<p>How closely related are these majors? I'm also looking for schools that have great Poly Sci programs. (Other than Georgetown, please.)</p>
<p>The answer depends on what you and the school means by "international relations." Academically speaking, "international relations" is a subfield of political science (others are American politics, political theory, comparative politics, etc.) which investigates the nature of relations between states and international organization. As a subfield, IR is almost never an undergraduate major but rather is an area of specialization by graduate students and faculty. It is generally thought of as an academic area, not a professional one. </p>
<p>Some schools, however, use the term "international relations" as equivilent to "international studies" (or global studies, foreign affairs, international service, and a myriad of other synonyms). International studies is an interdisciplinary area consisting of international relations (from political science), international economics (from economics) and area studies (e.g., the Middle East, East Asia, Europe, Latin America). International studies programs also emphasize language study. These programs are designed to train people to work in international fields like diplomacy (e.g., foreign service), international business and banking, international development, etc. While it is possible to get a decent job with a BA in International Studies--you should know that most of the better jobs require graduate work as well.</p>
<p>For international studies, the best programs are at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Princeton, Tufts and Columbia. George
Washington and American U also have large, well-regarded undergraduate programs in international studies. Universities and colleges with smaller programs typically run them as interdepartment major based in the political science department. For graduate work, the best programs are Johns Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown SFS, Tufts' Fletcher School, Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School and Columbia's SPIS.</p>
<p>Incidently, while Georgetown is well regarded for international studies (Walsh SFS is among the best)--it's political science department is rather mediocre at best.</p>
<p>I forgot--the best political science departments are Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Duke, Stanford, and many others---basically the usual suspects. As an undergraduate--it really won't make much of a difference. Go to the best school you can that fits.</p>