<p>@Kiliminjaro09: you talk about American’s IDEV program, which I’ve applied to. I haven’t paid too much attention to American as I haven’t heard from them yet. Is it really a top 10 program? </p>
<p>When looking at schools, I really haven’t looked at where people in that school want to go to, like the foreign service and what not. I’m purely interested in the best education, where I can learn the most. You could say I have a passion for the subject matter, and I want to learn about it, rather than where I will end up. I don’t know if that makes a difference in terms of what school is best for me.</p>
<p>Anyone who wants to address a low GPA - or for that matter, any other extenuating circumstances - to an admissions committee, should generally not use the personal statement to expand on this. A personal statement is supposed to be a summary of your assets and a glimpse into the future, your goals, etc.</p>
<p>A better option is to explain this in your resume. Graduate school application resumes, in contrast to job resumes, are typically 3 to 4 pages in length, much more substantive, and a great way to include any extra relevant information that you can’t fit elsewhere. I explained a minor lapse in my GPA one semester by including it in the education section of my resume.</p>
<p>This view is expanded on in Columbia Sipa’s Admissions Blog in a previous post this year. I HIGHLY recommend it to any applicants to any IR grad programs. I would have structured my resume completely differently and not included the above information if I hadn’t read the post. </p>
<p>Also, I’ve seen lot of people say that MSFS had 95 spots for 1200 applications, but the wording in the acceptance letter says “an enrolling class of 95”, not “an admitted class of 95.” These schools always err on the side of admitting beyond capacity in the anticipation that not all admitted students will actually enroll, even considering that they have waitlists. </p>
<p>I have applied fror the SAIS MA - IR with a year in Bologna. I havent applied for financial assitance as yet… but i want to. it appears to be a more expensive proposition than LSE (which is REALLY expensive).</p>
<p>I may be repetative here, but what is the workload like at SAIS? does one get to do an internship during the summer? are there campus placements? and does NOT having work experience in the field of international relations per se, hamper one’s chances of a job after that? I am an international student, so just wondering what that would mean…</p>
<p>Hi!
I’m going to graduate high school and I’m interested in studying international relations.
Can anyone give me a list of universities where I can study that subject.</p>
<p>Hi!
I’m going to graduate high school and I’m interested in studying international relations.
Can anyone give me a list of universities in states, Canada or in Australia (in fact English spoken course) where I can study that subject.</p>
<p>The top programs in Australia are at the Australian National University (ANU in Canberra, the top university in the country and very highly regarded for IR), University of Melbourne, University of Sydney and University of New South Wales (which is also in Sydney). </p>
<p>I’ve been accepted into American SIS for IDEV and ANU for IR. To go to Washington would be significantly more expensive… $52,000 in loans probably over two years, while ANU would be $20,000 tops for a year and a half, plus I could go part-time if I found a good job in Canberra.</p>
<p>I’m really torn about what to do. I would love to go to the States and live in Washington, with all the contacts there, but it’s sooooo much debt.</p>
<p>Does anyone have information about the post-graduation employment figures for American SIS grads? Do US unis collect this kind of data?</p>
<p>I suppose if I had to pick from those 4 I’d put NYU at the top for the brand name (but it’ll probably cost you) and Pitt as the best price/value (especially if you’re a PA resident and, let’s face it, the Cathedral of Learning is kinda cool).</p>
<p>Same question on the MA at BU. I live in Brussels and BU is constantly advertising its MA program here. I’d be tempted (it can also be part-time for those of us working) if it weren’t so expensive. Smells a bit like a cash cow program for them…</p>
<p>I’m still looking for a gem of a program on the Continent. Any suggestions besides Sciences Po, Geneva and SAIS-BC?</p>
<p>@ashbett I’m wondering the same thing about SIS and post-graduate career placement. When I visited last year, someone from admissions gave me one sheet of paper with some example job placement sites of former students from a few years back, broken down by degree. It was a joke. I’m not sure if they keep those sort of records, I hope they do. Does anyone know or have this information? </p>
<p>All the other schools I’ve been accepted by do keep these records. That brings me to my second plea for help. I’m trying to decide between SIS International Peace and Conflict Resolution, Georgetown conflict resolution and GWU Elliott in International Affairs. GWU is the only one that offered me a fellowship, but they don’t have a strong conflict resolution program, unlike SIS and GT. Does anyone have any advice? Should I go w/ the money but be in a more general IR program (light on conflict), or go to SIS/GT, pay more, but study in-depth what I’m really interested in? Are employers more interested in someone with a very specific degree (conflict rez) or one that is more broad? </p>
<p>Hi, I would like to hear some opinions. I am holding offers for the MPhil IR at Oxford and for the one at Cambridge, the MSc International Political Economy at LSE and the MSc International Public Policy at UCL. So far I am pretty sure that I will take up the offer for the Oxford programme. How do you think does it compare to US IR programmes (I have also been considering applying to US universities but dropped the idea for a number of reasons)?</p>
<p>Thanks, I am looking forward to your replies!</p>
<p>I recently got admitted to Seton Hall’s John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy, and I really would like to hear some words of advice regarding their MA program in Diplomacy, as there seems not to be too much info anywhere in the internet. Does the UN connection give any real advantage for the program compared with the other schools?</p>
<p>I have also been accepted and offered a good scholarship to Georgetown’s MSFS, but while SFS is more well-known and I would choose it from purely professional perspective, I might choose Whitehead over it because my girlfriend was accepted to an NYC school. We are moving all the way from Europe, so this is a big issue. I wish the cities were just 1,5 hours from each other so I could just commute everyday, haha.</p>
<p>I am an International student, from Spain, and after studyied and worked so hard for taking the GRE and TOEFL tests, I´ve admitted into the M.A. in economics at Brandeis, Fordham and American U. I´ve been looking for the programs deeply and I tried to get as much information as possible to know which University could best fit for me.</p>
<p>I´ve almost taken the decision, which is Brandeis University, and I wonder if you guys, who are American, can help me to with my final decision. Even though I researched a lot and I have a vast amount of information about the Universities I´m interested in, this is not my country and, therefore, there is some information that I might be missing.</p>
<p>Could you guys tell me about the prestige of these Universities for the M.A in economics?? Moreover, if you consider to give me adittional advice, please feel free because it will be so helpful!!</p>
<p>I´ll greatly appreciate your help, I´m so excited to continue my studies in this incredible country, in which I feel like at home. ( I´m studying English in the city of my dreams; New York,and I can not be more happy to be here, so lucky!!)</p>
<p>Hi guys!
This is my last year in college, I’m an IR undergraduate student from Argentina. I’m thinking to make a master in IR in the US in 2 o 3 years and I was wondering which universities were the strongest in IR theory.
I’m on a top Argentine private university and my currently GPA is 8,10/10,00 (it would be something like 3,25) but I think it’s going to rise through this year. I’m working as a inter in applied research on international cooperation and I presented three papers in different academic conferences. I coordinate a student organization at university and I also got a Fulbright scholarship to take a seminar in the US last winter.
Which do you think are my chances to get admitted to a top IR school?
Thanks!</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, most international students aren’t able to work in the US after graduation because you need a new visa that is sponsored by the organization that has hired you. That said, as an American, I don’t know the specifics so you’d want to contact the international students office. They’re incredibly helpful and know everything about visa requirements.</p>
<p>First off, congrats on being admitted to multiple fabulous schools!</p>
<p>As for SAIS BC vs. SAIS DC, it’s the same program academically. The core courses even use the same syllabi. The main difference is that you have fewer options in terms of elective courses at the BC. This isn’t a problem for most students since we take all our core courses our first year, save up our bid points (how you get into capped courses at SAIS), and then take electives in our second year at DC. Academically, there is no difference between the campuses. The main differences are social (BC students tend to be closer because there aren’t as many distractions in Bologna; we’re all focused on being SAIS students), the variety of courses, and the lack of internship opportunities in Bologna. I’ve been very pleased with the program in BO. I’ve spent this year really focusing on econ/core classes and next year I’ll be interning/doing electives. For me, it’s been the perfect balance, but it depends on what you’re looking for from your two years at SAIS.</p>
<p>As for Georgetown, I can’t speak to the program other than its great reputation. When I was deciding, I chose SAIS over SSP because I didn’t want to be overly specialized. I was concerned that, if my focus changed over the years, a security degree would be too narrow. At SAIS, I’m a strategic studies concentrator, but I also take multiple econ courses, regional courses, core courses, etc. It seemed more balanced.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, none of the top schools are known for giving much aid. Your best bets for money will be Elliot and SIS at American. I got a full ride to American including living expenses and full tuition at Elliot. SAIS rarely gives out large scholarships. I’ve never heard of major aid at SIPA. Fletcher does occasionally, but who knows. I’d apply to all your top schools and see how things work out.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to the workload at the other IR schools, but SAIS is tough. Not so much because the professors crush you with 1000 pages of reading a week for each class, but because your classmates are so smart and hardworking. In college, I felt like I could often get away with little effort because my classmates were putting in even less. At SAIS, everyone is working their tail off so, to keep up, you have to as well. That said, the first semester was intense, but now that I’ve figured out how to manage my time better and know more about IR/econ, I’m not having to study quite as much. It also depends on how much you care about grades. If you want a rockstar GPA you will have to work for it. If your priority is just graduating, than you won’t have to put as much time in.</p>
<p>SAIS DC is also known for being aware of the fact that students intern while going to school so the courses there are more flexible.</p>
<p>All that said, it’s not like we’re in the library 24/7. We are definitely of the work hard/play hard mentality and I love the fact that my peers push me to work hard. I’m learning so much more at SAIS than I did at undergrad because the people around me are inspiring and so smart that they push me to keep up. It’s a really warm, fun, collegial learning environment so I don’t feel pressure from my classmates, it’s more like encouragement. You want to get the most out of the classes and that will happen if you do the readings.</p>
<p>Additionally, we’re learning about cool stuff. It’s not like law school with thousands of pages of dry reading. We’re learning about what’s happening in the world today and how to make things better. It really is an inspiring learning environment.</p>
<p>SAIS, like any grad school, is challenging. I don’t know what the workload is like at other grad schools, but see my previous post for details about the workload at SAIS BC.</p>
<p>Yes, almost all students do a summer internship and many intern during the school year.</p>
<p>Not having relevant work experience may be a challenge when looking for a job, but that’s a big reason to go to a “name” school like SAIS. It will definitely help make up for any holes in your resume. There are also lots of career changers at SAIS so the career services office is great about helping you translate your past experience to the IR world.</p>
<p>I am interested the MA in economic and political development at SIPA. What are my chances if I have the following: I speak three languages, have more than 4 years of experience working for an NGO in another country. I am a dual citizen now and interned two summers with Deliotte in auditing and tax in the States. I started college as an accounting major but decided to add international relations major so as to pursue a graduate school in this field. Due to my accounting classes, I have overall 3.4 GPA, however I will have 3.6 in the international relations major. So, please tell me what are my chances to being accepted in to schools like SIPA or Elliot…thanks!</p>
<p>I wanted to say thank you to everyone on this thread. I have been able to get a much better conception of what I need to get into a top notch grad school. </p>
<p>I want to put my situation out there with the hope that someone will do an objective analysis of where I stand. I just finished up my undergraduate degree in political science at SUNY (State Uni of NY) New Paltz this past December with a GPA of 3.68. I got a 650 on the verbal and a 720 on the quantitative section of the GRE (I took the exam yesterday, so I don’t know my writing portion yet). Although I do not have a foreign language solidly under my belt, I did study abroad in New Zealand for a semester and then spent an addition 6 months in Australia where I participated in an internship with the Victorian Green Party in Melbourne. My other “work experience” pertains to my academic interests within the field of IR, but they aren’t true IR internships. I was head of Students for Sensible Drug Policy on my campus, organized a 20,000$ concert to raise student awareness to the negative effects of America’s ongoing drug war, and I worked for the Drug Policy Alliance (the premier NGO in regards to drug policy in the USA) as an intern this past summer. I want to pursue a security studies/conflict resolution MA with a focus in asymmetrical conflicts/sub-state violence (while honing in on drug trafficking organizations). Would my “work experience” be considered to be relevant for the degree I want to go for? Or, will the top 10 universities think that my job experience is irrelevant. I plan on doing some volunteer work down in Mexico this upcoming winter to get a personal account of the ongoing conflict as well as to work on my Spanish. Is there an effective way to incorporate this future plan into my grad applications even though I will not have had this experience yet when the applications are due.</p>
<p>I am currently mulling over applying to American SIS, GT Security Studies, Colombia SIPA, Elliot School GWU, JHU SAIS (one of my LORs is coming from a distinguished graduate of SAIS), Fletcher, LBJ, and UCSD. I would really appreciate any help from any objective source in helping me eliminate schools from this list that I don’t have a chance in hell of getting into. Or better yet, do you know a school that I overlooked that would fit nicely with my desire to study the Mexican Drug War?.</p>
<p>Once again, this is a great thread and I want to give everyone a preemptive thank you!</p>
<p>Dear chapelofrock,
I know that one of the most important researchers on drugs and international relations is in the University of Miami. So, if you want to study the Mexican Drug War, I’d say you should go there.</p>