<p>Are any UC's strong in this field for UNDERGRAD purposes? I'm considering doing IR, or possibly go to law school after undergrad.</p>
<p>Given that UCs are regional schools, read they are full of CA kids only, they are not great places to study IR.</p>
<p>Hm, I would have guessed that, but I need some safeties/matches for my list that don't cost 40k+. I already have some strong schools on my list but they're big reaches.</p>
<p>Srong IR that shouldn't be big reaches if you can get into a mid level UC would be GW and American.</p>
<p>According to this year's Gourman Report, the best undergraduate programs in International Relations are, in order:</p>
<p>Tufts
Princeton
Johns Hopkins
Georgetown
U Penn
Harvard
Cornell
U Wisconsin Madison
MIT
Stanford
UVA
Notre Dame
US Air Force Acad
US Military Acad
Claremont McKenna</p>
<hr>
<p>(FYI: The Gourman Report states that its ratings are based on "extensive reseach" into the following criteria:</p>
<ol>
<li>auspices, control, and organization of the institution</li>
<li>numbers of educational programs offered and degrees conferred (with additional attention to "sub-fields" available to students within a particular discipline</li>
<li>age (experience level) of the institution and the individual discipline or program and division</li>
<li>faculty, including qualifications, experience, intellectual interests, attainments, and professional productivity (including research)</li>
<li>students, including quality of scholastic work and records of graduates both in graduate study and in practice</li>
<li>basis of and requirements for admission of students (overall and by individual discipline)</li>
<li>number of students enrolled (overall and for each discipline)</li>
<li>curriculum and curricular content of the program or discipline and division</li>
<li>standards and quality of instruction (including teaching loads)</li>
<li>quality of administration, including attitudes and policy towards teaching, research and scholarly production in each discipline, and administration research</li>
<li>quality and availability of non-departmental areas such as counseling and career placement services</li>
<li>quality of physical plant devoted to undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels</li>
<li>finances, including budgets, investments, expenditures and sources of income for both public and private institutions</li>
<li>library, including number of volumes, appropriateness of materials to individual disciplines and accessibility of materials</li>
<li>computer facility sufficient to support current research activities for both faculty and students</li>
<li>sufficient funding for research equipment and infrastructure</li>
<li>number of teaching and research assistantships</li>
<li>academic-athletic balance</li>
</ol>
<p>The weight given to each criterion above varies by discipline. )
lolabelle is online now</p>
<p>UCs are too selective compared to what they can offer.</p>
<p>Thank you, two of the schools I'm applying to are on that list. But I'm wondering if any UC have a decent (not necessarilly top) IR program. Reasons for the UC are 1) instate tution, and 2) pretty much have enough reaches on my list.<br>
I'm not extremely focused on IR as a major since I know people often change there majors but it'd be a nice thing too have. If not IR than something politically related</p>
<p>Can I ask which ones on the list you're applying to? I'm a Tufts IR student so am very proud of our no-1 status but all of these are the top 15 in the nation, so they're all stellar programs!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Given that UCs are regional schools, read they are full of CA kids only, they are not great places to study IR.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm going to have to disagree quite a bit. Three of the UCs offer fantastic academic programs in IR, and the UC actually has one of the better known policy tanks on IR (IGCC) west of the Mississippi.</p>
<p>Cal has a top 10 program in IR, UCSD has a top 10 program in IR as well as an excellent IR professional school, and UCLA is top 10 to 15, depending on who you ask.</p>
<p>
[quote]
UCs are too selective compared to what they can offer.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This doesn't even make sense. MIT has far fewer offerings than say Stanford, but is by no means a bad choice. CalTech has even fewer than MIT!</p>
<p>
[quote]
If not IR than something politically related
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Three of the top 10 poli sci programs in the nation are right in the UC: Cal, UCSD, UCLA (in terms of rank.)</p>
<p>WOW, I was JUST going to make a thread about this. I'm hoping to go to Tufts or Gtown SFS, but if I don't get in or don't get enough money, UC will be my fallback. I don't like Berkley at all being from the Bay Area. So which is better for IR, UCSD or UCLA? Isn't UCSD's grad school for IR really focused on Asia and the Pacific? I'm much more interested in Europe.</p>
<p>It doesn't matter which program is best for grad school, as the vast majority of the APSIA programs (like the one I'm at) are for grad students only.</p>
<p>As far as the actual poli sci departments (e.g. the ones undergrads will be at) go, UCSD is a tad bit stronger overall and in IR. However, I could make a good argument for UCLA as far as externalities go. For one, I think it offers a bit of a better undergrad experience.</p>
<p>From that list, I'm applying to Stanford and CMC, sorry not Tufts because I feel I have too many extremely selective schools on my list already.</p>
<p>Honestly, any top 25 university or LAC will offer you great training in IR. Go for a combination of rank, fit, and price.</p>