I’m a current Senior in college, probably looking to enter grad school in the fall of 2017. I was wondering how my chances look at my current choices for schools and where I should be looking. I study International Relations at a small liberal arts school on the west coast where I was a 4 year letter winner in Football. I’m looking to pursue something in Security Studies, Diplomacy, or regional studies based around Europe and Germany/France
3.2 GPA (3.5 most recent semester. Just started out college hard.)
GRE: 167(v)/161(q)
French: Professional Working Proficiency
German: Limited Working Proficiency
Elliot School: George Washington
School of Foreign Service: Georgetown
School of Advanced International Studies: Hopkins
Jacobs University: Universität Bremen (Germany)
Fletcher School: Tufts
School of Public Policy: Cornell
What do you guys think? Where else should I be looking?
Graduate programs in international relations and security studies value work experience probably more than anything else - especially work experience that is directly related to international relations. Here’s the average age of the entering class at these schools:
Elliott MA/MIS: 26
SFS: 26 for the MSFS with 4.3 years of work experience. About 3 years for the MA programs.
SAIS: 26, with 2.5 years work experience
Fletcher: 28
Cornell’s wasn’t easy to find but this is the case at most schools of international studies/affairs. The majority of students have some work experience post-college (although Fletcher’s website did say that half their students come in within one year of graduating from college).
That said, there’s not enough information here to gauge your chances. Your GRE scores are good and your GPA is decent; you’ve got the language requirements. But what does your work/extracurricular experience look like? Have you gotten involved in international relations-related organizations on campus and displayed evidence of leadership in these endeavors? Have you done any internships in college related to IR or SS? What are your plans for fall 2016 to spring 2017 that might strengthen your application?
Also, where else you should look is based upon your interests.