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I'm a native of Korea so I speak Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, German, and basic Spanish.
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<p>Why don't most of my coworkers speak at least a couple languages? Hah. I was hoping that the English here in Korea would at least be a step above Japan... no such luck.</p>
<p>The best undergrad programs for IR, in my opinion, are just programs with top political science departments and other top schools. You're best off getting a strong overall education than worrying too much about getting into a "top" IR program. In the end, better econ and math skills will carry you farther than a strong understanding of neorealism anyway...</p>
<p>I just want to clarify that I speak Korean since I'm from there but I immigrated here long ago and learned Chinese and Japanese here in the States. Are you saying that in order to study IR, you don't necessarily have to major in IR? What are some schools with strong programmes?</p>
<p>I'm biased because I'm in the DC area but I'd say that just from talking with faculty and students of various places the best bets for an undergrad IR program are:</p>
<p>Georgetown University SFS
George Washington University Elliot School
American University SIS
Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>With all those languages, a strong esssay and good grades you have a GREAT shot at American, a good shot at George Washington and with Georgetown - you never know. It would probably be easier to get into a language program through Georgetown's College and then double-major or minor in IR if that's possible.</p>
<p>That's exactly what I'm saying. The people I know at the top IR grad programs went to a very wide variety of undergrads. And really, the best skills to learn to be an excellent IR scholar mostly like in statistics, econ, and your core political science courses.</p>
<p>Most, if not all, political science departments in the US offer IR in some way. You will get mostly the same education and leave yourself more open to an excellent foundation in other skills.</p>
<p>SmileDarling,</p>
<p>There are excellent programs in DC, to be sure. However, I don't think that you really need a place like SFS (as good as it is) to excel at the undergrad level in IR.</p>
<p>You're completely right UCLAri - you don't need SFS to excel but it'd be nice to have that experience. Plus it's cheaper than GWU. Go with a strong academic environment that you feel comfortable in and where the faculty seem knowledgeable and eager to teach.</p>
<p>What I'm saying is that the specialized IR programs are not necessary at the undergrad level. The best equipped IR scholars are, for the most part, educated in a variety of areas-- economics in particular. I think that the smartest route for an undergrad looking to make a career in IR is to focus on strong quantitative and IR skills. </p>
<p>That, and avoiding mountains of debt. IR-types don't tend to be the richest people.</p>
<p>hehe, another question for you. I've actually heard you talk about the importance of economics a few times in this thread. My question is, how much of a "focus" should be put in? Would it be so much as a minor/major in econ, or just some classes? Thanks again</p>
<p>I'm doing an IR undergrad but I don't plan on pursuing an IR master's, working for the government or anything like that. I'm more interested in going into journalism or law school. I defintely want to try working for a few years after college, though. Is it really necessary for me to minor in economics? Also, in my situation, will not having a second language be very detrimental? The only language I grasp is Spanish; however, Latin America isn't the area I would like to focus on... after reading all 38 pages, I have a huuge headache. Thanks guys. :)</p>
<p>ditto on the headache.
I am at Florida State University and unlike many of the top schools it does not have a degree directly in IR, but it is a subfield of PoSc. I concentrate in that and will be minoring in Middle Eastern Studies. Does anyone have advice on internships oveseas, as well as the Peace Corp?</p>
<p>What exactly are the job opportunities in the US for a foreigner graduating from a Top 10 IR Master's program? Could I use it to get a job with my government (France) back home or find a job in the public sector in the US? (I'd like to be a international policy advisor)</p>
<p>My goal is to work in the Middle East somewhere. I am in the first semester of my junior year and am still so confused on a minor. I have chosen Middle Eastern Studies, but it doesn't sit right. Any help from the gallery?</p>
<p>It's not necessary, but it helps. You always want a second language for top IR programs.</p>
<p>dustym,</p>
<p>Advice for internships abroad is hard to give, as the opportunities differ quite a bit. </p>
<p>zules01,</p>
<p>You are shut out of almost all the major government bodies in the US, since you cannot get a clearance of any kind. As for work in France, I don't know how the job market works over there-- but I can make some jokes... ;)</p>
<p>dustym (second post),</p>
<p>Major and minor in what your interests are. Don't worry about impressing anyone.</p>
<p>Internationally focused NGOs tend to take large numbers of IR folks, as do think tanks and intergovernmental organizations. Outside the public sector, you have international development contractors, consulting and ibanking firms, internationally focused divisions of major corporations, media outlets, political/economic risk analysis firms, and many more that I am too tired to remember.</p>
<p>I apologize if my question does not belong in this category but I would like to know what are some mediocre IR graduate schools? I don't think my grades will get me accepted into the top schools (Colombia, etc) so I don't even wanna bother trying. I'm afraid of asking my employers to write all these recommendation letters and end up not getting accepted to any..it would be embarassing to have to ask them to write me another round of recommendation letters. Please give me a list of some mediocre schools that i could try applying for and one last question is how hard is it to get accepted into NYU's global affairs program? Should I not bother applying for it?</p>
<p>Grades aren't everything that matter. If money is not an issue and if you believe you can handle such top programs' curriculums, I strongly recommend you to apply to them. Work experience and SOPs seem to hold the most weight in grad applications.</p>
<p>u could try LSE.
If you have above a 3.0 then you might have a chance because LSE is greedy and just wants ur money, so they accept many more americans than they do british proportionaly just because most people need financial aid there, but they dont give any to the US students.</p>
<p>Also, i highly doubt that NYU's program is mediocre. Far from it. Definitely not UCSD,Columbia,JHU,Georgetown.
But i do know NYU at undergrad level has one of the best programs out there for IR.</p>
<p>Ok, so I got through the first 30 pages, but have a quick question. I'm a dual citizen (US and Canada), but the rest of my family is Canadian. Would this disqualify me from working for the CIA or NSA?</p>