Rank the MA International Relations programs

Graduate School
181

<p>Tuition rises every year, especially now that many schools' endowments have shrunk considerably. So no, I wouldn't wait for reduced tuition fees because that isn't going to happen. </p>

<p>Google "GRE practice questions" to get a feel for the test. It's not a "barrier" - while it's far from a perfect test, it's a standardized way to look at an applicant. </p>

<p>Also, it's very difficult to properly study international affairs without a basic understanding of economics. This much should be obvious. You don't have to get into advanced subject matter, but basic macro and basic micro is essential.</p>

182

<p>I've been admitted to DU and Fletcher and the only econ course I took in undergrad was IPE. So the "econ is crucial" line is not applicable to all schools.</p>

183

<p>Lots of great info in this discussion. Thank you to everyone. I was hoping for a little advice:
I applied to M.A. in international affairs programs at SIPA, Elliott, and University of Miami (while I haven't heard an admission decision from every program, for the purposes of this question I'll assume acceptance at each). My question is this: How badly would I be hurting my chances of landing a decent private/public sector job, or being admitted to a highly ranked PhD program if I were to choose the less prestigious U. Miami option? I absolutely love the city of Miami, the program is significantly less expensive, and on visiting I found the faculty far more accessible than at Columbia or GW. I know I would enjoy studying there, but I don't want to badly damage my future prospects for more short term comfort.</p>

<p>I would appreciate any and all thoughts on the matter. Thank you.</p>

184

<p>I was recently accepted to the International Science and Technology Program at the Elliot School at GWU and was wondering if anyone knew of any other schools that offer a similar program, this might be an odd question but I would be deferring for a year anyway. I have tried to find anything else out there but it seems to be a pretty small niche. My background is in physics math and astrophysics and as such I find the Space Policy Institute there quite intriguing but just want to make sure that it is the best option. Thanks.</p>

185

<p>I'm a student of Philosophy Politics and Economics (PPE) at Oxford University. I'd like to do a masters in America, however, I don't have a great deal of work experience or any foreign language skills. What i do have, however, are really really strong academic results.</p>

<p>I came 4th out of 300 in the PPE class for examinations, and was 2% below what you guys call the 'valedictorian' (i beat him in both politics and economics, but he beat me in philosophy)(PPE at Oxford is the most competitive undergrad 'art' in the UK, and OX-PPE arguably the most respected undergrad degree in the UK -camb medicine and ox-law up there too) (and have a pretty decent chance of repeating that performance for my finals. The only other interesting thing I've done is founded the Oxford University International Relations Society (you can find us on wikipedia, but we've had some very high profile speakers).</p>

<p>My masters reference will be written By Prof. Walter Mattli (used to cowrite with A-M Slaughter, Dean of Princeton's WWS, also co-written with Buthe and Ngaire Woods) and it will be very very strong. Is it possible to get into the top programs in america straight from undergrad but with very very strong academic standards? Cheers</p>

186

<p>hi 06thambr…I thought I’d help you out a bit since my background is somewhat similar to your being a cantabridgian. I’m am finishing up my last year of undergraduate study in SPS(Politics) in Cambridge, having originally applied to read law but changed at the end of my first year to SPS politics as tripos transfers are possible at Cambridge. Just a bit on my background, I am American and am originally from the US, but decided to pursue an undergraduate education in the UK for the overseas experience. . So far I have been accepted to the MA program GWU Elliot School of International Affairs for and have been waitlisted for a similar program at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Your backgrounds seems impressive and I have no doubt that you could probably get into a top masters program. I won’t reveal my exam results to you but needless to say yours definitely top mine so I wouldn’t be worried about academics. In addition, the extracurricular work you do OU Int’l rels soc. probably will go a long way in showing you have a genuine interest in your subject outside of teh classroom. </p>

<p>I think since you have missed this years fall deadline for all programs, that you use this year to gain work experience in a variety of fields maybe work for the FCO, DC based think tanks if you can get a visa, and International Development Organizations and NGOs like Save the CHildren, Unicef, e.t.c if your interested in that area of study. Although I don’t have work experience. I really utilized the summer of 08 to score two great internships with the State Department and the US Senate which resulted in two strong recommendation letters and helped boost my resume. I’m sure your recommendation letters will be good…but make sure if its possible to get one academic, one or two work.</p>

<p>P.S. Do study for the GRE as well as that is quite critical. </p>

<p>Lastly, I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese which might have helped a bit in the process. If possible use this year to learn a language your interested in. teaching english abroad is always a good options as you can make some money on the side, gain work experience and int’l experience(which is really important, being in Britain doesn’t count as I’m assuming your British) and also learn a foreign language</p>

<p>anyways i apologize if this is too generic feel free to ask me more questions! </p>

<p>P.S. the only reason u won this years boat race against cambridge was because of pure luck…i kid…</p>

187

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>I am planning to pursue Masters in IR from an European University. As I don’t have knowledge of languages, other than English, I am planning to concentrate on UK universities. I am also looking at programs in other countries, if the medium of teaching is English.
Let me tell you a brief about my background. I have Bachelor of Engineering in Computers (from India)and an MBA in HRM (from USA). I am looking to switch to IR. I want to keep the options of working as well as pursuing my Phd after my Masters. If I do end up doing a PhD, I am planning to concentrate on India or South Asian region studies.
I would appreciate help with shortlisting of universities. I am looking for the best or the top tier universities. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.</p>

188

<p>Quick question:</p>

<p>So how much does internship experience, study abroad, traveling abroad, etc. matter when applying to grad schools for IR? I mean, I know it can’t overtake a poor GPA, but do schools really look heavily at it, or is it more a glance just to make sure you have some background in it?</p>

189

<p>GoWorld: I would say internships in IR/your regional area have a LOT to do with getting accepted into schools. Especially internships that have a research or language component to them. I know that when I applied, every professor I was talking to told me to make sure to put both of my research experiences in trade/IR down. Also - if you have any papers or written work published - that counts a lot too. If you have these experiences- make sure to highlight them in your PS. </p>

<p>Travel and other abroad experiences are “good” but I don’t know how well they look at them. I know I added my list of abroad experiences to the end of my CV, and all I added it for was to show that I had an extensive background in my area specialty. What they may be looking for here - is a commitment to your area study + if you spent enough time in one region to pick up a language.</p>

190

<p>okay, thanks! So as for the region of study thing (forgive me for my lack of knowledge on the subject…I still have a few years to go in undergrad but want to know what I’m up against), how do we go about picking an area of specialty? I attend UCLA, and I’m majoring in Poli Sci with an international relations emphasis. But I don’t think we really have regional specializations. Would this be a wise thing to take into account while choosing a place to study abroad? I noticed that a lot of government agencies look for specializations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa. Or is this something you choose in grad school?</p>

<p>Again, sorry if I’m pretty misinformed…thanks to anyone who’s willing to clarify!</p>

191

<p>I don’t think it matters that much where you study abroad. Just make the most of it through an internship or by learning an obscure language. Doing a year rather than a semester also helps. Otherwise, I don’t studying abroad gives you an advantage because the common experience is getting drunk with American college students in exotic bars, and grad schools know this. I studied in Dublin, and I don’t think the location hurt me at all.<br>
I would really recommend AIESEC for an advantage; most schools have it and it guarantees you a job in a country of your choice. I went to a state school, got a solid 3.0 and did kind of poorly in econ, but I’ve worked in Turkey for a year and can speak decent Turkish. I’ve gotten into everywhere I applied (but I’m still waiting to hear back from my first choice). I also did a thousand internships in college (an Irish political party, a DC lobbying group and a San Francisco business), so it might have been the combination.
That being said, here’s my question: I really want to go to grad school in Dublin rather than the US. Is this going to hurt me when I go back to Washington DC? I’m really torn. It’s a lot cheaper and the program has a great reputation within Ireland, but nobody will have heard of the school in America.</p>

192

<p>Wanted to say first that this discussion has been incredibly useful, thanks to all who have posted (if only I’d found this two years ago!). </p>

<p>While I’m certainly out of my league compared to most of the other posters here, I’m nonetheless at a crossroads in terms of career and was hoping someone might have some advice for me. </p>

<p>I’m finishing a one-year MPhil in IR at Cambridge at the moment, having just come from undergrad at UC Irvine. I’ve got a strong academic record (albeit at a weak institution), with a 3.97 in Journalism and a 3.98 in Political Science (Summa in both, CGPA 3.95) and Phi Beta Kappa (still not really sure what that means), and I should manage a Distinction here provided there aren’t any disastrous errors in my thesis. Undergrad internships were exclusively in journalism (Los Angeles Times and a position at a local paper), with a research position for a professor in Poli Sci. I’m Associate Editor at the Cambridge Review this year. </p>

<p>The thing is, I’ve got next to no real work experience (I come from a modest background and spent my summers working to pay rent), but I would like to do a PhD at one of the top universities. I’ve got no illusions about being able to get in at the moment, but I was hoping to get some advice on how to best prepare myself to apply to some of the top PhDs. </p>

<p>The real problem is that I’m already up to my ears in debt ($60,000 thereabouts), so internships aren’t really an option for me at this point. At the same time, though, I know there’s no point in applying at the big think tanks/policy institutes given that I have passable Spanish and nothing else, and no prior experience in any case. I’ve also got no economics background (some micro/macro this year, but far from competent in the subject), though I like the subject and am definitely not allergic to doing more. My reasoning for not applying to a lesser school for the PhD is simply that if I’m going to spend 5+ years somewhere, I want it to be challenging and ultimately useful for my career in the long-term.</p>

<p>Is my best bet to hop on the huge-debt train and try for a two-year masters in the States (at an institution in DC or NY), grabbing some summer experience along the way? I thought about trying for work experience, but to be honest I really don’t have a good idea of what I want to specialize in, and for a PhD I’m not certain anything I can do at this point would be of use for me. In any case I’ll have a year out (since I’ve obviously missed deadlines for this year) doing some form of development-related work if I can manage it, but I really do want to go back to school. I have a vague notion of going into policy after my PhD, but that is a secondary (and far away) consideration at this point. What I’m aiming for is a Poli Sci PhD at one of the top 10, preferably Yale/Princeton/Harvard (in that order based on scholars I’d like to work with). Thanks.</p>

193

<p>Wanting - I don’t think you need to do a two-year MA, but I do think you should consider good PhD programs outside of HYP - they can be just as challenging and useful, especially for policy careers later on. Besides the fact that it’s always a good idea to “apply wide” since PhD admissions are far more unpredictable than even MA admissions, there are great scholars at “lesser” (that term makes me cringe, sorry) institutions. </p>

<p>You haven’t mentioned what your foci for a PhD would be. That’s a good place to start.</p>

194

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>I was accepted to three schools this past year:
London school of Economics
Sciences Po in Paris
University of Amsterdam</p>

<p>I am going to LSE for European Political Economy this fall. I am an American, did my undergrad at Berkeley. </p>

<p>However my question is about after graduation. I would like to know if anyone can help me clarify what kinds of jobs that I would likely be looking at after getting my Masters? I know that I can work at NGOs, think tanks, or in the government itself. I would prefer to work in London after graduating, hopefully at the IMF or EU. The World Bank in DC is also an option.</p>

<p>What kinds of jobs are available for a newly graduated Masters student? Can someone just give me a basic spiel about this? Thanks!</p>

195

<p>I think you have to be an EU citizen to work for the EU…</p>

196

<p>Hey ctheory I’m an American going to LSE this year studying MSc Theories and History of International Relations. </p>

<p>I did my undergraduate in the UK, certain firms in London such as (Big 4, Goldman, Citi and etc) will provide you with a work visa if they give you a job offer, but when you want to apply you must apply before a certain deadline since you require a work permit.</p>

197

<p>Hi, I’m new to this forum and like many of you I am preparing for graduate school in IR. After examining the list of better schools in this department I’m questioning my own competitiveness for these schools and hopefully some of you can answer my questions and help explain to me my standings and what I need. Naturally I want to go to the best there is JHU, Georgetown, etc.</p>

<p>-I don’t have a very strong GPA; 3.13 overall and 3.56 in my major (IR).
-I have a lot of international experience and aside from personal travel I have spent a year studying in China, a semester in Moscow, and several summer sessions in Slovenia.
-I am also veteran and served on a submarine for 4 years.
-Highly proficient in Russian and Mandarin.
-Haven’t taken the GRE yet, what scores are considered good?</p>

<p>Seeing everyone’s credentials have made me realize that how demanding these schools really are. Any advice would be greatly appreciate.</p>

198

<p>apirc: you’d be highly competitive for the top schools!</p>

199

<p>apirc, the average GRE score for those schools is around 650-660 for the math and verbal sections and 5.5 for the analytical.</p>

200

<p>Does anyone know the reputation for the New School’s MA in International Relations?</p>