<p>im a junior looking at different colleges, and I'm im interested in political science, journalism, international relations and music. I know that these may not seem coherent, but does UNC have strengths in any of these areas? any input would be great.</p>
<p>Political Science - UNC has a very strong department. Ranked w/in top 10 (in U.S.News) several few years (along with UCLA, Columbia and Rochester). This year, I think they are ranked top 13 (the rank slides down some years).</p>
<p>IR - Solid program with competitive teaching staff. You better be ready to really work if you plan on focusing on IR in UNC. Ofcourse G-town would be one of the ideal places for IR however, UNC is plenty competitve. Actually due to the fact that UNC's Poli-sci dept. caliber is a tier above G-town's, IR is one of the focuses UNC excels in as well. </p>
<p>Journalism - This one gets consistent spotlight amongst prospective students since many of them want to major in Journalism. Actually, I wouldn't have to expand on the prestige of UNC journalism degree here. It's top notch - easily one of the top 3 programs in the nation.</p>
<p>Music - A solid program (I think it's ranked around top 30's). However, I would recommend Rochester (eastman) or Juliard. Nonetheless, if music is not your main focus but you want it as a minor, it's still a solid program. Remember that 99% of academic disciplines UNC offers, at a bare minimum, lands on top tier ranking widely across media publication/ magazines.</p>
<p>Regarding IR, especially if you are interested in foreigh study: UNC has one of the highest participations of public universities in US, around 37%. While not as high as Elon's or Duke's, it is quite respectable for a public school.</p>
<p>Well, I am not sure what of participation UNC is high in. However, UNC's IR dept. would be regarded much more prestigious and boasts superior faculty staff over Elon's (in research performance- gourman report. Peer inst. rating/ reputation). Duke has the only program that can compete closely w/ UNC-CH in this specific study (IR) besides Emory in the region (and perhaps Rice in the south).</p>
<p>We have no IR department here at UNC. We have curriculums in which you can major in Peace, War, and Defense and International Studies, but they are not independent departments. Actually, two of my poli sci profs admitted that those interdisciplinary programs are not that great.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am aware that there is no particular dept. for IR however, if I am not mistaken, there is a program for it just like UNC not having computer science dept. but has an excellent program which is amongst the top in the country. Also PWAD is a interdisciplinary study of major which started being offered around 5-6 years ago (when I was there in the school in my junior or senior year). Since it's still in its natal stage, I wouldn't have imagined that the program would have expanded or improved so much over such a short period of time. I think they will eventually get better and become one of the best majors to choose from, just like it almost always is with any program in Carolina (Although, many of the poli-sci faculty members in UNC are, in many ways, sharp-shooting and skeptical about any program anyways.)</p>
<p>well if you want some NC public schools that are great for music, think ECU and Appalachian State.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about UNC's med programs? I've heard it is a good school for premed studies but I don't really know much else.</p>