I’m a junior in high school, and does anyone know of schools which are great for IR? I’m from the Midwest but I’d really like to go to school on the east or west coast, or even international would be awesome! I’ve seen the results from the college search but I would like some feedback from real people!
1 Like
Two of the longest running programs are at Georgetown and Tufts. Many, many schools offer great IR programs as an interdisciplinary major. My advice is to think about which aspects of IR appeal to you and focus your search accordingly. This is particularly important for area studies within the major. I would look at the websites for both schools above to see how they align with your interests.
Dickinson has a good international business program. Earlham has a very interesting Border Studies program and a great Japanese department. I mention these because I am not sure either would show up in an IR list, but they probably fit the bill perfectly for some.
Is there a part of the world that particularly interests you?
1 Like
Majors such as IR do not provide you with a singular, marketable skill and is definitely more subjective in nature than a major in Computer Science or Mathematics. That means you need external factors determining you as a top candidate in this field. These external factors include publishing scholarly journals, writing books, and going to a top university. My friend is an IR graduate and he informed me that the most important parts of an IR degree are 1) Where you go 2) What level of degree you have (Doctorate, Masters, Bachelors) and 3) specialization. He received his master’s degree from a state university and had to work at a coffee place for two years before landing a job as a high school teacher. You have to be the master of say Chinese-Indian Relations or other examples, go to a top university or get a high-level degree in order to be marketable in today’s job market.
So, with all of that in mind, it is recommended to go to a top university (Georgetown, Tufts, Yale, etc.) and specialize the heck out of your studies.
South Carolina has an amazing program in International Business. The honors college is also very good.
1 Like
Hey! I’m from the midwest and interested in International Relations as well! In about three days I’m excited to say I’ll be headed off to Georgetown. After doing extensive research and talking to people whom work in D.C. (my uncle works for the world bank, worked under Obama as a lobbyist and has been the chief of staff for three different senators, so he is completely immersed in Washington and knows a lot about how it works down there. He also knew other people in D.C. that he referred me to), the consensus seemed to be that for IR, as well as most everything involving D.C., the golden ticket is Georgetown. It stands above all other schools for anything international. Now of course getting in doesn’t lock you in for a diplomat gig- you’ll have to work- but it’s still the best possible school if we’re just looking at prestige and placement in that field.
After Georgetown, you have Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Tufts, Hopkins, Berkeley, UVA, and GW ( the latter two would probably be the best safety/match for someone interested in IR who can’t swing any of the other schools- UVA is a bit harder than GW to get into but still roughly the same). All of these schools are fantastic and will open plenty of doors for you, but none are quite where Georgetown is, and if you’re interested in IR, Georgetown is the holy grail- I picked it over several of the other schools I just mentioned, and genuinely could not be happier.
Not sure what exactly in that field interests you, but if you want to be a Foreign Service Officer, here is a list of the top ten schools that feed into the Foreign service and the amount each sent in.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170104162620/https://schar.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/foreign-service-feeder-schools-1793x1267-1793x1267.jpg
Georgetown sent the most, as expected. Next was GW and a few other schools around D.C. who are up there just because of the sheer volume of kids who want to go into it. Then you have Columbia, Harvard, UVA, Hopkins, Berkeley and Yale. The fact of the matter is that most top schools will get you where you want to go with IR, but for anyone truly serious about it, Georgetown is where it’s at. It’s the best university in the capital of the most powerful nation in the history of the world, which comes with perks in many fields, but probably IR more than anything. You simply can’t beat it.
PM me if you want to talk or have any questions!
I’m an International Affairs student at George Washington University. With the exception of the ivy league schools and Georgetown (though we still at least hold our own), I’d argue we’re the best in the country. We’re literally across the street from the state department, and have phenomenal adjunct professors, internship opportunity, study abroad options, class choices, and ultimately job placement.
If you’ve got specific questions about GWU I’m more than happy to be a resource.
Also keep in mind during your research that international affairs/studies/relations are all the same thing, but international business is not.
1 Like
Seconding the above, adding in American, Northeastern, and BU to that list.
1 Like
One thing that might at least be worth looking at is the program at the University of Calgary:
http://poli.ucalgary.ca/undergraduate/degrees-programs/international-relations
1 Like
I majored in IR (fortunate to have had a career in international business for the past 25 years) I can say that IR can be quite marketable especially when paired with some type of business, marketing or economics degree. I’d also make sure to gain fluency in at least one foreign language. The schools to look at, many already mentioned above in addition to the Ivy schools: George Washington University, Georgetown, American University, Tufts, Boston University, Northeastern, University of Delaware (check out their World Scholars Program). I am sure there are many other great programs, I would definitely take into account the language(s) you plan to study at each school; that might help narrow down your search . As someone mentioned above, think about what aspect of IR is most interesting because it can encompass everything from foreign service to international business. DC is arguably one of the best places to obtain a degree in IR if your plans are to work in a Government/Policy/Foreign Service capacity.
1 Like
As stated above, an IR degree without foreign language skills equals high school social studies teacher or law school–fine outcomes, but not maybe what you envision.
William & Mary, Georgetown, Tufts, Macalester, as well as schools in the DC area are commonly cited as excellent places to go for international relations
1 Like
I’d add William and Mary and Holy Cross. Both have outstanding programs.
One international option: University Colleges in the Netherlands. Universities there (and in Europe generally) are much more professional and focused than in the US. University Colleges have been founded there over the last couple of decades to provide more of a liberal arts options.
Advantages: They cost something like $14k per year for US students, and it’s 3 years to a bachelors degree. Classes are in English and have an international focus. You are very close to much of Europe. The schools attract top students, many of whom will go on to grad school.
Downsides: Dutch students will obviously all speak English but may use Dutch more socially. Schools are very small. Class choices are limited. For example, for an anthropology major a student would take Anthropology 1, 2, and 3 for their major. These are very intensive year-long classes, but a student does not have much choice in focusing on a subfield.
Here are a couple of links to some of the leading schools. There are about a dozen or more total.
https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/university-college-utrecht
1 Like
Since this thread has evolved into advice for IR majors in addition to school recommendations, I thought I’d chime in with a few pieces of knowledge for you, and anybody else who stumbles across this page.
-
Know your opportunities. Lots of people study IR because they like learning about other cultures. Some because politics intrigues them. Some simply have deep seeded wanderlust. Others have watched a lot of “Homeland” and want to work for the CIA. But everybody should know this; IR majors can actually go into a variety of fields if they want to. An IR major doesn’t have a specific marketable skill for the workplace, like say, a computer scientist. Instead, IR is very versatile. There’s lots of paths to take upon graduation. You can work in public policy, national security, international business, at think tanks, nonprofits, for government contractors, in education, law, journalism, etc. It all depends on what you want to do, and how you apply yourself to get there. That being said, lots of these opportunities are competitive, and an IR degree isn’t easily measured by empirical data to help employers pick the best candidates. So how do you get hired? Well that brings me to #2 and #3…
-
Make sure to stand out in some regard. Having simply an IR degree isn’t going to look that great. Study abroad. Study abroad multiple times. Get awesome internships. Learn a language that isn’t street spanish or high school level french. Get another major that compliments IR. There are many things you can do. Pursue these avenues.
-
Networking is everything. Without proper networking and internships, (and especially without grad school as an option), many IR majors end up not working in the field that they envisioned, I would highly recommend looking into schools that can put you in front of prospective employers. If you’re into government related work (intelligence, policy making, foreign service, national security, etc), then the DC area schools are for you. If you’re interested more in nonprofits, business, academia, etc, the doors are a bit more open for you.
-
Language skills are often a secondary skill in terms of employment, but not often a primary skill or requirement for employment. I’m bilingual and am working on a 3rd language currently. I have used my language skills seldom in my internships that I’ve worked, but they undoubtedly gave me a leg up in the selection process. Regardless, studying a language is something you should absolutely do. Most schools mandate you study at least some language as a part of an IR major, but I would recommend studying even more than required. Furthermore, when picking a language, pick one spoken in a region of the world that you find interesting. Don’t study Arabic unless the middle east fascinates you. Don’t study german if you don’t appreciate their history. That may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do this. I have a friend who’s also an IR major who studies the German language, has a regional specialization in the middle east, and studied abroad in Spain. He’s confused why other people are getting picked for middle east-related opportunities that he’s applied to.
-
This is generally just good life advice, but if you’re interested in government work, make sure that you stay out of trouble. Don’t go drinking underage at a frat house or get a DUI. Don’t smoke weed in your dorm. Don’t cheat on your exams or plagiarize a paper. Don’t be a trouble maker in class. Don’t pick a fight with the rival schools mascot. Just don’t engage in any eradicate behavior. This is because a) you’re an idiot if you do these things, but also b) you may compromise your ability to obtain a government security clearance. A clearance is required for almost every position in a government agency. So don’t mess up your future with youthful stupidity.
1 Like
I’m on my third year of french and am currently taking spanish 1 to get the trilingual scholar award. I love languages and have had a deep passion for geography and learning about other cultures since I was three. I have also participated in another schools mun conference, and my friends and I are trying to start a model united nations club at our school this or next year. Thanks for the feedback, it’s super helpful. My mom got an IR degree at Baylor, but she knows now that a school like georgetown or gw would have suited her interests more. I am going to apply to NSLI-Y when the application comes out soon, and hopefully I can have a decent shot at it.
1 Like
Dickinson is a great option. They have a well established International Studies major and offer 13 different languages. Their study abroad program is also wonderful. For French they have study abroad sites in Toulouse, France and Yaoundé, Cameroon. For Spanish they have a program in Málaga, Spain and another one in Ecuador & Argentina (you spend time in both countries).
You sound a lot like my daughter in terms of being interested in other languages and cultures. She has taken classes in French, Spanish, Russian and Italian at Dickinson and she has found that the language departments are all wonderful. The classes are very small (especially at the higher levels) and the teachers are very approachable. The language clubs offer a multitude of cultural activities that you can participate in (movie nights, cooking classes, etc…).
They also offer a $10,000 (per year) multilingual proficiency scholarship.
1 Like
Wm & Mary combined with St. Andrews in Scotland program; also Pomona College, and Penn’s Huntsman Program
1 Like