<p>I just heard from a friend who visited the Claremont Colleges that Pitzer is the school with the better international relations program. According to her, if I majored in International relations at CMC, I would be taking most of my classes over at Pitzer (Because Pitzer has the international relations department)? </p>
<p>Is there any truth to this? I was under a completely different impression... even though I haven't actually visited.</p>
<p>hmmm, I'm pretty sure its the other way around :/ CMC has one of the best IR programs in the country and as far as I know, it's part of CMC and not Pitzer.</p>
<p>First of all, CMC doesn't even have an IR program; the faculty are swallowed up under gov't. And I think that's for the worse. I certainly don't think it's one of the best IR programs in the country. It was pretty good though. Honestly, I think Oxy's DWA program is way better - it has Jennifer Taw, a securities studies expert, who visited last year at CMC. She wasn't nearly douchey enough for the rock-ribbed neocon base that is drawn to a securities studies class at CMC. However, she knows what she's talking about. If she stays at CMC, it would be a huge boost. I doubt they'll want to keep her. </p>
<p>Oxy has, Derek Shearer kind of a blowhard, but he was at least an actual diplomat, to Finland (which, given its proximity to russia, is probably more important than it sounds), Larry Caldwell, who worked for the CIA, and Jane Jaquette is a well-regarded latin american scholar.</p>
<p>I was just stacking up IR departments, I would go with Oxy. However, I think that the internship opportunities (I think the NATO internship is done for, but there are others) and connections out of the claremont schools makes them a better bet. </p>
<p>CMC has Haley, who is a good professor, but is a) getting old, and b) has no real world experience. Camp knows a lot about Mexico, Appel does eastern europe, and Lee is really well-connected in South Korea, but are not so hot outside of those specialties. They are good scholars, with some interpersonal connections, but have been in ivory towers a long time.</p>
<p>The DC program CMC IR people are certifiable wingnuts - Elizabeth Spaulding is insane and the best credential for the other guy is that he wrote for the Weekly Standard. These are great credentials for those of you who wish we could amend the constitution to give Bush a third term, but not so hot for the rest of us. If you wanted to do academia afterwards, I you would be OK. But if you want to go to the foreign service or an NGO, I think you'd be underserved by CMC's faculty. CMC needs its own IR department.</p>
<p>Pitzer has some good professors, but they are more across discipline than area study- they have a great sociology prof that does arab-israeli issues, a great european labor economy professor, a couple of int'l politics guys and lots of people who do south america. </p>
<p>Scripps is probably the most coherent thematically. They have an excellent european studies program that is interdisciplinary (art,history,etc.) but have amazing econ (dillon) and politics (andrews) people. They also have the most institutional support, because they have the European Union Center of California which offers lots of programs and research opportunities.</p>
<p>Your interest is going to dicate where you end up taking classes. I only took three classes off of CMC, but other people took their entire courseloads elsewhere.</p>
<p>It sounds like someone is stressed with some upcoming midterms or something...</p>
<p>The important thing to know is that courses offered on CMC, Pitzer, and Scripps (plus, of course, both HMC and Pomona) are available to any IR student in Claremont. Cross-registration is quite well-utilized. Part of what makes the Consortium setup so convenient/useful is that each school can have a few of these "holes" without students having to sacrifice any well-roundedness...breadth doesn't necessarily have to come at the cost of depth.</p>
<p>That said, each of the Claremont schools is unique. Hopefully you'll be able to visit and explore a few of the campuses, bearing in mind that IR is (apparently...I don't know much about it, myself) a very cooperative program.</p>
<p>Also, to make a few slight (but important) corrections/additions/clarifications to above posts:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>CMC does have an IR program. It lacks an independent IR department. In other words, IR courses are offered and IR is an on-campus major, but it's interdisciplinary/interdepartmental. </p></li>
<li><p>Pitzer offers a major in International and Intercultural Studies (and a department by the same name. As far as I can tell, same idea, slightly different title).</p></li>
<li><p>Scripps offers a Politics & International Relations major (and a department by the same name). It's one of the school's most popular majors (this might be true at some of the other Claremonts as well...I just don't have the background to say, and I didn't look it up).</p></li>
<li><p>Pomona has an IR department and major, though a look at its webpage shows that the faculty come from Econ, History, Politics, and Theatre/Dance. I don't know if it's an interdisciplinary program (similar to what CMC offers, but by a slightly different name) or if these are simply the specialty areas of professors who are strictly IR. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>I know that these all seem trivial and nit-picky, but statements like "Pitzer has the IR department," "[the IR department] is part of CMC and not Pitzer," or "CMC doesn't even have an IR program" are technically false (in a minor way), but certainly misleading (in a potentially major way).</p>
<p>A few further resources re: CMC's IR...</p>
<p>Claremont</a> McKenna College IR (1)
Claremont</a> McKenna College IR (2)</p>
<p>A few further resources re: the Consortium's IR...</p>
<p>Pomona</a> College International Relations
Scripps</a> College : Academics : Politics and International Relations Department
International</a> and Intercultural Studies</p>
<p>Also, just a few more point to make, professors and department titles aside...all of the schools have some amazing speakers and events relevant to IR. That's hardly to be argued. But it's a simple fact that CMC's Ath is head-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of bringing relevant speakers to campus (usually in a highly accessible way). I'd probably put Scripps second, also by a fair margin (as Kaliyama pointed out, the EU Center of California is located on campus). I would call all of the Claremont campuses IR "friendly," depending on what your specific interests are (global consciousness, politics, international business...each has its own niche among the campuses).</p>
<p>I know it all seems a little strange and overlappy, but it really does all run smoothly in practice! Good luck :)</p>
<p>thanks for all the input!</p>
<p>they are going to offer arabic next year!! so pumped...</p>
<p>Arabic is already offered through CGU. I don't know the details, but I know at least a few undergrads who take it there (and haven't had any previous experience). Still, it's nice to have things offered specifically for undergrads. Cool :)</p>