<p>I've really fallen for Reed. I love the quirkiness, and I think I'd be really happy there both academically and socially. Also, Portland rocks. There is, however, one small problem. I want to major in Political Science with a focus on International Relations, and I have heard bad reviews of that department at Reed. Looking through the faculty on the website there seems to be a focus on philosophy and American centric thinking, with almost no internationally focused professors. I have also been accepted to Carnegie Mellon and Macalester, both of which seem to have stronger and more varied Political Science programs (Mac has several majors/departments that fit into my interests). However, I didn't feel the same passion for learning on these other campuses. I also don't think I'd fit in as well socially. I really want Reed to work, but I don't want to be stuck in a weak department. Does anyone have any insight into Political Science at Reed? </p>
<p>For IR you should consider study abroad options as a possible remedy. LSE would be a ideal for a year abroad. Here’s what the regular BSc degree curriculum looks like at LSE. <a href=“http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/programmeRegulations/undergraduate/BScInternationalRelations.htm”>http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/programmeRegulations/undergraduate/BScInternationalRelations.htm</a></p>
<p>You probably should contact Reed about planning to work around college’s limited IR curriculum before accepting. Incidentally, I knew someone who did a year at LSE from Vassar many years ago and raved more about LSE than Vassar.</p>
<p>Mac is one of the few, if not the only, LAC that has a reputation in IR. If you want to remain stateside for 4 years or don’t want to get involved in having to do Reed’s qualifiers and thesis with study abroad or away (i.e.“junior quals” at the start of the senior year), Mac may be the better choice.</p>
<p>As a current Reed Political Science major, I disagree with your characterization of the department.
The past two years have been rough for IR at Reed, because our IR professor was off at the Pentagon helping them improve their response plan for nuclear threats. He will, however, be back starting this fall. Alex Montgomery is a rockstar. We have one IR professor, we have one Comparative Politics professor, we have one American Politics professor, we have one Environmental Policy professor, but that’s a function of being a small school. If you’re positive you want to study IR and you have no interest in nuclear weapons and the like, then Reed might not be a good choice (as that is Alex’s area of expertise). If you are interested in IR, you might also be interested in the classes offered by our Comparativist (who mostly focuses on Latin America, but does work with other areas as well). I would also note that a lot of people head off to college with complete certainty that they will study IR, and soon find that they are more interested in another facet of Political Science.
What subjects within IR interest you? What do you plan to do post-undergrad? The latter is a particularly important question to consider for Reed.</p>