<p>LSE is excellent for interpol, it’s world renowned. It is a common misconception for people to assume that Harvard, Princeton, etc are the best places to go but there are many reasons why they aren’t the best options.
For example, LSE is (most recent figure) 14000 pound for the year, which is much less expensive than any of the U.S. universities of it’s calibre. It’s MSc is also only one year full time, which is a benefit. LSE and indeed other European universities, especially in the UK, have a long tradition of excellence in the field. I think it depends upon the approach you wish to take however. European universities, LSE included, take a very academic approach, and are very focused, whereas American universities tend to be more practical and policy based, and tend to give an overview of the areas relating to IR. Neither approach is any better than the other, it depends on what you prefer.
I doubt you would regret taking up your place at LSE.</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend a graduate school in the U.S. for IR that takes a more academic, theoretical approach? Most seem to branch out into public policy and other such practical approaches, which is not what I’m looking for.</p>
<p>I have a sort of unique track. I went through most of medical school but did not finish. Since then I have pondered a IR career and am looking for some advice/recommendations on how to proceed, what admissions committees look for in mid career changers like me, and how i should bolster my application, and what schools are appropriate for me.</p>
<p>I think i have the gpa and gre stuff covered–i did well in school and am a good test taker. i’m planning on taking a couple of summer courses at harvard to make sure i have some macroecon and an IR class of interest, hopefully getting a rec from one of these guys since i can’t exactly ask college profs anymore. </p>
<p>i want to focus on failed states, issues like genocide, war, justice etc. in asia</p>
<p>i guess my questions are
1)should i bother/are my chances good<br>
2)what schools are appropriate for me<br>
3)what schools don’t require language requirments
4)should i bother with summer classes; which ones<br>
5) and the ever dreadful experience question: i’ve worked for a few years in business related stuff but would like to get some IR experience over the summer. just gotta keep plugging away at applying to internship programs and networking i guess…</p>
<p>just looking any advice from someone who has been through a similar experience or any insight really…</p>
<p>Two things: you need experience, and you need a second language. I’ll tell you what the head of admissions at SIPA told us during an information session: if you’re a career changer, you need to show that you’re committed to the new field you’re moving into. My undergraduate degree was in Physics, and I will be (most likely) starting an MIA degree at SIPA this August. So I was in a similar situation. What did I do for experience? I joined the Peace Corps and spent three years in Tanzania teaching high school Chemistry and computers. I can guarantee you that my Peace Corps service is what got me into graduate programs (I was also admitted to UMD Public Policy, SIS, SFS, and Brandeis), because my undergraduate performance was very much less than spectacular (I had a 2.5 GPA).</p>
<p>I may be a bit biased because I’m an RPCV, but if you think that you want to go into a IR career (especially working in developing countries/failed states), Peace Corps service looks very, very good. In addition to the job itself you’ll also get crucial language skills. As I said above, you really need a second language to make yourself marketable in this field. Finding schools which don’t have a language requirement isn’t the answer - if you’re serious about IR, you need something other than English.</p>
<p>But more than that, overseas experience is going to be what helps you decide if IR is a career you want or not. There’s a reason why all of the top IR programs want you to have experience, because you really can’t know if an international career is right for you until you’ve lived overseas for a significant period of time. I personally don’t think that something done just over a summer is enough, but you also may have time constraints that are out of your control.</p>
<p>So yes, IF you truly want a career in IR, there’s no reason you shouldn’t bother. The question is, is it a career that you really want? Personally, I wouldn’t deal with taking classes (i.e. spending money) until you’ve had overseas experience, because the last thing you want to do is go through a graduate program, start working, and realize it’s not for you.</p>
<p>But yes, it’s entirely possible - I’m a perfect example of that. As for which programs to apply for, all I can say is that if I can get into an Ivy League school with a 2.5 undergrad GPA and a non-relevant major, I’m sure anyone can. What you need to do is get experience which shows you’re dedicated to an IR career (and as a career-changer I do think you need more than other people), and then make the case to the admissions committees as to why you’re changing careers. This means you need to show that you’re passionate about this new direction you’re going in.</p>
<p>Certainly it never hurts to have a safety school or two, but based on my own experience I’d say aim as high as you want. I was worried I’d get in nowhere, and as it turns out I got into 5 of the 8 schools I applied to. And I did have real reason to worry (I’m not like the people on this board who say “help my GPA is terrible will I get in anywhere???” when they have a 3.5).</p>
<p>Thanks kilamanjaro,</p>
<p>I think the formal language training is my toughest impediment. while i’ve taken french in early education and hindi is my native tongue (although i’ve forgetten most of it), i’m wondering if taking a full immersion course is worthwhile…</p>
<p>i have substantial travel history; for 2 yrs after med school i was trying to “find myself” and traveled asia for about 7 months, uk for about a month. but most of that was spent writing and freelancing to feed my photography passion and not formal program. but i have enough of a “sample size” to determine if and where i want to spend time and feel fairly confident on my own and my ability to negotiate those type of situations, language barrier or not. </p>
<p>moreover, my interest in failed societies would probably be more academic than hands on. i’d like to study policy and work in the “front office” of an organization…although the idea of taking the foreign service exam and going that route was appealing i’m doubtful if i can pass the security check on account of having significant family in india and ironically my travel which i guess brings up allegiance issues in their eyes…a friend of mine was just accepted as a diplomat and he speaks of the intrusive background and oral examination which includes a panel and one on one interrogation by various govt agencies, including The Agency…</p>
<p>on paper my scores and records are strong and enjoy the heavy reading and writing needed for an MA program. i guess i’m considering school mostly for the intensive study and opportunity to research as i have fairly strong ideas about topics…</p>
<p>my recent idea was to get in touch with the watson institute of IR (i went to Brown undergrad) and asking for guidance and from one of the profs who don’t mind taking an alum under their wing…possibly to parley that into research and making connections. </p>
<p>tulane is my closest option but they don’t have an IR program, although international law there is strong. i guess i’ll be cold emailing some of that dept for guidance but i’m wary alums get preference…</p>
<p>one question though: how much does gpa factor if your undergrad was some time ago?</p>
<p>Hi All, </p>
<p>I’m trying to decide between NYUs MA in International Politics and The Elliott School’s MA in International Affairs… finances aside, does anyone have any insight into how they stack up? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Great Thread, </p>
<p>Anyone have any insight on Boston University’s IR program?</p>
<p>Also, what are the best MA programs in IR for focusing on China. This would be for a non academic career.</p>
<p>GPA - 3.35
Double Major - Economics/International Relations
GRE- TBA</p>
<p>Are the top IR grad schools also reputable for their undergraduate IR programs (assuming they have one)?</p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggetions on the type of work experience that would be beneficial when applying to an IR Grad program? I just graduated with my BA and have been working for the County Board of Supervisors for the past 4 years (not exactly international) and was wondering if there were any suggestions as to places to look for jobs/internships or even volunteer work in the international field.</p>
<p>Although I am in California I am open to any suggestions regardless of their location.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!!</p>
<p>CalUGrad,</p>
<p>I’m actually graduating from a california university right now, and I’ve been using various job boards for job hunting. Foreign Affairs magazine has a good one, as does the Foreign Policy Association. If you’re willing to relocate, the Washington Post and NY Times are good places to start as well (those locations are where the bulk of the foreign policy apparatus is). Idealist.com is also great for overseas volunteer opportunities. </p>
<p>Despite the fact that MA programs want you to have job experience, a lot of jobs require an MA, leading to the old catch-22…</p>
<p>hi, i just graduated undergrad with a poli sci degree and minor in economics from a top 15 school (at least according to US News :)). my gpa is on the high side, my GRE was a little below average (670 Q, 680 V) but within the 50 % range. i wanted to do either a masters in economics or IR (at sais, woodrow wilson, harvard, columbia, etc.) </p>
<p>many of those schools look favourably on work experience, but for financial and other reasons (i also want a law degree among other things), i would rather matriculate sooner rather than later. How would they look at my application if i only spent 1 year out of school? I wanted to maybe do a language program in japan because it would be one of the few times in life i’ll have the time. should i work instead? do you all have any advice/is there anything i could do to make myself more attractive if and when i do apply?</p>
<p>Hi Johnny1010220,</p>
<p>I’m a current SAIS student and we have many students who just graduated from undergrad. Your academics need to be incredibly strong and you need to have good internships to get in without work experience. It sounds like your numbers are good and, honestly, a year of language in Japan would probably look just as good as a year of working. At the end of the day, you may or may not get in no matter what so you should do what you want to do and go to Japan. Like you said, you have the rest of your life to work; when else can you study for a year in Japan? If you can demonstrate passion, drive, and focus in your essay, I’m sure you have a good shot at admission. Make sure you apply to a few back up schools, but it sounds like you have a good shot at admission to a top program - go for it!</p>
<p>Best of luck,</p>
<p>SAISStudent</p>
<p>Is anyone going to the joint information session at SAIS, featuring SAIS, GU, SIPA, Fletcher and WWS June 17th?</p>
<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>I’m interested in an MA in International Relations/Affairs from a non-US school (Oxford, London School of Economics, The Graduate Institute in Geneva, etc.).</p>
<p>Does anyone know the rankings for non-US MAs in International Relations/Affairs?</p>
<p>My background - BA from Harvard in 2004, since then worked in Alaska, New Zealand, Singapore, and now Saudi Arabia. Not ready to go back to the US yet, so that’s why I’m looking to do my MA outside the US.</p>
<p>Any help with international MA rankings would be much appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>-Paul</p>
<p>To “intlrelations” re Elliott School vs NYU</p>
<p>All things being equal, GW is a better school for IR. </p>
<p>That said, I have no clue what your funding situation is or if you are currently located in NYC, both of which could be game changers.</p>
<p>Hi all. I’m in a bit of a spot and seeking some advice. I was waitlisted at IR/PS UCSD a while back, but offered spots at Chicago CIR and NYU GSAS Political Science/IR. They both had decision deadlines but I wanted to hear back from UCSD first, since my undergrad focus and interest is in Asia (specifically Japan), so I managed to buy time and they both told me that if I heard back and changed my plans it was okay to back out. So, UCSD just let me know recently (so late >-<), and I didn’t get in. I know, I should have determined for sure NYU vs. Chicago earlier. I was leaning towards CIR initially but then I started thinking about it again and I’ve been vacillating since. </p>
<p>CIR
-Cheaper by at least 10k, possibly 15-20 I think (CIR estimate is like 64k vs. NYU could be 75-80 depending on how long it takes to finish)
-Straight 3 quarters/9 months, doesn’t have possibility of lasting longer like NYU and thus costing more
-Better reputation/faculty? <- not sure about this one, any thoughts? Does the whole Chicago prestige/Ivy-ish reputation carry over to grad progs like CIR?
-Think I’d fit in more with intellectual than hiptser ish environment - these generalizations might apply more to undergrad though
-Has a campus
-Curriculum seems to allow for more interesting electives</p>
<p>NYU
-NYC is more international city
-Internship component is built into curriculum
-Not a straight academic year, allegedly very difficult to complete in a year without overloading on classes etc.
-Cost of living + extended curriculum = pricier
-Better (if drier) curriculum for jobs vs. Chicago (more theoretical etc)? Unsure of this
-Not too far from home
-Alumni and internship section on website seems to suggest more interesting paths (UN, World Bank, media like PBS, CBS, Economist, etc) than CIR website, if this is anything to go by</p>
<p>I’d really appreciate thoughts, especially from anyone who’s done CIR or NYU GSAS IR. I’d just go to NYU since it seems like it might be more helpful in terms of jobs (internship component, location), but CIR’s lower cost and reputation hold me back (like, if Chicago really is Ivy caliber, is it foolish for me to turn it down? Does the Chicago name make up for lack of internship component and such?) Apologies for the long post.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about the University of Kent in Brussels? The location seems ideal and it offers a range of specific degrees in International Relations, (Development,Security, Political Economy). I’m not sure that it has the name recognition like LSE, Georgetown, GWash or Johns Hopkins, however, it seems as though there are a lot of internship opportunities in Brussels. It’s also only one year as opposed to two years like most US programs. Although it’s a full calendar year, not just two semesters. </p>
<p>If anyone has heard anything, good or bad, please let me know! Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi, I’ve been looking though many of the graduate admissions websites and it looks like many of them emphasize the international development work of their current or former students in their student profiles, etc. It appears that many work at NGOs, especially in Asia or Africa. If I want to work in the private sector upon graduation, do admissions people look differently at those applications? I know that their websites list consulting and financial jobs that their alumni take upon graduation, but the seemingly lack of emphasis and excitement dedicated to private sector jobs is a little off-putting. Do any current students have any experience with applying to these schools with a future job in the private sector in mind?</p>
<p>johnny,</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about what they choose to put on their website. I was in the Denver security program and can attest to its strength (and it’s certainly known in the IR community), but you wouldn’t know we had one from looking at the front of Korbel’s website. It too was just full of pictures of students smiling with African kids and whatnot. I guess they do that because the humanitarian angle helps to get much-needed endowments from people outside the IR world, but that doesn’t mean that the people in the school/those in the IR field don’t take the program you were looking at seriously.</p>
<p>Just a quick question for you all, I was wondering if you would weight in on my prospects for graduate admissions into a top school</p>
<p>Currently a NCAA DI Athlete (Rowing) for 4 Years, 3.55 GPA, (Chemistry took me down, but then again, im not a chemist). Spent 1.5 Years in Italy studying, almost Fluent. Triple Major (International Relations, Political Science, Italian Studies). Just finished a graduate level course at Georgetown University (International Law and Security, made strong recommendations there and earned a high mark). But I’m a bit nervous, I’m fairly young (22) and will be 23 when I graduate, I have no work experience (thats my only downfall) but I was wondering if you could weigh in on my chances for a top 10 admissions to a graduate IR field. Additionally, I havnt taken the GRE but hopefully will score high. </p>
<p>Thanks,</p>