<p>how does columbias international affairs program compare to Georgetowns and JHU's and the other ivys? I'm sure being in New York helps much like being in Washington helps Georgetwon but personally have not heard much about it.</p>
<p>There isn't an IR major if that's what you're asking. Columbia does have an excellent polisci department, however, that allows you to have a concentration in international relations. Also, they have a dual degree program with Columbia's Graduate School of International Affairs that would allow you to get a BA and MIA in 5 years. From what I've heard though, it's very competitive as it requires you to be at graduate level as a junior.</p>
<p>i thought the school of international affairs was undergrad, my mistake</p>
<p>At the undergrad level, majoring in poli sci and doing IR as a concentration is quite sufficient for most people. Even better is a poli sci major with an econ minor (or maybe an econ major with poli sci minor.)</p>
<p>I'm sure simply sharing a campus with SIPA will have ancillary benefits in terms of attracting bright people...</p>
<p>What Ivies DO offer IR majors?</p>
<p>As far as I know, Brown does.</p>
<p>But why worry so much about an IR major? Seriously guys, what you study with an IR concentration in a poli sci major is like...90% the same.</p>
<p>
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I'm sure simply sharing a campus with SIPA will have ancillary benefits in terms of attracting bright people...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Faculty, yes. Students, not so much. As a general rule, the best and brightest don't get masters in government / IR type disciplines. Take Harvard KSG for example, which is said to be for people who cannot get into Harvard but want to say they go to Harvard.</p>
<p>Columbia2002,</p>
<p>Define "best and brightest." </p>
<p>Perhaps the SIPA students aren't all PhD-caliber, but just because some of them went to piddling little state schools like Berkeley and Michigan doesn't mean that they don't have something to offer. </p>
<p>I chose IR/PS not because I couldn't get into more "prestigious" programs, but because it's the fastest path to what I want to do in life. I don't see how this somehow downgrades me.</p>
<p>
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Take Harvard KSG for example, which is said to be for people who cannot get into Harvard but want to say they go to Harvard.
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</p>
<p>KSG here I come</p>
<p>Ivies with International Relations/Studies</p>
<p>Brown
Penn
Princeton (presuming Woody Woo counts)
Yale</p>
<p>The rest offer polisci/government as a major, and usually IR as a concentration within it.</p>
<p>They are probably identical, but there are presumably some differences as Penn has both an IR dept/major and an IR concentration within the PSCI major (then again it could just be the product of a bureaucratic turf war ;))</p>
<p>there's a profound difference in majoring in IR as opposed to poli Sci with an IR concentration.</p>
<p>though, for the most part , either one will qualify you for the same types of jobs</p>
<p>sphere718,</p>
<p>What would you consider the "profound difference?" I've looked at various curricula and found very little to be different in terms of what's learned with poli sci/IR concentration vs. IR majors.</p>
<p>from personal experience, i have found that the approach to the subject matter tends to be the formidable difference between the two.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, In a Ps/IR program, any salient issues will primarily focus on US policy oriented objectives in xy and Z region. </p>
<p>add to that, there's a greater chance that who ever is teaching the class is probably not an expert in any particular region (atleast not in a heavily scholarly respect) but competent enough to provide some depth on the issues. </p>
<p>however, there's alot of overlap in classes that are available to students of either major, but more often than not (especially at the graduate level) you'll probably have faculty who are reputable experts in the field within the IR major. Maybe it's me, but there's a clear cut difference between someone who has worked-- on say- humanitarian issues in the Sudan through the State department as opposed to someone who was apart of a DPKO mission through the UN. I've noticed this quite a few times myself.</p>
<p>students in the ps/ir programs aren't always able to take the later for whatever reason, probably because of scheduling, degree requirements and course availability. </p>
<p>You'll also find IR majors taking classes that provide far more regional scholarly work than ps/IR majors. Again, there's a difference in taking an "islamic studies" offered through columbia's department of ME Languages and Cultures than taking a Poli sci "middle eastern politics" type of class.</p>
<p>Also with an IR major, i have found that students generally develop a significant degree of regional expertise on a particular part of the world. Normally in an academic setting, these students can provide you with a pretty sharp analysis of all the issues ranging from anything historical, to developmental, social etc etc. simply put they tend to have the entire spectrum covered on that region when the discussion is brought to the forefront. </p>
<p>students from the ps/ir tend to have more of a domestic institutional expertise (ie senate on foreign affairs, HR on international relations, intelligence agencies, US public perception etc).</p>
<p>that said, i think both majors have their strengths</p>
<p>of course this will vary from one school to the next, but this has been my experience in the classroom.</p>
<p>See, I tend to find that not to be the case. Might be the approaches the UCs take (and what I've seen from SAIS and SIPA...)</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity (feel free to decline) where was your formal training?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Columbia2002,</p>
<p>Define "best and brightest."</p>
<p>Perhaps the SIPA students aren't all PhD-caliber, but just because some of them went to piddling little state schools like Berkeley and Michigan doesn't mean that they don't have something to offer.</p>
<p>I chose IR/PS not because I couldn't get into more "prestigious" programs, but because it's the fastest path to what I want to do in life. I don't see how this somehow downgrades me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's a "general rule," as I said, so it obviously doesn't apply to everyone.</p>
<p>Columbia2002,</p>
<p>I still beg to differ. Define "best and brightest." Plenty of high-ranking federal officials go to KSG because of its credentials in the field. Where else would the "best and brightest" be going?</p>
<p>Remember, PhDs are usually in their programs to do research, not applied work.</p>
<p>Uclari,</p>
<p>i'd rather not say because i currently work in one of the departments and currently attend classes.</p>
<p>However i'm not so sure about SAIS, but i believe there is a HUGE difference between the level of competency developed at SIPA and GSAS P/S IR programs.</p>
<p>Just off the top of my head, SIPA students generally have related work experience whereas people in the GSAS PS/IR generally don't</p>
<p>Ah, but I'm referring to undergrad, not grad.</p>
<p>I think that the difference at the undergrad level is typically smaller.</p>
<p>ah I see and definately agree</p>
<p>but I think that the small differences are larger than they actually appear. A lot of of PS/IR majors tend to take all of their major required courses through the poli sci dept where the IR majors will have a mixture of classes in their own department and those of in the middle east, african, eurasian etc departments. </p>
<p>i think this is where you will see a difference in how things are analyzed in group discussions, presentations and research projects.</p>
<p>I don't understand, is there some sort of stigma or something for people who get a master's in PP/IR? Is it seen as not prestigious or something? Am I missing something?</p>