How good is William & Mary's International Relations program?

[Anonymous]

I'm currently deciding between George Washington and W&M for international relations/economics double major.
(GW will be roughly $20k for me and I'm still waiting for the financial aid package from W&M)

[Anonymous]

W&M's IR program is considered one of the top programs in the country and is very rigorous.

[Anonymous]

W&M is supposed to be one of the best. However, if you end up paying full in state at $44k, GW may be better if you are only paying $20k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:W&M's IR program is considered one of the top programs in the country and is very rigorous.

If by ”top” you mean 48th best college for IR (behind even University of Richmond) then yes it has a “top 50” program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M's IR program is considered one of the top programs in the country and is very rigorous.

If by ”top” you mean 48th best college for IR (behind even University of Richmond) then yes it has a “top 50” program.

Not sure where you got your info.... This is more relevant.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/top-fifty-schools-international-relations-foreign-policy/

OP - if it's $20k MORE a year at GW, I'd stick with W&M. Their program is very strong. At GW they are more likely to get internships during the school year if they can balance school and work at the same time. But W&M has many programs and connections for DC summers or DC semesters.

That said - these are VERY different school experiences. Traditional campus vs city. Traditions, etc. I believe your child will get great IR at either. And if $ isn't a huge concern, they should choose based on which location and which community they see themselves being happy.

[Anonymous]

W&M is a great school with a good network and if DC knows more than one language and has some travel under their belt these ranking don’t really matter if their prof used to be a big shot at the world bank or has published books on the Middle East.

PP is probably referring to these niche rankings but honestly who cares

https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-for-international-relations/?page=2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M's IR program is considered one of the top programs in the country and is very rigorous.

If by ”top” you mean 48th best college for IR (behind even University of Richmond) then yes it has a “top 50” program.

Not sure where you got your info.... This is more relevant.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/top-fifty-schools-international-relations-foreign-policy/

OP - if it's $20k MORE a year at GW, I'd stick with W&M. Their program is very strong. At GW they are more likely to get internships during the school year if they can balance school and work at the same time. But W&M has many programs and connections for DC summers or DC semesters.

That said - these are VERY different school experiences. Traditional campus vs city. Traditions, etc. I believe your child will get great IR at either. And if $ isn't a huge concern, they should choose based on which location and which community they see themselves being happy.

Where? W&M’s own website points to IT rankings that put them at 48! https://www.wm.edu/majorsminors/internationalrelations/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M's IR program is considered one of the top programs in the country and is very rigorous.

If by ”top” you mean 48th best college for IR (behind even University of Richmond) then yes it has a “top 50” program.

Not sure where you got your info.... This is more relevant.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/top-fifty-schools-international-relations-foreign-policy/

OP - if it's $20k MORE a year at GW, I'd stick with W&M. Their program is very strong. At GW they are more likely to get internships during the school year if they can balance school and work at the same time. But W&M has many programs and connections for DC summers or DC semesters.

That said - these are VERY different school experiences. Traditional campus vs city. Traditions, etc. I believe your child will get great IR at either. And if $ isn't a huge concern, they should choose based on which location and which community they see themselves being happy.

Where? W&M’s own website points to IT rankings that put them at 48! https://www.wm.edu/majorsminors/internationalrelations/

Niche is stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M's IR program is considered one of the top programs in the country and is very rigorous.

If by ”top” you mean 48th best college for IR (behind even University of Richmond) then yes it has a “top 50” program.

Not sure where you got your info.... This is more relevant.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/top-fifty-schools-international-relations-foreign-policy/

OP - if it's $20k MORE a year at GW, I'd stick with W&M. Their program is very strong. At GW they are more likely to get internships during the school year if they can balance school and work at the same time. But W&M has many programs and connections for DC summers or DC semesters.

That said - these are VERY different school experiences. Traditional campus vs city. Traditions, etc. I believe your child will get great IR at either. And if $ isn't a huge concern, they should choose based on which location and which community they see themselves being happy.

Where? W&M’s own website points to IT rankings that put them at 48! https://www.wm.edu/majorsminors/internationalrelations/

Niche is stupid.

+1

[Anonymous]

I personally would pick GW but we think Williamsburg is boring.

[Anonymous]

W&M is excellent for IR! Lots of great study abroad options too.

[Anonymous]

GW for $20k sounds like a really good deal.

[Anonymous]

If you don't mind the city atmosphere GWU is the move here. In DC year around for internships and the IR program is better ranked than W&M. However if you prefer a sleepy town full of retirees and tourists, can't go wrong with W&M.

[Anonymous]

OP, one thing your child needs to now about GW IR is that is it a mega program. It is probably the largest major at the school and has thousands upon thousands of students and the DC job market cannot absorb all those students.

Throughout my career in DC and I have met an insane amount of GW IR grads that are doing mundane administrative jobs in DC that are not related at all to IR. I mean our prior FOIA administrator was a IR grad there.

Just saying that major has the potential to have good alumni contacts but you also face the issue of just a ton of competition and the fact many employers just don't think it is a particularly great program or that it is selective.

W&M is a much smaller and tighter program and they faculty have strong links to the area but only have to find like 90 students a year a job versus thousands at GWU.

[Anonymous]

I have a sophomore at WM, double major in IR and a critical language known to be difficult. They are working their butt off. Econ is a nature 2nd major because you need 5 or 6 economics classes to get the IR major (although there are limits on cross counting).