Hello there! I’m a freshman (I know it’s early), but I’m trying to decide between International Relations and English literature. The reason why I’m asking this now is because I’m pursuing several internship opportunities and looking forward, I’d rather put my energy toward the area of study that I’m committed to. Also I am considering transferring and some of the schools treat IR and English separately, within different colleges (e.g. Georgetown SFS/College).
English is a genuine interest/passion. It’s something that I know I’ve capable of (I know that sounds weird, but I’m really good at writing essays and doing internships in English) and it’s something I really enjoy and get excited about. I’m particularly interested in literary theory among gender and cultural studies.
International relations is also something that I’m really interested in. Not so much as English, frankly—but on similar lines of cultural studies and history. I’ve always thought about combining my love for English with IR in journalism and IR would give me a stronger background for serious journalism. I’ve also been deeply interested in diplomacy, languages, communications, etc. I love learning languages and traveling and I know a career in IR would open opportunities toward that lifestyle.
Double majoring isn’t really an option. I’m applying to transfer and the universities I’m applying to either don’t allow minors, make it really hard to double major with the depth of the coursework (which is partially why, looking at the programs individually, I’m in love with them), or they keep IR and English in separate schools. Furthermore, I’d really love to study my major in depth; dig deep, do research, the whole works. So I’d much rather pick one area and put my energy and attention toward that.
Career wise, if I pursued English I would go into publishing. If I went into IR I would likely go into investigative journalism or UN—obviously working upward from internships and so on.
I’m also very aware that financially, IR is likely to have better payback. My parents have hesitations about English degrees (“What are you going to do with that? Be a teacher?” — the parents), but it’s also something that I’m really passionate about and love.
That was a bit long, but it covers most of my concerns. If any of you guys have insight as to picking an undergraduate major, it would help greatly. I probably won’t look at graduate until a few years after undergrad because I do want to help my parents financially after college, so I’m not sure how much of an option that is within my life right now. That said, I really appreciate your time and thought.
I would say major in International Relations and take some classes in English. I don’t think it takes an entire major to become good at English.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm) expects little for “news analysts, reporters and correspondents” (actually reductions in the number of jobs), low growth for writers (except for technical writers, for which they predict decent growth) and really good growth for interpreters/translators during 2014-2024. (Growth means growth in the number of jobs.)
Why? You can go into investigative journalism or UN work with an English major, and you can go into publishing (which is a very competitive field, btw) with an international relations major.
A major should be some combination of passion/interest and pragmatism, with the understanding that college majors don’t really (and aren’t really intended to) translate easily or simply into careers. There are economics majors who become software developers, math majors who become social workers and biology majors who become counselors. Obviously your major will give you some skills and foundation to step into certain fields, but your major is only around 1/3 of the coursework you take in college. The other 2/3 can be filled with other classes that help build that foundation towards something you really want.
Many jobs don’t really care what your major is, as long as you can do what they want. International affairs jobs certainly don’t, especially since many of them require a master’s degree in the field and you can get an MIA or MPA or whatever with any major. If you love learning languages, there’s no reason you can’t major in English and still take a language throughout college, take some IR classes as electives, and do at least one international summer internship. Study abroad - maybe somewhere English-speaking to study how English literature and media differs in other Anglophone countries. Or maybe somewhere not English-speaking, so you can compare and contrast how language shapes literature theories and motifs or how language shapes gender or culture shapes language in literature. But there’s also no reason you can’t do the opposite - major in IR but take some literature classes as electives, and do all the same stuff. It just kind of depends on where your primary interest lies and where you are really interested in diving down deep for the next couple years. But you can have a career in IR with either major.
Also, if you are applying to transfer, maybe you do need to consider adding a few institutions that would allow you to double major.
@jjwinkle Thanks for the links, that’s really cool! I’ve never seen that and it’s definitely something I should consider.
@juillet I guess that is true, you can pursue a career different from your major. I just feel that an IR major would better prepare me for journalism and more political career paths—I’m not sure, but I always thought it might be more acceptable to have IR major when applying for internships in that area of jobs/careers. But it’s true, I could always study more in electives as well. And thanks, I really appreciate your response. Sometimes I get so caught up in my worries that I feel like I’m going in circles, so it’s helpful to hear an outside opinion.
It might be better to have an IR major when applying for international relations jobs and internships, but an English major who has prepared well can also obtain those jobs and internships. It kind of depends on what you’re trying to do. If you knew for sure that you wanted to pursue a career in international relations, I would say for sure major in that. (But if you said, “I really am passionate about English literature and I want to major in it, but I want to work in international affairs,” I would say “You can do that!”)
