<p>I wonder how undergrad ir fair in comparison to the grads school programm</p>
<p>Considering there is no undergrad ir ranking</p>
<p>This is an extremely informative site. </p>
<p>I’m currently an attorney w/ no previous experience in international affairs… other than an LL.M. in International Law from Georgetown; that’s getting pretty rusty from non-use. I’ve since, married an Indonesian woman and have been taking bahasa classes (not even close to the easy language people think it is), and would like to go into some sort of int’l business/Int’l relations position that in that area of the world. </p>
<p>I was wondering if UCLAri, or any other knowledgeable persons here, have any information about George Mason’s ICP program? Its seems to be 1/2 MBA and 1/2 MA, but wondering about others opinion of how well they are at placing people in international positions in the private sector. I’m thinking that I’d be interested most in SAIS, IR/IP, and the ICP programs. However, I was an average law student, and a mediocre undergrad student.</p>
<p>I also went to UCLA as an undergrad (double in econ & pol. sci.), but have never worked in either area. So would definitely need to brush up on my econometrics and stats. Any info is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Does Vassar or Bowdoin College have an IR major/minor? I looked on their website and I don’t think they do, but could I design one myself?</p>
<p>I know it sounds odd, but my D wants to study East Asia with a focus on its art/cultural aspect. she’s big on finding a good job after graduation. Any recommendations on school, recommendations on major/minor.</p>
<p>momFromWA you’re daughter wants to major in East Asia studies not IR. First of all in that case unfortunately with a degree in East Asian Studies its not just what you studied but what school you studied at (I was an East Asia studies major so I know first hand, luckily I went to a top school so that worked for me. But some of my friends that studied the same that went to lesser schools weren’t so lucky.). Any top school 20 in general will have a good East Asian studies program. If your daughter is interested in the Art aspect I would suggest UChicago. They have their own East Asian art museum.</p>
<p>Hi BlueJayBJ, This is great info. What do you do with your degree now? Did you have a minor or double major? What are the top 20 schools you can think of? She’s in love with the east coast and likes the dual program at Brown and RISD; but that’s a long shot. She is going to be the first exchange student with a school in Taiwan next spring; she will also have an independent study class next year in her junior year to really show off her ability/interests. She goes to a private school which doesn’t offer APs, but she will take AP Chinese herself plus a couple of SAT subject tests. I think she really needs to carve something out for herself instead of follow a well-designed “package” degree. </p>
<p>Any advice/thoughts will be helpful!</p>
<p>I was a single major in East Asian studies. What I did in high school that I really felt had me stand out was not so much my time in China (I spent a summer in China while I was in high school) but my activities in my town’s chinese community. In my opinion schools like to see what you do with the stuff you have in front of you instead of trying to go around the world and a lot of these admissions officers will be thinking “big deal this kid’s family has money. What did they do at HOME which shows me they are interested in it?”. Right now I go to a top university for a masters in IR and before I was a researcher at China’s top school and worked at a finance firm in China. Top schools for East Asian Studies with interests in Art would be: Columbia, Uchicago, UCBerkeley, UCLA, Washington University in St. Louis. Honestly as much as she wants to show interest in the subject, she needs to have very high grades to get into these schools. People that want to study Chinese are increasing at exponential rates and East Asian studies has probably become one of the more popular interdisciplinary majors now. Study abroad in China for high school students is the “it” thing now through private programs and rotary club. If you were hoping that would be what makes stand her out I think you will be disappointed. As I said before schools like to know what a student does with the stuff in front of him or her. If you feel the dual degree with Brown and RISD is a long shot then I’d look at state schools that have strong east asian studies program like Ohio State University, University of Hawaii, Michigan, Wisconsin, or Mid Tier Schools like NYU, GWU, USC with well known east asian studies programs but much much higher admission rates. The problem with carving a niche is the risk that someone will have the same niche but have much higher stats and show the same passion. Schools like NYU and GWU with relatively higher admissions rates, large EAS departments, and in metropolitan cds with lots of asian arts institutes might be a better bet for your daughter if you don’t feel she is a lock for a top tier school. Personally I would take a real honest look at your daughter’s grades and scores and make a list with her. The worst thing you can do is assume that her Chinese is a hook for an East Asian studies program. The kids applying to the same departments will have similar things. The regular package has to be there or she will lose out. My own high school taught Chinese and I go there to talk with parents and kids that wish to pursue an East Asia related degree in college. All parents think that going to China as an exchange or doing a Chinese SAT II will be the hook that gets their kid in. And I have to say to these parents that either completely don’t believe me or look horrified when I tell them every other kid that wants to study East Asia is doing the exact same thing. Your child needs to have top grades and scores to be competitive. I once had a parent that I feel was extremely delusional tell me how sending her son abroad to Beijing for a year for a high school exchange would be the hook that gets them into Princeton. Her son had good grades ( A- B+ range) and good scores (older score around a low 1400s), nothing spectacular. When I suggested that he shouldn’t apply early to Princeton looked like she was going to pitch a fit and refused to listen to the list of other schools I suggested. The end result, the boy applied early to Princeton and was rejected. He did not apply to any mid tier schools only top 20 and was rejected from many outright and waitlisted from the rest. Its rough nowadays for college and you need to think about a scale for colleges. Also if you’re child is not a heritage speaker I will state right now, DO NOT use the word FLUENT when describing her child’s language level. If you are not a heritage speaker and your daughter puts down fluent to describe her language level officers will think its bluster. I had to interview foreigners for my replacement in China most were just out of college and all put down fluent as their chinese level. After a quick test I excused them because none of them were really fluent. At most put down proficient.</p>
<p>BlueJayBJ, Thanks so much for all your info! My D is a sophomore, she’ll be volunteering at the local Asian art/cultural museum hopefully next month. It’s a prestigious museum with a selective application process, it’s affiliated with the Smithsonian etc. She will also use the independent study to tie her experience in Taiwan to showcase her thinkingand art. I know that won’t show up on her app but it can earn her awesome recommendation from school counselor or perhaps submit it to some contests. On top, she does have good GPA (3.8+) and she is a Johns Hopkins’ CTY kid, so her SAT should be quite strong. In the years ahead, she will be focusing on interning/volunteering at arts and Asian-themed places/events and local literary organizations. She’s quite a writer. So, that’s basically her plan before college. </p>
<p>Since art/cultural + asian studies might end her up on a sketchy career path, she might also minor or double major in other disciplines with a focus on socio-economic aspect. All is a bit unknown, but one thing is certain is she doesn’t like politics, she won’t go IR in many ways. If that’s the case, what colleges would you recommend? Brown/RISD dual program is a long shot as it has an admission rate of 3%.</p>
<p>It also seems to me that having a BA doesn’t really mean a whole lot these days, I see many young people going for Master nowadays, including yourself. Can you share your reasons why you are doing your MA?</p>
<p>Thanks bunch!</p>
<p>If she really wants to do Asian art as weird as it sounds I’d gear her towards a masters at Sotherby’s. Yes the auction house actually has academic training for arts including asian art. If your daughter is really serious about art I’d suggest the british school SOAS where they have a specific program in Asian Art for undergraduates. Yes unfortunately a BA doesn’t have the same value it used to and even though I found a great job abroad I love school and learning and decided to go back for my masters. Also having amasters from a top school does help for jobs if I decide not to go for a phD. But for Asian Art your daughter has no choice then to get a minimum for a masters to get a good related job.</p>
<p>Hey, you are so insightful and resourceful!! I didn’t know about the Sotheby’s nor the SOAS. My D would certainly consider going to school somewhere else. To be exact, she’s interested in contemporary arts and culture, not necessarily antiquity. She knows that there is probably no college program will match exactly what she wants and she is also very realistic about job aspects. She wants to make sure that she will make a career out of her study. I do see her continue onto grad school but who knows at this point.</p>
<p>If she’s interested in focusing on the socio-economic aspects of East Asia (she is not a biz nor politics person) with an interest in research and writing. What colleges come to your mind? </p>
<p>One other thing, I could be totally wrong, but it seems certain colleges require different SAT/GPA for their top programs. For example, USC might have an average of 1700 SAT but their TV/Film school looks for, say 2000 etc. I don’t understand how they can do that as you don’t declare major till the 2nd year. Am I right? I know this is true for the engineering program at some colleges, but Humanities study does not fall into this category.</p>
<p>Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Hey, so I was going to apply this year and by the time I apply I will have completed all the ASSIST courses that I need to complete. I will have over the needed amount of units, and roughly a GPA of around 3.2-3.3. My initial question was whether or not I can do anything else in the next 2 monthes that will increase my chances of getting admitted with the major…</p>
<p>I was primarily thinking about UCD for IR and UCI for IS if that helps you at all.</p>
<p>Furthermore, is the major impacted? Will it be difficult to get in because of the major that i’m choosing? I would think not, but you never know… hopefully that’ll help my chances. Anyways all advice would be helpful. Thank you.</p>
<p>TaLLLuDWiG718 –</p>
<p>I come from California and was admitted admission to both schools for IR/IS. From what I know both UCD & UCI’s IR/IS programs aren’t impacted (pretty sure I researched into this when I applied to schools). The 3.2/3.3 GPA might be a little offsetting to colleges like Davis but I know UCI’s admission shot up last year and I had friends who had 3.3s and 1700s get in. What was your SAT score? I would say 1700-1900 would be a good bet on both schools!</p>
<p>Anyways, I don’t really think there is something you could do within the next 2 months to boost your application. Coming from California (or at least where I lived), I found it difficult to have the internship, volunteering, and job opportunities geared towards IR that other students had on the east coast. Hopefully you have it down already because the end of the college application process isn’t when you should be asking those questions! Haha. Good luck!</p>
<p>Is there any way to combine biology and international relations? I know it sounds like a weird combination, but I’m very interested in both. I am planning on majoring in biology and then going on to get a PhD in biology, but I am also hoping to add international relations as a second major. I was wondering if their was any careers that involve both subjects?</p>
<p>Hello,
I’m currently a freshmen and am Highly interested in International Studies. What would be a good double major for it? I’ve though about Poli Sci with a focus in International Relations and Geography. And insight would be great. Thanks!</p>
<p>Re: Post #793
- There is no rule that says a double majors or major/minor or certificate combinations need to be related to each other. Follow you interests.</p>
<ol>
<li>Many IR major programs offer a number of thematic subspecialty options. Some common options are global health and international environmental issues. Both of these would be relevant for a biology major. Programs in global health and in environmental studies often are offered as freestanding major, minor, and certificate programs as well. Some public land grant universities also offer programs in such areas as biosecurity, international agriculture, etc. which might be relevant to certain bioscience subspecialty majors. A few school also offer programs in marine affairs/policy which would be of interest to those with a focus on marine biology. So, there are many possible ways to combine biology and international relations.</li>
</ol>
<p>Re: Post #794</p>
<p>There are a number of fields that combine well with IR. Some possibilities: economics, languages & area studies, environmental studies, international agriculture, agricultural/resource economics, geography, religion, history, journalism, communication, business, American studies, etc.</p>
<p>@kimbrianj thanks for your advice, i have a few things I can add to my application because i recently got a small (very small $9/hr) tutoring job on campus with a program called pass the torch. also i’m taking a leadership class for that job and the program said you can put that on the section where it’s like pre-education enrichment or something. About my SAT scores, Uhhh, I’m a transfer – do I still need to submit that stuff? Maybe I should continue my research.</p>
<p>Hi I am hoping to major in IR and got accepted to both AU, UCSD, BU, and U of W.
I am really torn between AU and UCSD.
I got into SIS with a 20,000 scholarship but AU is still a little more expensive but affordable.
I’m planning to go to grad school (probably law school) after I graduate.
So overall which school would be a better choice?
Thanks!</p>