Hi all,
I got accepted into Edinburgh for International Relations & International Law, KCL for history, (My first choice was international relations, didn’t get in for that but I’m flattered they bothered to refer my app) and Sheffield for International Relations & Politics. I need a little help comparing the value of the programs in particular. I went to an informational session for Edinburgh a few days ago and was pretty impressed. Some of the things I’m weighing are the value of a history degree (I love the subject but never seriously considered getting a BA in history,) and Scotland’s 4-year degree program as opposed to England’s 3. (Originally I was thinking that a 3 year program would provide a great opportunity for a service year before grad school back in the states, but Edinburgh has a great abroad program for students built into the 4 years. The 4-year structure also allows more time to take outside classes and potentially adjust your degree.)
I haven’t had the opportunity to visit any of the schools. I am looking for any and all advice, not just concerning what I’ve droned on about above! I am also still waiting for an answer from the University of Leeds.
Thank you
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KCL and Edinburgh are both excellent universities. If IR is your true love then I’d stick with the Edinburgh offer. But tbh the skills you develop towards a future career will be pretty similar to those in history (with the possible exception of any language study you might get) - I don’t see a particular advantage to IR. It’s a good idea to look closely at the course programs.
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Edinburgh is excellent for IR. That’d be my pick!
BTW: Congratulations!
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Another vote for Edinburgh. Excellent school, excellent program, strong foreign language instruction. My daughter had a choice between Edinburgh and London. She chose Edinburgh and loves it for being very diverse, accepting and accommodating. Edinburgh is a great choice for undergrad. London is too overwhelming to be a student there imho.
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@lorettamaria
Hey 
Congratulations on your offers! All 3 of those universities are excellent and you should be really proud
Definitely look into all the course modules that you can take during your 3 or 4 years in university. Personally, I think that the 4th year is great both for the inbuilt study abroad program and of course like you pointed out it gives you more time to take classes outside of your chosen course. Imo transition from the American system to the Scottish system is a bit easier than the transition to the English system mostly because there is a mixture of flexibility and specialisation.
I agree with the first poster that there is no particular advantage to IR compared to History as long as you enjoy your degree and you do well in the degree (2:1 or First etc…) You have to ask yourself: What do you want from your university experience? The course is definitely the most important consideration as the courses in the UK are specialised towards your subject. I cannot say anything about the programs but I can provide a helpful link that have some statistical comparisons of each program. What you are interested in the most important because you have to enjoy what you are studying.
I hope this helps and good luck
Links:
http://unistats.com/
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