<p>I was just accepted to Wesleyan and was wondering how strong the IR program is. i realize it is a concentration in the government program, but how does it compare to schools like Vassar or Connecticut college (accepted to those too)?</p>
<p>Anything would help!!!!</p>
<p>I don't know how it compares, but I know people who are happy with it. Along with the gov concentration, Wes aslo offers a "certificate" (basically, a minor) in just IR, and I know a lot of people will do either the gov major with an IR + the certificate, or a launguge major + the certificate. So, that's a cool thing that I'm not sure those other schools offer.</p>
<p>Yeah, the certificate program is cool, because you don't necessarily need to be a government major to do it (although it'll make things easier). </p>
<p>I'm not sure what you mean by "strength" of the program, though. We don't go to those schools, so we can't tell you what their departments are like. However, Wesleyan is a larger school than either Vassar or Conn, and will therefore have a wider variety of classes to choose from. Gov classes are usually small, and professors I've had in the department have been invariably good. </p>
<p>I wouldn't rest your whole decision on one academic department, though. I came to Wes thinking I wanted to do IR, but decided it wasn't exactly my real academic interest. Your ideas about what you're interested in can definitely change a lot once you get into real classes and see what it's all about.</p>
<p>I agre with jumble_j that you shouldn't make the descision based just on the department...ESPECAILLY becasue all of these are generally strong schools with no specific strength in IR, so I'd image all the programs will be gerneally similar. I mean, it would be one thing if you had, say, Gearogetown on that list, but none of the three stick out as particuarlly better or worse for IR.</p>
<p>One thing you could also do is cehck out the course cataloges and see if that helps. You can find Wes's here:<a href="https://iasext.wesleyan.edu/regprod/!wesmaps_page.html?term=1089%5B/url%5D">https://iasext.wesleyan.edu/regprod/!wesmaps_page.html?term=1089</a></p>