Questions about International Relations and Political Science

College Majors
1

<p>Are these the type of majors that you potentially adapt to? Or do you have to have a lot of prior knowledge to really succeed. As of now, I am sort of interested in pursuing an International Relations degree, and so far, the only Political Science related class I have taken is American Government. I ended up getting a B- in the class, as I seemed to be outclassed by students who already had a wealth of prior knowledge.</p>

<p>I have a lot of interest in Poli Sci, but is this something that maybe grows the more I take classes and read papers like the New York Times?</p>

<p>At my school, international relations is an extremely popular major, and it seems a little more up my ally since it includes subjects like econ, philosophy, language, etc. Is IR any more beneficial than PS or likewise?</p>

2

<p>It all depends on what you want to do, and what you’re really interested in. Whether one is better than the other is subjective.</p>

3

<p>P.S. is more general. IR is specific. I would do P.S. w/ concentration in International Studies, etc.</p>

4

<p>It’s a combination of both in answer to your question does one learn from the class/prior knowledge beforehand.</p>

<p>Usually, it’s more like you learn something from the class, yet you find a connection from previous knowledge. I find that connection to be key in discussing topics in smaller classes.</p>

<p>I heavily suggest you keep updated on current news from the major newspapers. Most political science majors are news junkies to begin with since the material being learned is shown almost everyday on tv and in print. </p>

<p>I would also like to make a personal point that, as I an American: I did not get an international perspective at all during my high school years. My knowledge of Africa and Latin America was basically zilch. However, I decided to take 2 comparative government classes in those 2 regions. Coming into the class, I felt very outclassed by other students as they were able to name dictators and presidents without hesistation. At the end of that very first class, I proceeded to scour wikipedia, cia factbook, my textbook and any other reference to familiarize myself asap. In the end, I was able to pull out an A- and a B+. </p>

<p>Lesson of the story: it would be nice to know everything beforehand, but don’t count yourself out if you don’t know squat.</p>