What makes a good school for IR?---some criteria

College Search & Selection
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<p>The question comes up all the time on this forum as to whether a school is good for IR. We all know about Georgetown and the others, but how about some actual criteria. There are a lot of other schools out there, besides Georgetown, Tufts, and Hopkins, that would fare pretty well by these criteria (e.g., Wisconsin) for undergrads. A school would not need to meet all these criteria; nonetheless, the more of these “indicators” that are present, the greater the likelihood that a school would be a good place to prepare for a career in IR (in policy aspects, rather than just the academic side). Strengths in some areas would balance weaknesses in others. A school would get “points” for each of these indicators (but, not hard and fast ranking criteria, as some uninformed people might interpret these to be). It doesn’t necessarily matter whether a school offers a specific “IR” major, or whether it’s an LAC or research university. Please add to, or elaborate on these indicators.</p>

<ol>
<li>Strong undergrad departments in history, economics, and political science/government. (and, the criteria for what constitutes a strong department in each of those fields could be spelled out).</li>
<li>Strong undergrad departments in foreign languages (again, the criteria for what constitutes a strong foreign language department could be spelled out), especially in languages that interest a particular student.</li>
<li>Offers coursework in critical languages, e.g., Russian, Chinese, Arabic, etc. (the more the better).</li>
<li>Has strong study-abroad programs (criteria could be specified for this), and a significant number of students study abroad. (If a particular school doesn’t have a strong program of its own in a particular country, the school’s students at least get accepted in the stronger study abroad programs offered by other schools/organizations).</li>
<li>Has a significant number of undergrad international students (preferably in liberal arts majors as well as professional fields, and the American undergrads actually interact with them).</li>
<li>Located in, or near, Washington, DC or NYC.</li>
<li>Is considered prestigious in the US (sorry, but perceptions and connections do count for something).</li>
<li>Is known/considered prestigious in other regions of the world (sorry, but perceptions and connections do count for something). </li>
<li>Has good internship programs in US government agencies and/or international agencies.</li>
<li>Faculty (econ, political science) have published books in IR or published in major journals of the field.</li>
<li>Faculty (econ, political science) have actual work experience, including consulting, in relevant US or international agencies. </li>
<li>Graduates get accepted to top IR grad programs (a track record; afain, perceptions sometimes count).</li>
<li>A significant number of grads enter the Peace Corps.</li>
<li>Offers a range of humanities and social science coursework in several area studies regions (e.g., Latin American, East European, East Asian, etc.), especially in those world regions that interest a particular student.</li>
<li>Offers opportunities for relevant coursework in professional areas outside the liberal arts depts. of history, economics, political science (e.g., international agriculture, communication, journalism, public health/nursing, international business, international energy/environmental policy, etc.).</li>
<li>Has a ranked graduate program in IR.</li>
<li>Has a significant number of relevant international events on campus (speakers, etc.)</li>
<li>Offers an ROTC program (careerwise, military experience can count).</li>
<li>Has formal foreign language/area studies centers (federally-funded). </li>
<li>Has language flagship programs.</li>
<li>Economics, History, Political Science Depts. offer breadth and/or depth of coursework in relevant subfields (in addition to general criteria that make a strong dept. in each of these disciplines, e.g., undergrad seminars, # of faculty, etc.)</li>
<li>Opportunities to participate in extracurricular international programs, e.g., language or international floors in dorms, etc.</li>
</ol>

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<p>I don’t think this should be a requirement for a school to have a strong program in IR. Something more reasonable might be for the school in question to have a program or travel opportunity to visit or work in either of those cities, or even in other “global” cities.</p>

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<p>^^^ Exactly. Read my post—it’s not a requirement, but it does offer advantages (e.g., for internships, outside speakers and events, etc.)</p>

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<p>This is a good list. I wonder if you should make the availability of an IR major and/or international studies major a criteria at least because it shows some institutional commitment and thought given to combining disciplines. Also, there may be schools that are very strong in international issues for a particular region but not others–like California schools for east asia----and you might want to take into account the possibility of a great strength in a certain region. Maybe you have this, but you might want to add possibilities for one-on one research and/or internships before and after study abroad semesters. This is something Middlebury, for example, has been emphasizing more.</p>

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<p>I’ve posted about this elsewhere on this forum. I don’t think there’s anything magical about offering a specific IR major. Like a lot of interdisciplinary majors, an IR major can be somewhat unfocused, despite the common theme that ties one’s coursework together. It also often lacks the disciplinary depth and focus with course work in theory and methods that a major in a traditional discipline provides. So, in general, I think someone interested in an IR is better off majoring in a traditional discipline with judicious selection of courses in supporting areas, including languages. Many posters on this forum get caught up in whether or not a particular school offers a specific IR major. It’s easy to make ones own—major in history, econ, or political science, take 2-3 international courses each in history, economics, and political science, a relevant language at 4th year level, an area focus—it’s not that difficult.</p>

<p>I do agree with you about possibly choosing a school on the basis of strengths in a particular region that interests you, though.</p>