<p>well I am really in love with American by it's description... I really need to go visit. I don't know if I'd like living in Washington D.C though...</p>
<p>GPA matters big time for Law School... so obviously going to American with nice scholarships and getting a 4.0 would be better than going to Cornell and getting a 3.0 with no scholarship and having loans up my ass..</p>
<p>it's not that I don't think I couldn't make it at an ivy.. it just seems more practical to go to somewhere like American..</p>
<p>Okay - I'm an international and I'm going to major in IR
I'll start ranking them - any feedback is welcome</p>
<p>IR
1. Georgetown - you can't beat GT in IR
2. Columbia - It's in NY, and there's the 5 year program
3. Harvard - Kennedy school offers a pretty good program similar to IR.
4. Stanford/Princeton - these schools have pretty good IRs, espeically<br>
Princeton with the Woodrow Wilson school
4. JHU - It's really good, prestigious and there's the graduate school which is the most famous in the country
5. Tufts - Tufts has lots of resources from the Fletcher School </p>
<p>International Relations and business
1. UPenn-Huntsman : This is the best
2. NYU : NYU has a small IR department but it's good. You can design your
own major so that you can do both
3. Columbia: Columbia won't be that focused in the two majors but it's one of
the few unis that gives some emphasis to business in the
econmics major
4. Chicago : Chicago is famous for its economics - you can get a good start
on business and IR is an okay program there.</p>
<p>But for IR and Business, I really don't think there are many schools that offer GREAT courses </p>
<p>The reason schools like Stanford and Berkeley are not on my list, is because of their specific programs. Of course, if you get a graduate degree from Berkely in International Studies (which is different from IR/IA), you're better off than an IR degree from GeorgeWashington. (Stanford doesn't even have a dedicated grad-program) Any undergrad degree from Princeton/Stanford is better than one from Syracuse.</p>
<p>But when I ranked these specific programs, I was ranking the programs and not the value of the degree. A PoliSci degree from Princeton will get you into international-relations circles better than an IR degree from George Washington (thats obvious). My ranking reflects the expertise of the program. The size, dedication, research of the department and the level/research of professors at the department. </p>
<p>ALSO, (and this is a big "also") if the program delt with International Relations or Affairs specifically. While comparitive politics, international studies, and other majors are similar, they do not necessarily teach the same things. "international and area studies" at UC Berkeley is a great degree that will propel you into the International Relations arena very well, but it is NOT teaching you International Relations. So, if we were making a list of "value of the degree", then Pepe's list would be more accurate and my list would be substantially different. But we're actually ranking the specific program. Thats why I named this thread, ranking IR programs, and not "which PoliSci/IR/IS/whateva degree is a better value" (cuz if we did rank the "value of the degree", then you have to deal with overall value of the university, between separate loosely smilar degrees, univ. connections, name-recog, etc. etc. - all of which has been nicely ranked by US-News & World Report.)</p>
<p>Side note: Princeton's public-policy/affairs department is good, but doesn't even offer a graduate IR degree. Its also very limited as to the "international" courses that are taught by professors in this department. And you can't use public-policy as a piggy back to IR, otherwise Syracuse should be ranked higher because it has the #1 public-policy program in the country. In other words, Princeton should not be on any top 5 lists for IR.</p>
<p>American IS a good school, and I don't see how there are better internships at Harvard for IR.. it's not in DC, and that is really what matters. I am at AU now majoring in international studies (and in the honors program) and I work HARD, I study all the time, classes are challenging, professors are amazing, the city is awesome, and the many famous and non-famous speakers who come to campus that have to do with political science and IR are great - they are in DC anyway for their work, and they just "stop by" and have an event - this can't happen so often at schools outside of DC. AU has really good merit aid, which schools like Georgetown don't have at all. It also does have a 5 year BA/MA program for several different Masters degrees within the School of International Service. It is also very well known within the "IR realm".</p>
<p>If anyone wants to know more about AU, feel free to contact me.</p>
<p>i can't seem to find anywhere that columbia has an IR program. i've looked on their website and ended up on a grad school page with an IR program.</p>
<p>I'm going to Georgetown SFS next year and I'm pretty sure that I want to enter the foreign service or be an interpreter or something after I graduate, so most likely not looking at law or business school. I really want to go to Columbia for grad school, so I was just wondering what I should be doing during undergrad to be able to get into a top grad school after. I don't want to turn the next four years of my life as simply a road to a good grad school, but it would be helpful to just know what to keep in the back of my mind during my time in college.</p>
<p>Hi, interesting thread so far, I was wondering what anybody knows about the Monterey Institute for International Studies. I saw it didn't make any top 10 lists but from people I work with (I'm an ESL teacher) they seem to think it's a premier school. Do any of you know anything about this school and it's reputation in the professional world? Thanks.</p>
<p>I heard it's the best schools for preparing translators and interpreters, but haven't really heard anything about its reputation with international relations</p>
<p>The Monterey Institue is also a military-run institution, so you have to complete boot camp and the like and you are required to serve time in the military. However, i think its free? because its paid for by the gov, but im not sure.</p>
<p>I am currently a high school sophmore, and i think i want to do some kind of international business as a career when im older. i was wondering what course i should most likely be thinking about- should i major in international business as an undergrad and leave it as that, or should i major in international relations undergrad then go get a business degree seperate. i really have no idea here so any help is greatly appreciated. you can also email me at <a href="mailto:jewballer223@hotmail.com">jewballer223@hotmail.com</a> and it would be greatly appreciated. any help would be great. thanks</p>
<p>My bad about the whole monterey thing. I was thinking of the Defense Language Institure, also located in monterey but not what eschiff was talking about.</p>
<p>AU is a GREAT school for IR!!! I almost picked it over a small LAC last year because I loved their IR program and thought it had the best resources. But I chose to go to the LAC for smaller classes for foreign language studies and broad liberal arts curriculum... I can't say that I regret my decision not to go to AU but there's always grad school :) You don't get liberal arts education in grad school.</p>
<p>But yes, if I decide to get a Masters in IR, AU would definitely be on my list.</p>
<p>JWander,
Pitts is definitely a good program, not in my top 10, but still a very solid program. </p>
<p>Tickle/other-person
As for AU (I'm assuming you mean Auburn and not Athens Univ.) and Montgomery, I've heard they have IR programs, but I haven't heard really anything about them. But I doubt they match to even Pitts' programme</p>