<p>Hey I’m a junior interested in international relations and politics and I love DC. What are the real differences between American, GW, and Georgetown academically? What area is American the strongest in compared to the other two? What programs make it unique? How does American view GW and Georgetown? Is there any interaction between the two schools? I’m trying to get a sense of each school regardless of ranking because each school does have a great IR program. I’m trying to figure out which one is best for me. Is each program equally strong but people choose one over the other for the atmosphere? Any insight would be appreciated. I posted this in each forum to get a broad range of opinions. Thanks!</p>
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<p>There has been a lot of discussion on this, including a lot of answers to your questions. Just scroll down a bit and you’ll find what you’re lookin for…</p>
<p>thank you! I’m new and I didn’t realize how helpful the search button was. Any other input is still appreciated.</p>
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<p>Here are some related threads that name these three schools, if that helps.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/307644-best-international-relations-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/307644-best-international-relations-schools.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/501721-best-colleges-political-science-government-international-relations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/501721-best-colleges-political-science-government-international-relations.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/194456-best-schools-political-science-international-relations-majors.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/194456-best-schools-political-science-international-relations-majors.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/312341-foreign-policy-magazine-ranks-programs-international-relations-news-item.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/312341-foreign-policy-magazine-ranks-programs-international-relations-news-item.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/591458-international-relations-best-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/591458-international-relations-best-college.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/144308-george-washington-v-american-university.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/144308-george-washington-v-american-university.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/589609-looking-colleges-noted-international-relations-political-science.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/589609-looking-colleges-noted-international-relations-political-science.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/503437-ranking-undergraduate-international-relations-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/503437-ranking-undergraduate-international-relations-programs.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/408913-georgetown-george-washington.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/408913-georgetown-george-washington.html</a></p>
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<p>Here’s a link to Foreign Policy’s 2009 Rankings of IR Programs<br>
GW is not in the top 20
[Foreign</a> Policy: Inside the Ivory Tower](<a href=“http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4685]Foreign”>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4685)</p>
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<p>I’m pretty weary of rankings and was hoping for more anecdotal evidence about someone’s experience at American, but thank you I didn’t realize that GW wasn’t ranked that high.</p>
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<p>It was our impression (and it was difficult to come by information) that it was much easier to coordinate double majors, say between SIS and International Business, or SIS and languages, etc., at American than it was at GW or Georgetown. (Note - we didn’t really consider GT, as my d. hated it; we did try to get info. from both students and others at GW, but no one seemed to be able to give us clear answers.) Now, I cannot speak for other schools, but my d. has found both advising on this subject and actual coordination to be very easily obtained. (My d. is a Business/Accounting major, minor in international relations/economic development, and may pick up a second in international business; is also planning on four years of Arabic. She was selected for an economic development spring break trip to southern Mexico, and has a wonderful internship in DC for the summer related to her interests. She has so many plans, we can barely keep track!) SIS is also the largest undergraduate IR school; that might translate into the largest number of course options (but I don’t know.)</p>
<p>The schools do have different “feels” to them, and I think you can best pick that up in visits.</p>
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<p>How has your daughter liked the Arabic department? I am currently studying at a local mosque and am interested in pursuing it college. I know Georgetown requires you to take the first two years as intensive (everyday plus drill sessions) and that American doesn’t. Do you think this is detrimental? You also said that your daughter hated Georgetown. Is there animosity between the schools? I visited all three over spring break and there defiantly is a different feeling at each one.</p>
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<p>I’ll pm you. (She loves the Arabic Department, and she will be making use of her Arabic in her internship this summer.)</p>
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<p>Hi dc2014! I’m a current AU senior and have a minor in IR (I started out as an IR major but then switched)…and to top that off I took Arabic as a freshman and loved it.</p>
<p>It’s hard to explain the differences between the 3 schools, and just like everyone before me has said, it’s mostly about how it feels for the individual. I loved the variety of courses and the fact that I’d have lots of time to choose my concentration. AU requires that IR majors take a solid core curriculum in foreign policy, international issues, and language before choosing their functional and regional concentrations. So that was great for me. It’s also really easy to double major or minor so you can add another program that interests you. If not for that I don’t know what I’d do!</p>
<p>Another thing that SIS really emphasizes–and other schools at AU also focus on–is service. So that’s something to consider, or at least it was for me.</p>
<p>As for Arabic, I took it my first semester at AU with absolutely no previous study. I actually really liked not having class every day (we had it 3 days a week) because that gave me time to study, try to do the assignments, and then try them again before class. I was a lot more comfortable with my knowledge in each class. My professor also placed huge emphasis on the oral component so we had to be ready to speak in class on the fly. An extra night to study up was really helpful.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!! Good luck with everything!</p>
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<p>Here’s my take AS A PARENT on the 3 IR schools in DC. My s investigated all 3.
Gtown is def an upper echelon school. They have a great program, but you’ll need the best grades, scores, ecs etc. to get in. Many great students who want to go to school in DC don’t even apply because they don’t want the Catholic Experience.
As far as IR goes, GW and AU are about the same. Recent IR rankings may have AU above GW, but GW may out weigh AU in over all rankings. Both have great internships and career centers. I know from gov/ state dept. friends that AU is definitely known in the state dept /gov. realm. But, I’m sure GW is too.
I think, as many have said before, you need to investigate all 3 campuses. All are great! You just need to find the one where you feel the most comfortable. Good luck!</p>
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<p>We were talking about available majors in the Georgetown thread. I felt like the regional/ language majors offered at American were very post-WWII and cold war centric German and Russian but not Arabic or Chinese. Why do you think the program hasn’t adapted? Is the administration that inflexible? I know they offer Arabic and Chinese but considering the present political climate wouldn’t that warrant and expansion of the program?</p>
<p>Earlier this year, American has announced that they are going to be hiring 60 new faculty over the next two years, so they may be expanding offerings in this area. One reason why my son chose AU was that they are the only school he was accepted at who was committed to spending more money in this economy. (I know one of the faculty is in the Business School, where he wants to major in- you might consider contacting the department head to find out what their plans are for expansion.)</p>
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<p>dc2014. I think you may have gotten the wrong impression from the other thread. Within the International Studies major, you can concentrate in any region of the world, with the majority focusing on Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Africa. AU actually has the most Latin American specialists outside of Latin America and strongly encourages students to study abroad outside of Europe, which is why it has a high percentage of Boren Scholarship recipients (a program for students studying critical languages like Chinese and Arabic).</p>
<p>I think AU is one of the more flexible schools in the District with a strong role for student input in every level of the university, including at the Board of Trustees level. As a result of student opinion, the school last year started an African American Studies program and will be launching a new Center on Latin American and Latino studies in the fall.</p>
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<p>Just to be clear, it is just a concentration not a major?</p>
<p>American has a School of International Service. I’m not sure what the majors under that school are explicitly called. </p>
<p>Georgetown is the most competitive and best ranked school out of the three. It is a Jesuit university but the Jesuits are known to be the most liberal, open minded order of priests in the Catholic tradition. </p>
<p>GWU is more competitive and has a better reputation than American. Its also much more urban, I went on official visits at both schools and American you pretty much don’t know you’re in the city and GW has much nicer dorms. The professors at GW are also usually better known in their fields because it is in the heart of the city, its easier to intern at GWU. </p>
<p>American may have recently been ranked better for IR but overall is the weakest of the three schools. I also really did not like the feel of the school, I was offered half-tuition, solely for academics with likelihood of athletic scholarship based on future performance and turned it down. Also the students at the other DC/Maryland area schools tend to talk down American and its students. When I visited GW, CUA and Loyola and mentioned American I was told by students at all three schools not to go to American because the students there were weird and the coach was mean. </p>
<p>UMD-College Park is also right outside of DC with a very good journalism school and a decent polisci program. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for a Catholic education or a less expensive school CUA is a good option due to its accessibility to the city and internships. They offer generous financial aid and scholarship because they are partially backed by the Catholic Church. </p>
<p>Very few schools offer an IR major and its also under so many different names and variances at different schools or is just a concentration under the broader umbrella of a polisci major.</p>
<p>Just wondering Gloria—
What college are you at?</p>
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<p>“the students were weird and the coach was mean”…</p>
<p>Are you serious??? It sounds like the kids you spoke to were still in junior high school!</p>
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<p>I’m a high school senior, I will be going to Loyola MD in the fall.
I’ve been told by various college students and high school coaches that everyone at American is weird, that the kids who go there are the kids who were weird in high school, and that all the coach in my particular sport does is yell at his athletes.</p>
<p>^^^LOL how can you generalize that all 6,000+ students “are weird and were weird in HS”???</p>
<p>your coach just told you that so you wouldn’t go there for whatever reason, duh.</p>