Hi, I want to seek your help with my intended minor.
In a previous thread, I’ve briefly explained my choice of Linguistics as the major. Due to the nature of my dream, a very apt option for an accompanying minor is International Studies. Its name vary between colleges, as the title of this thread suggests, but some other common combinations include Global Affairs and World Relations.
Some colleges only offer Linguistics as a minor - in that case IS/GA/WR will become my major. At any rate, I want to get the big picture as accurate as possible, to learn how the world works by identifying its inner machinery and the hidden driving forces, and how to best affect its course with the available resources. For that purpose, it seems the name of the minor does influence its offerings. I have the impression that GA focuses more on the world’s issues and try to find solution; IS just wants to study as much about the globe as possible (with a touch of concentration on the variety of cultures); and WR’s emphasis revolves around politics and policies. Is it correct? For me, it looks like GA will suit me best - what do you think?
Secondly, I’d like to ask you about all the (top 200) colleges with excellent department in this field. Those having a separate school dedicated to it, such as Notre Dame, must be good, right?
Beyond what you have posted, consider that majors with an international orientation (irrespective of their names) can be fairly specific (even if variable) in their direction. For example, you may be expected to focus on a particular theme, such as democratization, or to study a particular region. In researching international studies programs further, this site may be of interest:
As a suggestion based on your interests, perhaps consider the merits of a basic government or political science major, which would offer you a broad grounding across several subfields of political science, including in international relations:
Alternatively, if you would like to emphasize practical approaches to complex issues, consider colleges with an available major in public policy (which relies on the fields of political science, economics and philosophy for its foundation):
I worry you are putting way too much thought into this vs. just going for it. Many/most colleges will have poli sci - and have an international leaning. Some will have solid programs in the area- UGA has an IR school and Indiana has the Hamilton Lugar School of International Studies.
If they have linguistics, they’ll likely fit in regards to international politics, etc.
My daughter’s college has a linguistics minor and she’s an “International Scholar” - and got lots of $$. College of Charleston. That said, I don’t see the minor as being robust enough for your linguistic needs. You should go to school with a linguistics major and then attack the international relations/studies from there (in my opinion).
Notre Dame is a fine school - if you’re catholic and rich.
I thought that, when viewing as individual programs, linguistics and GAISWR are not very related? BTW, politics is a field I personally don’t really want to get so deep into.
That’s what I’m doing. It’s just that a thought occurred to me about researching a bit into this second most important thing (academically).
IR & its variants are very popular, core bread & butter major for most universities, meaning that a list of all the “top 200” colleges with excellent departments will be too long to be helpful.
you are on the right track in sorting out what the main focus of a program is, with politics at one end of the continuum and culture at the other. Unfortunately, the names are often unhelpful, so don’t get too attached to the specific labels.
Broadly, there’s not much in the way of ‘hidden’ driving forces (they are pretty well understood, and covered in intro courses such as AP World). Understanding a particular situation- teasing out what the forces are at work in any given situation typically involves a combination of knowing the history of the region/situation and identifying which drivers are relevant.
sounds like straight up pubic policy and international development. Take a look at some course descriptions and see if they are a fit. If so, add them to your IS/GA/WR list, and:
Because this is an area of strength at so many colleges and universities, and because it is your secondary area of interest, it looks like a good decision variable as you evaluate other schools. As you short list places for linguistics, do a deep-ish dive into what IS/GA/WR/[PP/ID] looks like at those particular schools and how interesting they seem to you. This really is an area in which how the program suits your interests is key.
I think what you may find is that a university that has a school dedicated to these studies has ancillary benefits. My knowledge is from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. One outgrowth of the school is that alums often come back and give presentations which puts the study into context. Or, alums or others with real world experience come back as guest lecturers or professors. Finally, there are extensions to the study - meaning that language studies extend beyond language - SFS requires “proficiency” in a language which includes understanding the culture, politics, and other practices relevant to the areas that speak that language, not just fluency in the language - this seems right in line with your desire to “learn how the world works by identifying its inner machinery and the hidden driving forces, and how to best affect its course with the available resources.” There may also be a wide range of classes supporting the study. When I was at Georgetown I took a business class taught in Spanish - which covered how business was done in Spain and Latin America and introduced me to structures, processes, and, importantly, vocabulary that enabled me to conduct business in Spanish - something that academic fluency (meaning pure higher level language classes) won’t always provide. Good luck!
Thanks, I’ll look at the list of courses to see if something rings. Due to the inflation of terms, let’s call the field ISAV (international studies and variations) from now on.
That’s… right. While I won’t be able to thoroughly grasp the ins and outs of all areas of the world, having schoolmates who are adept at particular regions will definitely help with the prospect of project collaboration.
BTW, what do you say about Colgate and UoRichmond’s ISAV? My list is having 20 names, and these 2 occupy the bottom half. I can’t seem to shorten it down further, so I’m kinda looking for a reason to kick some out.
Sorry - no insight into Colgate or Richmond’s programs. When I was applying there was a small universe of programs focused on these topics and I ended up at Georgetown. Not sure if this is helpful - but how do these stack up in terms of size of program (number of peers in similar lanes can be valuable) and what is the percent of international students - those can be very helpful in providing insight to other regions and real world flavor. Good luck!
OP, you are a non-traditional international student with very, very specific goals. You keep asking questions of CC posters w/o telling them the context, and in most cases that means their responses are a waste of their time- and yours.
You want quite a lot of different things from your undergrad degree, and slicing and splicing the available information, trying to game the system, does not appear to be helping you cohere that information into a workable plan.
Your short list of colleges should be tightly focused on places that 1) are strong in your major field of interest (linguistics); 2) that you have a reasonable hope of being admitted to (esp places that have programs for older, non-traditional students) and 3) that you can afford. This “ISAV” exercise is only productive once you have places that tick the first 3 boxes.
Tufts is superb in international relations. They also have a minor in Linguistics. Although only a minor, the department offers 2 dozen courses and you can take as many as you want even though your degree will only reflect a minor. Tufts does not have a core curriculum and stresses it’s flexibility, so you have lots of options there.
Well, I did add a link to the original thread, but it seems the link is overlooked. So you’re right; I’ll try to reiterate the context in future threads.
At this stage, where I choose not to tour US colleges, the only options seem to be essay writing and internet research. As much as stated in this ISAV thread, I want to know the inner machinery and driving forces of college admissions, too. The goal is to find the right schools and the right strategy to get in, which is similar to ‘best affect the world’s course with available resources’. If it sounds like gaming the system, then so be it. Lawyers and politicians and many businessmen do it everyday (in a negative way, I admit). But unlike them, I’m open to suggestions. If you enlighten me on options other than the 2 above, I’m happy to listen.
has been solved with my (rather quick) solution. 1) is partially done with the 1st thread. It’s only 2) that I’m still confused about, and I’ll post it soon.
That’s nice, though Tufts’ recent admission rate of <10% kinda discourages me. I’m still on the fence about this school.