International Relations/Affairs degree UF vs FSU

[NorthFLmomof2]

As a parent, I am having a hard time finding enough recent information about UF’s and FSU’s International Affairs programs to help my child make a a quality comparison. We are looking at courses offered, internships, study abroad offerings, Model UN teams, ranking, etc. It seems that some programs lean more toward offering a stronger political science program and have professors that teach both political science AND international relation courses. Any information to help us compare would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

[NorthFLmomof2]

Bump

[Gator88NE]

Both are interdisciplinary programs. You have a lot of flexibility to determine which courses to take and in which departments. Instead of looking at “International Relations”, look at the general “area” the student may want to study. Interested in South/Central America? UF has very strong ties with that region. How about Russian? Perhaps FSU…Want to combine a study of Linguistics into the program? Then perhaps UF…

In general, UF is the better funded (has more resources) and rated University, but FSU is very competitive in these majors.

Good Luck!

[NorthFLmomof2]

Thank you for your input. We clearly have more research to do. Any suggestions on how to determine which school has more to offer for what she is interested in? Language: German or French (unsure right now) Region: Europe Her dream job is to work for the UN in some capacity.

Thanks!

[Gator88NE]

I think both schools are very similar…maybe a bit of a lean to UF on the EU, but FSU on Russia/eastern euro? Maybe not.

UF has a Center for European Studies in it’s College of Liberal Arts:

http://ces.ufl.edu/

The Center for European Studies (CES) was created in 2003 and is currently one of just twelve Europe/West Europe Title VI Centers in the country.

CES fosters rich, culturally academic environments including language and area studies courses, degree options and study abroad opportunities. Courses have two foci: Western European and EU studies, as well as on Europe’s periphery with Modern Greek, Polish, Hungarian, and Czech language and Romanian and Bulgarian area studies courses.

The Center is a hub of Europeanist collaboration and a resource for faculty, students, and the community.

Lots of good info on this site (if you haven’t already seen it) including study abroad info. The study abroad program in Brussels may be a perfect fit, with it’s focus on the EU.

Study Abroad in Brussels

• Six weeks in Brussels as part of European Union Studies Program (EUSP) Minor
• Unofficial capital of Europe and headquarters of the European Union
• Lodging in fully furnished apartments
• Courses are taught in English at Vesalius College
• Focus on EU institutions, NATO, transatlantic relations, EU enlargement, etc.

[MYOS1634]

FSU has
http://winthropking.fsu.edu/
which is super famous in academia.
UF has a very strong business French program.

[NorthFLmomof2]

Thank you so much for this information, Gator88NE! My daughter just came across the EU studies offered at UF and is very interested. I think our next step is to meet with someone on campus who can answer her questions and help her gain a bit more focus in her career interests.

[NorthFLmomof2]

Thank you, MYO S1634, we’ll take a look.