5 and you'll be able to get into tons of programs. </p>
<p>Other good programs to consider:</p>
<p>Columbia SIPA
Harvard KSG
Princeton Woodrow Wilson
GWU
American
Denver
...and a few more here and there.</p>
<p>For Middle Eastern work, Georgetown is superb.</p>
<p>Can I ask what languages you are bilingual in? It can make a difference, especially if it is a less common language or is tied to your potential concentration. There are lots of people who want to study the middle east so having useful linguistic skills would be a big plus. </p>
<p>As everyone has said, work experience is frequently necessary for top programs and few people go straight from undergrad to graduate school in IR. I'm a master's student at Uchicago in IR and I did come here straight from undergrad but I am convinced that the deciding factor in the decision to admit me was that I spent some time working at a think tank during undergrad and had a great recommendation from that. Most of my classmates worked before coming to graduate school and are all older than I am.</p>
<p>Farsi is actually a really good language to have right now - with everyone who's interested in Mideast stuff doing Arabic now, it might make you distinctive (I'm not a Mideast scholar, so if I'm talking smack, someone please let me know.)</p>
<p>You might also want to take another regional language, both because it's a great skill to have but also because it again helps distinguish you from the pack (most people applying to an IR program from the US will have English and maybe above-average proficiency in another language, so if you can show English and Farsi plus something else, you'd probably be in pole position.</p>
<p>Also, no one mentioned this, but STUDY ABROAD. Even if it's only for a semester or a summer, programs absolutely want to see that you've had some extended sojourn in the outside world. I get the impression that many programs aren't so concerned that it be in the country or region of your specialization; they just want to admit people who have some concept of life outside our borders.</p>
<p>I learned Arabic and later picked up some Iraqi dialect while deployed but have always wanted to learn Farsi and Pashtu. Mainly because Farsi is supposedly easier than Arabic, and I want to go stir things up in the tribal regions of Afghanistan. =P</p>