Ranking International Relation Programs

<p>Which one do you guys think has the best combo. of a strong international relations program and strong overall academics:
Williams
Tufts
JHU
Rice
Wellesley
Chicago
... I know some of these schools (AKA Williams and Rice) don't really have IR programs (technically), but I am trying to decide where to go and I want to strike that perfect balance of strong academics in general (because, although I am dedicated to IR, I want to have a backup) and a really strong IR program. Thanks!!</p>

<p>At Williams, there is no technical IR major, but as a political science major, you have to choose one of the folllowing as your concentraion: American politics, comparative politics, political theory, IR, or you can create your own concentration. Choosing IR as your field of concetration is morally the same thing as being an IR major elsewhere. We also have an international studies concentration (which you may opt to fulfill in addition to, not as a substitution for, a major). International studies is a cultural, political, economic, and historical study of a region or of a theme, such as economic development. Honestly, there is no reason to worry that Williams does not differentiate between political science, as a broad study, and a IR when it comes to naming majors. After all, the only difference is an official name, and even this does not cause any problems, because on resumes and so forth, you indicate that your official concentration is IR in political science.</p>

<p>Other than that, Williams, I think, has a fabulous polisci major and a particularly strong program in IR. I think it is the most popular concentration in the(?) most popular major and the ratio of faculty members who researh IR in our department is indicative of Williams' capacity to offer many polisci majors strong preparation before graduation. I know Williams sends people to the best grad schools consistently. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with Williams' political science department.</p>

<p>If you have any questions about Williams or Chicago, do not hesitate to pm me. I also might be able to answer questions about JHU and Tufts...</p>

<p>hey guys. so college decisions are out. i have been thinking about double majoring in international relations and economics with a minor in spanish. unfortunately, i only got accepted to UVA and GWU and am on the waitlist for UPenn. If I were to go to UVA and follow up on my major/minor plans what types of chances would I have to get into any of the top IR graduate schools? Nobody on here has mentioned UVA or UPenn. Are they really that bad in undergrad IR? Any advice?</p>

<p>I responded to your GW vs. UVA posts on the GW boards.</p>

<p>European----Absolutely not. In my opinion, UVA, Penn, and GWU all have excellent Political Science departments and are highly regarded as prestigious schools for the social sciences and liberal arts. So you should take advantage of that.</p>

<p>Rankings are rankings. But for the most part graduate degrees are scrutinized more closely than undergraduate degrees. With undergraduate degrees from any three of those schools, assuming you excel in academics and show some professional comittment through internships, the top IR graduate schools will be very interested in your application.</p>

<p>But don't put the cart before the horse....although your far-sightedness is commendable, focus on your undergrad.</p>

<p>does anyone have approximate rankings or advice on good undergrad poli sci or econ programs - i'm interested in ir, poli sci, and econ, so i want to be able to check out my options and compare across the board.</p>

<p>I'm looking at going to a nice small LAC for the next four years. Yet, I want to go to get my MA in IR and JD, in some sort of joint programme (leaning towards Gtown). Do you think this is good. I'm kinda inclined to stay where I am because I have really good financial aid package, but would it be more advisable to transfer to a school more known for its IR undergrad programme to increase the chances I have at getting into a good graduate programme?</p>

<p>Not exactly sure, but grad programs will look at what you've done in comparison to what is offered to you. Something simlar to big fish in a small pond vs. moderate-sized fish in a large pond. I would stay where you are, especially with a decent-sized financial aid package. Work hard and you should be rewarded in the end.</p>

<p>for grad programmes, i think it's important to study in a department where you are interested in what the professors are researching. i'm doing a master's in global politics at LSE because i find david held and fred halliday's (among others) work really interesting. i'm interested in doing a phd in the future so it's important to get to know experts who are interested in a similar area of research (even if just to get a reference from them!).</p>

<p>also, you should know the department's area of expertise. what kind of theoretical approaches does it use? is it policy, theory or practically focused?</p>

<p>on a related note, which IR schools in the US are more open minded about alternative approaches? in the UK most universities (including top ones, such as LSE, Oxbridge, King's, etc) welcome constructivists, poststructuralists, feminists, etc, but i've been looking through the grad programmes at US universities and everyone seems to be working within realist or liberal paradigms. without getting into a debate as to the merits of various approaches to IR, do any <em>good</em> universities in the US teach non-mainstream IR?</p>

<p>a_rob,</p>

<p>Most of the top programs in the US lean toward liberalism or realism. However, there is some significant growth in constructivism, as well as a significant rational choice minority. </p>

<p>I tend to find that schools don't really work toward having a body of scholars with exactly the same approach, but instead toward a broad body with various styles and approaches.</p>

<p>What are some careers in IR that pay a reasonable amount of money?</p>

<p>Depends on what you consider "reasonable." I've noticed most of the high schoolers on the site seem to think that only $4M a year is reasonable, whereas I would consider anything over $45K a year to be a decent salary.</p>

<p>What's YOUR definition of reasonable? (make sure to take into account living costs of where you might like to live.)</p>

<p>$50k + starting salary. I wouldn't mind making $150k + per year though. ;)</p>

<p>Jonathan,</p>

<p>Well, it seems to me that most $50K+ers usually ask for an MA or its equivalent. </p>

<p>Also keep in mind that with a lot of government work, the benefits are fantastic. One job I considered with the CIA offered complete tuition were I to go for more schooling.</p>

<p>Wow. A job with the CIA? That would be so cool. Does the CIA offer career opportunities abroad? </p>

<p>I responded to your other post, btw. :)</p>

<p>Yes, the CIA does offer work abroad. Some of it is a bit more dangerous than I'd prefer, however... (cloak and daggery sort of stuff that I do not want to be involved in.)</p>

<p>But I think that one job listing I saw was intelligence analysis in branch offices. They suggested I consider work in Okinawa.</p>

<p>I chose to teach in the worst prefecture in Japan.</p>

<p>Proof that bright people may make dumb choices.</p>

<p>lol. Were there any opportunities in Europe or the Middle East?</p>

<p>I didn't really look, since it's not my field/specialty. But I bet that there are at least a few jobs available in every NATO country, as well as important American allies like Saudi, Israel, etc. </p>

<p>The only problem with government jobs is that they're not really subject to cyclical unemployment, and so spots don't open as much as in the market. Still good jobs, if you can snag one.</p>

<p>Thank you. :)</p>

<p>UCLAri - thanks for the reply. I had a look through a bunch of grad programmes and found that Brown looks like it has a really interesting group of scholars in its Watson Institute.</p>