International Studies - Outside the US?

Graduate School
1

<p>I'm daydreaming a bit here, and hoping someone might be able to help me. I'm finishing my degree at an American university this year, and have a strong interest in technology, business, and international business in particular. I took only one class in international relations during a study abroad program, but I really, really enjoyed it. I'm thinking that someday I may want to get a Masters in international relations/business/something similar. I'm not sure when, but possibly in the next few years. </p>

<p>I'd like to get a business degree in the US, and possibly do an international studies degree of some kind elsewhere. I know that I can study abroad during business school, but I think I'd like to do a one-year program elsewhere for a more immersive experience.</p>

<p>Here's the catch: I don't think I want to do it at an American university. I speak Spanish and English, and would be open to any place interesting with a good university. Here are some places (yes, a huge range) that I've thought of so far:</p>

<p>Spanish: Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Spain
English: Australia, Canada, England, Hong Kong, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa</p>

<p>I'm hoping to do a Rotary scholarship or something similar. Rotary does not support the LSE, Oxbridge, etc. They go for smaller universities in the UK. Also, I am more likely to get funded if I go to a less popular country (e.g., Chile vs. Spain or South Africa vs. Australia).</p>

<p>So, the question is: Do you know of any good international relations/business/etc. programs in any of these countries? What factors should I consider when choosing a country/program?</p>

<p>(cross-posted in the International Students forum)</p>

2

<p>Frankly, the quality of education you'll get outside the US is far lower than that to be obtained at a first-tier US university. If your choice is between American U. or Denver or a place like that and going to a UK school, it might be a toss-up. But if you can get into SAIS or SIPA or Georgetown, then it would be a huge mistake to give up that opportunity.</p>

<p>Speaking as someone who studied for a year as an undergrad at the U. Complutense de Madrid, steer very far away from any universities in Spanish-speaking countries. The system involves a professor mumbling in front of a huge lecture hall filled with 100+ students, who feverishly try to write down every word the professor says in order to regurgitate it on the exam. There's almost never any professor-student interaction, the professor by no means is required to be competent to teach, and state funding generally means the facilities are old and outdated.</p>

<p>There's a reason smart people from around the world jump through hoops to come to America to study.</p>

3

<p>Wow, thanks so much for the insight. That's exactly what I was looking for. :)</p>

<p>I guess I should be able to figure out the answer to this, but how are universities in Spanish-speaking countries for research opportunities, office hours, connections to industry, speakers on campus, etc. From what you've heard, is it different at better universities in "friendlier" towns, i.e., University of Barcelona vs. Madrid or Valparaiso vs. Santiago (in Chile)? What are the students like? </p>

<p>I'm a bit prejudiced against schools in the US, not because they are not excellent (they are!), but just because I want to get an international perspective on international relations/business. I really enjoyed my course abroad (it was in the UK), because the perspective on international issues was so different than what I usually hear in the US. It re-centered the map for me, and I really liked that. </p>

<p>Basically, I'm wondering if there's someplace not in the US that has at least some of the things I love about Stanford: excellence, friendliness, opportunities to go beyond the classroom to learn, etc. I know that's a lot to ask for, but I'm wondering if it might exist, somewhere else on the planet.</p>

4

<p><a href="http://www.colmex.mx/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.colmex.mx/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>El Colegio de M</p>

5

<p>Paraguayiscool,</p>

<p>A sample of one is hardly significant.</p>

<p>Complutense might not be great (have no personal experience) but Madrid kicks ass.
P</p>

6

<p>I think it also depends on where you want to work after graduation. For the most part, degrees earned at universities outside of the United States, with the exception of Oxford, aren't as marketable in the US as similar degrees earned at US universities. I think you should take that factor into account as well, as I would hate to spend so much money on a graduate degree abroad and find the marginal benefits less than if I had stayed in the US.</p>

7

<p>Helen<em>of</em>Troy--- Thanks for the tip. Have you studied there? Do you know more about what school life is like, how the IR department is, etc.?</p>

<p>Psmyth000---Did you study abroad there? I've been to Madrid as a traveler, but not as a student. Any tips?</p>

<p>Welsh0913---What do you think about degrees earned as part of a Rotary or similar scholarship? Does that make them more marketable?</p>

8

<p>If you're just planning on working in the US right after, then what's the point of doing an entire degree abroad?</p>

<p>If you come back to the US with a foreign degree that is respected in the country in question, but not well-known in the US, and you have no foreign work experience, then when you search for a good job in the US you will be at a disadvantage.</p>

<p>If you get your degree at a well respected university in the country in question, get a good job in that country because your degree is well respected there, and then after a couple/few years of working in relevant jobs in different countries and come back to the US looking for a good job, you will likely have an advantage.</p>

9

<p>From my professor who is a good friend of the colegio's Dean, I hear it's the best and most prestigious institution in Mexico...my girlfriend from ITESM also confirms it and she wishes after her undergrad studies at ITESM to go for a masters at ColMex :)</p>

<p>Here are some quotes from other websites:</p>

<p>American Uni:
"The serious Latin American Studies scholar will be pleased to study at El Colegio de Mexico, an exclusive graduate and teaching institution in the social sciences and humanities, located in Mexico City. Established in 1940, El Colegio de Mexico is a small institution with a student to faculty ratio of roughly one to one. With a strong humanities and social sciences background, students will receive a stellar education in one of Mexico’s elite institutions of higher education."</p>

<p>Courses
El Colegio de Mexico is composed of seven academic departments or centers: Literature and Linguistics, History, International Studies, Asian and African Studies, Demographic and Urban Studies, Sociology and Economics. Non-degree programs are also offered in other fields, such as environmental studies, development and women's studies.</p>

<p>Yale Uni:
"El Colegio de Mexico, established in 1940, is a non-profit, graduate research and teaching institution in the social sciences and humanities. It is composed of seven departments or centers: Literature and Linguistics, History, International Studies, Asian and African studies, Demographic and Urban Studies, Sociology and Economics. Research in these areas is carried out in response to El Colegio's policy of developing new knowledge on important issues relating to Mexican social and economic development, international relations, and education and culture. In this endeavor, for example, El Colegio has contributed substantially to the understanding of population growth in Mexico, and to the adoption of a population policy, which achieved, among other things, a 50% decline in the birth rate and the linkage of family planning to many aspects of social development. Similarly, basic studies on urban growth and its consequences led to the adoption of a national urban development policy.</p>

<p>Significant contributions have also been made to studies in the fields of International Relations, World Trade, International Migration, Economics, Social Change, Asian and African Studies, Mexican Foreign Policy, Mexican Political System, Mexican Labor, Latin American Literature, Hispanic Linguistics, the teaching of Spanish to indigenous groups in Mexico, on Ethnic Minorities and in Mexican History.</p>

<p>In recent years special study groups have been set up in fields such as the North American Free Trade Area, the Pacific Basin, the World Energy Outlook, Environment and Sustainable Development, the interface of Science, technology and Development, Public Health, and the study of Women from the perspective of Social Science.</p>

<p>El Colegio is staffed by an average of 150 full-time faculty, supplemented by other academic staff, such as visiting professors and special course and project personnel. A total of 300 students attend courses offered by El Colegio de Mexico on a regular, full time basis and about four to five hundred attend special non-degree courses offered throughout the academic year. About twenty percent of full time students come from countries other than Mexico.</p>

<p>The Library, which occupies one-third of El Colegio's premises, is a modern building of Mexican architectural design, containing more than 600,000 volumes on social sciences, humanities and related topics in European and Asian Languages. The Library's catalogue is fully computerized and carrels are provided for 350 readers. Large-scale inter-library exchange agreements are maintained with domestic as well as foreign universities. More than 60% of library users are external to El Colegio.</p>

<p>A number of specialized documentation units also function in coordination with the Library: science and technology, energy, environment, U.S.-Mexican relations, women, a dictionary of Mexican Spanish, and multilingual vocabularies.</p>

<p>El Colegio also houses a bookstore, conference halls, a faculty lounge and dining room, as well as a students' lounge and a cafeteria."</p>

<p>A lot of prominent LAS professors got their degrees at ColMex and then went on to get PhD's at Harvard and the likes...many teach at Stanford, Berkeley etc. </p>

<p>Hope this helps! :)</p>

10

<p>I spent a summer learning spanish in Madrid a few years ago. I really like the city. It is great funa nd the night life is amazing.</p>

11

<p>Madrid is an amazing city. There's a lot to do, the people are fun, and the food is wonderful.</p>

<p>That said, the Spanish university system is **** on wheels.</p>

12

<p>^lol</p>

<p>At least it's on wheels though. That's important.</p>