Ranking International Relation Programs

College Majors
761

<p>I am hoping someone can offer some advice. I apologize if a similiar question has been answered previously in this monster thread.</p>

<p>I am entering college with intentions of a double major in international studies and economics with plans to pursue graduate studies. I have a language based learning disability and have serious doubts about being successful at mastering ANY foreign language, and will have the opportunity to complete my degrees with language substitution classes (cultural studies).</p>

<p>Is there a program and a career path in my future that least emphasizes foreign language but still encompasses international studies and economics?</p>

762

<p>This thread has been extraordinarily useful for answering most of my grad IR-program questions, so thanks to everyone for that. Here are two more specific questions:</p>

<p>I’m currently finishing my second year teaching English in Japan through the JET program, graduated from Whitman College (a tiny Liberal Arts college in WA) in 2008 with a B.A. in Economics and a 3.6 GPA, and worked for 2 months at the Port of Seattle’s Department of Social Responsibility before JET with small business development. Now I’m aiming high and applying to most of the top IR programs mentioned in this thread, looking to focus on International Development.</p>

<p>My first question is, how much will the unrecognized name of Whitman College hurt my chances? Do GRE scores and the other application elements tend to overcome a no-name undergrad college?</p>

<p>My second question regards who to choose for my third letter of rec. I have one undergrad econ professor and my supervisor from JET already registered. The options for the third are my former boss at the Port of Seattle (only 2 months but it was relevant work and she seemed to like me well enough), another Whitman Econ professor (who I had a less close relationship with but is familiar with my academic abilities), or the President of a volunteer organization I work with closely here in Japan coordinating community events and philanthropy fundraisers and activities (drawback is her official position is also an Assistant English Teacher).</p>

<p>This is painfully specific, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>

763

<p>Princeton has a the woodorw wilson international school of public and international affairs!</p>

764

<p>I am extremely interested in IR, particularly security studies and all that deals with the Middle East. Unfortunately, I am currently in my second year at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI. The school is far from serious and I am only here because I did not do much in high school. With that said, I am currently in the process of applying to American University for undergrad admission in the fall. I am an International Business major with a 3.25 GPA but by the time my transcript goes to American, I will have anywhere from a 3.45-3.55. I also have about 5 withdrawals on my college transcript due to having to go home and deal with family issues that kept me from staying up with the JWU attendance policy. I hear its always easier as a transfer. They do not require SAT scores or high school records, thank god. I also have a recommendation from a professor who is a harvard MBA. </p>

<p>I know this sounds bleak, but with a solid essay and a 3.5 GPA, do i stand a chance as a transfer?</p>

765

<p>for IR undergrad: if one is a native new yorker: which to choose- berkeley, or nyu</p>

766

<p>I plan on majoring in IR or PR and was wondering, for all those who want to do the same, what career do you have in mind?</p>

767

<p>I’d like to get some opinions regarding IR/undergrad.:</p>

<p>Scenario: - highly interested (not 100% sure) in majoring in IR (history, politics, economics,
languages = forte)
- definetely would like to minor in creative writing
- deciding between AU & TCNJ</p>

<p>Qs: 1. Is there a tremedous difference in the quality of the classes between the AU & TCNJ (and how important it is for undergrad. IR major, if one wants to coninue to master program?)
2. If TCNJ offers relatively good academic ground in this major, is 20k difference in total cost betwwen AU & TCNJ worth the internship ooportunites that AU claims to provide (based on the location and faculty network,etc)?
3. how important are the internships for getting into the good master program?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

768

<ol>
<li>Re: quality of classes, only people who’ve gone to both colleges would know the answer to that question. But I’ve never heard of TCNJ… I think you’d be better off going to a well-known state school if you wanted to split the difference between cost and quality of education. AU is a pretty good school, but not a top 50 school for undergrad. As for majoring in IR, yes, it’s important, but people come from all sorts of majors. It’s not a requirement. Just be sure you take and do well in a few economics/statistics classes…even some math classes if you can.</li>
<li>No. Being in DC would be better in general for internships, but 20k difference for American University? I would advise you not to go into debt for your undergraduate education betting AU will set you up for better internships (and an MA program). Guess how much MA programs in IR cost, and add that to your undergrad debt. I’ve interned with the State Dept, a US Senator, the Justice Dept, and a (if not the) top foreign policy think tank in the US, and I’m from Seattle.</li>
<li>If you want to try to get into one of these programs straight out of undergrad, the odds are overwhelmingly against you. But if you are going to try, internships are essential. The only recent grads they accept are ones with substantial internship experience. I think the average age of entrance for SIPA is 27, for example. Most people have 5+ years professional experience before getting accepted.</li>
</ol>

<p>Lastly, don’t bet on knowing anything about what you want to do before college. Just don’t. I was absolutely positive I knew what I wanted to do after graduating high school, and halfway into college as well, then I did a 360 and went the IR route. Just concentrate on getting into the best college you can and getting great grades. Worry about grad school later… much later.</p>

769

<p>Good advice from Atican</p>

<p>It’s more important to do well with any undergraduate degree than where -if it’s a good state school, so be it. Just realize that IR-related internships in DC/NY during your undergraduate years would likely be during the summers where they are much more competitive (All college students in the US are trying to get one). Whereas the DC/NY colleges e.g. - students can do part-time internships throughout the academic year with less competition and costs (Summer internships in DC/HY are unpaid and housing/meals are costly). Factor this in with the reduced costs of a “State” school versus a DC school for example.</p>

<p>In my opinion - you’ll need a graduate degree in IR to really “go” places. So, get a good undergraduate degree/major as Atican said, keep a high GPA, and prepare and do well on the GRE - you’ll be set. Then apply to “The” colleges for IR as a graduate student - even the expensive ones offer financial aid, merit scholarships, fellowships, TA postions to assist with costs - it’s only 2 years, not 4.</p>

<p>CJ</p>

770

<p>First of all: a big, hearty THANK YOU to everyone who’s shared their experiences and imparted guidance in this thread! Sadly, discourse seems to have dropped off a bit since 2007, but I hope that previous contributors (UCLAri, Incredulous, CaliforniaLawyer, etc) still check the thread from time to time. </p>

<p>I’m a senior at a UMass Boston (a mid/low tier state university), getting ready to apply for grad school Fall, 2011. I’m a bit of a non-traditional student: messed around too much in college my first go around, atrocious GPA, took some summer classes at another school, community college for a year, then up and joined the Marines in 2004. I’ve been back for just over a year now, and my GPA for these final two years of my undergrad at this school so far is pretty strong (3.93, for the year that I’ve been here). I’m also writing an undergrad thesis on Sino-Iranian relations, enrolled in a graduate course here (Globalization and Development), and my GREs are pretty decent (620v, 760q, still waiting for writing score). </p>

<p>I’ve also done some research and shortlisted my schools and programs to five, in order of descending preference: GTown, Security Studies/SFS; GWU, Security Policy/Elliot; American, Comparative Regional Studies/SIS; Tufts, MALD; BU, IR. I was in DC about a month ago and met with admissions officers from GTown and AU-- my average GREs are on par with the scores from the latest admitted cohort. But I have some anxieties.</p>

<p>First, is how my abysmal performance the first time I was an undergrad will affect my application. Second, my work experience, though valuable and enriching in many ways, did not have much to do with IR. I would imagine graduate admissions are looking for work related experience, and use that as a metric to see how an applicant has applied his/her undergraduate knowledge. Since my work experience came before I finished my bachelors, I wonder if that will have an adverse impact on my application. Another caveat to this is that for the schools that require letters of recommendations from past supervisors from a professional setting, I have fallen out of touch with most of mine, and the ones who knew me best are about 2-3 years removed from the last time we worked together. Some aren’t even around (deployed, retired, etc). Consequently, I feel awkward in asking for these letters since so much time has elapsed. I did intern briefly at a foreign policy think tank this summer though, but a recommendation from there would be much less informed about my work and me as a candidate.</p>

<p>Finally, my top two choices are for Security Studies programs… I originally reasoned that this is kind of the fast track to employment in the US Intelligence Community, which is where I want to be. Lately, I have been concerned over the potential limitations of such a specific terminal degree, and wonder, if I might be better served with a more generalist IR degree. Should I consider applying for GTown’s MSFS over its SSP?</p>

<p>I welcome any advice or guidance on my situation!</p>

771

<p>I wouldn’t go directly to grad school for IR.</p>

<p>You should get your first job, then go back to school. Plus, you might get an employer to pay for it.</p>

772

<p>Counterhit121, I agree with BIGeastBEAST. </p>

<p>You should be able to write a great essay about everything you just said. Despite the current fiscal environment, the IC is hiring. Go to usajobs.gov to see the availability. With your military combat experience and background, they’d be glad to have in any of several capacities. And tuition assistance for a master’s would likely be around 75%; or, you might even qualify for a fellowship to Tufts or GW. Language training is a plus, too.</p>

773

<p>I must have missed where CounterHit11 states he has combat experience, all I saw is that he states he was a Marine so he easily could have been a POG.</p>

<p>There is no fast track to gain employment with intelligence agencies, especially none that are academic related. I think going to grad school for this sort of thing without having a job within the field first would be very stupid. You could drop alot of time and cash on an expensive degree then not get hired - most don’t.</p>

<p>The best route is via the military. You get a clearance and can work inside intelligence rather easily. Anyone can walk into an Army recruitment office and sign up to work in intelligence, ditto any other branch. You just need to complete the training. Intelligence agencies recruit heavily from the military, especially Officers.</p>

<p>I disagree with the previous poster who said how the intelligence community is hiring and “they’d be happy to have you”, silly. Sure, intelligence agencies are hiring, they are huge government agencies and suffer from retirement and attrition just like any other organization. However, entry-level positions (GS 5-7) are slim nowadays for 0132’s and other positions that provide real intelligence opportunities.</p>

774

<p>What can Berkeley’s MA in International and Area Studies allow me to do? Or better question: What is the difference between a Masters in IR and an LLM in International Law assuming I have my JD.</p>

775

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>Ive been accepted by SIS (with full tuiton award) and SIPA (with loan), i am goin crazy about deciding! could you give me some insight?</p>

776

<p>SogiaGrad,</p>

<p>All else being equal, I believe that IR programs are best done for free, assuming you are interested in public industry work, which tends to pay less than you may need to live comfortably with private university loans. What are your career goals?</p>

777

<p>I’m inquiring about the UCSD undergraduate IR program? Any opinions on it? Preparation, internships, and experience? Thanks!</p>

778

<p>there is no military requirement for the Monterey Institute that is affiliated with Middlebury.</p>

779

<p>Yale has an International Studies and a Global Affairs undergrad major at the Jackson Institute. Same as IR.</p>

780

<p>Hi
I’m looking/applying to grad programs on the West Coast. I realize this isn’t the best place to be for DC networking, policy jobs, or really being part of the scene. It seems that IR/PS at UCSD is well-regarded, as well as Stanford. Stanford is really expensive, though just a one-year program. I spoke with an IR/PS alum who said that a significant part of the program resembles “math boot camp,” and that the curriculum is more similar to an international mba. Is this true? Does anyone know about Berkeley’s program? It looks like only a doctorate…
Thanks!</p>