What is the difference between Political Science and IR?

<p>I want to go to the University of Pittsburgh, but they don't have an IR major. Instead, they have Political Science. Are they similar enough that I can just take PS? I care more about the cultural comparison stuff than politics. Should I take Anthropology instead? To clarify, I life comparing the culture of modern societies, not tribal societies.</p>

<p>Pitt offers an undergrad certificate program:
<a href=“http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/undergrad.html#specificrequirements[/url]”>http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/undergrad.html#specificrequirements&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It also offers a B. Phil program in the honors college:
<a href=“http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/bphil.html[/url]”>http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/bphil.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>IR is a subfield of political science. As a major, however, it is usually an interdisciplinary major. As such, if you end up not going to Pitt or going to another school without an specific IR major, it’s not too difficult to put together a similar program through judicious use of your electives. Just major in history, economics, or political science. Take 2-3 courses focused on international topics in each of those disciplines; take a course on foreign policy; take a language and some related area studies courses; study abroad; and, you pretty much have yourself an IR program. </p>

<p>For the alternative interest you stated, you should major in sociology. A subfield of sociology called comparative sociology covers your interest. At Pitt, the sociology major allows you to focus on a “thematic cluster”; they have one in global studies.
[Undergraduate</a> Studies | Department of Sociology | University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.sociology.pitt.edu/undergrad/]Undergraduate”>http://www.sociology.pitt.edu/undergrad/)</p>

<p>You also could study anthropology. Anthropology does not just study primitive cultures. The anthro dept at Pitt offers courses on America society, Japanese society, Latin America, etc. It probably wouldn’t be too difficult to do a double major or major/minor with Sociology and Anthropology.</p>

<p>The Bachelor’s in Philosophy looks really interesting, but it requires you to double major. I was planning, and would love to, double major, but I don’t think it fits my personality. That is, double majoring requires you to sacrifice both of your majors so you have enough time to take all the classes. I like concentrating on one thing, and studying it really deeply. Hell, I even have too many high school classes. It takes me like 5 hours for my biology class alone just because I go online and read a lot of stuff that my homework makes me think about. </p>

<p>I also want to prepare for entering graduate school. Will the sociology/anthropology track prepare me for that?</p>

<p>Also, can you explain the differences between Anthropology, Sociology, and IR? You mentioned classes that would fit me, but overall, what major do you recommend. I mean, maybe sociology has one class that’s everything I want, but that doesn’t mean the major is right for me. Just that one class. Thanks</p>

<p>Remember, Pitt’s B. Phil. in global studies is an honors program.</p>

<p>It’s not necessarily a bad thing IMO that Pitt requires a double major for the B. Phil. One potential problem with interdisciplinary majors such as IR is that a student scatters coursework across several different disciplines, and doesn’t get a solid grounding in the theory and methods of any single discipline. Requiring a double major addresses this concern.</p>

<p>Since you go online to look up things, you can research the differences between anthropology, sociology, and IR. (maybe, Wikipedia to start?) That’ll give you a more detailed answer than I could give you here. Also, look at the requirements and courses offered in these fields (and, check out course syllabi, if available online, to see the differences in types of assigned readings).</p>

<p>Sociology and/or anthropology will prepare you for grad school in those fields or related fields. If you have language courses, you probably could do a master’s in area studies, an interdisciplinary IR master’s program, etc. You also could go to law school, etc. It all depends what are your specific interests and what career path you want to follow.</p>