Experience from DMV parents - which school is best for International Relations recruiting/jobs/faculty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First tier: Tufts and GW

Second tier: American and Middlebury

Forget the rest unless there is something specific that really appeals.

Take advantage of all of the offerings on campus, find internships during the summers and even during the semester, plan for grad school.

I don't think you know Middlebury very well. It is EXCELLENT for econ and international/languages.

I actually know Middlebury extremely well and it is not on the same level for IR and political science as Tufts and GW. Sorry. It sounds like you don’t know those fields very well.

Forgot how many Middlebury boosters are on this forum.

[Anonymous]

This is the only ranking that matters in the IR world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower#Undergraduate_Programs

Tufts/GW
American close behind
The rest

If you want to make the argument that the kid could switch, fine. But don’t let randoms talk you into thinking that Middlebury is somehow academically superior to the Elliott School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First tier: Tufts and GW

Second tier: American and Middlebury

Forget the rest unless there is something specific that really appeals.

Take advantage of all of the offerings on campus, find internships during the summers and even during the semester, plan for grad school.

I don't think you know Middlebury very well. It is EXCELLENT for econ and international/languages.

I actually know Middlebury extremely well and it is not on the same level for IR and political science as Tufts and GW. Sorry. It sounds like you don’t know those fields very well.

Forgot how many Middlebury boosters are on this forum.

Tell us more about these levels, and what qualifies a school to be on a higher level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First tier: Tufts and GW

Second tier: American and Middlebury

Forget the rest unless there is something specific that really appeals.

Take advantage of all of the offerings on campus, find internships during the summers and even during the semester, plan for grad school.

I don't think you know Middlebury very well. It is EXCELLENT for econ and international/languages.

I actually know Middlebury extremely well and it is not on the same level for IR and political science as Tufts and GW. Sorry. It sounds like you don’t know those fields very well.

Forgot how many Middlebury boosters are on this forum.

Tell us more about these levels, and what qualifies a school to be on a higher level.

Well, Tufts and GW are consistently ranked in the top 10 of the Inside the Ivory Tower IR rankings for one, while Middlebury doesn’t make most of the lists. Policymakers ranked it 22nd while it didn’t register on the IR faculty or think tankers’ list.

Let’s talk about the programs, though, which are important for OP. GW has 37 taught courses (ie not research seminars/thesis ones) this semester. Tufts is a bit harder to find because they include all of the cross-department courses in their course list, but there are 20-some specific IR courses falling under the political science banner.

Middlebury has nine.

Let’s talk about international econ, since one of the PP’s mentioned econ. GW is a top 15 or so US university in International Finance and Open Economy Macro.

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.ifn.html
https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.opm.html

The co-director of the international economics program there is the previous Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs.

Middlebury does not have these things. It’s just not the same experience. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. But no, it’s not on the same level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First tier: Tufts and GW

Second tier: American and Middlebury

Forget the rest unless there is something specific that really appeals.

Take advantage of all of the offerings on campus, find internships during the summers and even during the semester, plan for grad school.

I don't think you know Middlebury very well. It is EXCELLENT for econ and international/languages.

I actually know Middlebury extremely well and it is not on the same level for IR and political science as Tufts and GW. Sorry. It sounds like you don’t know those fields very well.

Forgot how many Middlebury boosters are on this forum.

That might be true if the question was just IR/poli sci. Except you missed that this kid is also interested in Econ. Midd is excellent in Econ (finance pipeline), and it is also very good for international/languages. Check out all of the Midd schools abroad. Midd also has a combined major called International Politics and Economics for combining these two interests.

Tufts is also very good. I was the one who said the choice is between Tufts and Midd, depending on the fit. They have very different environments obviously. Those two - Tufts and Midd - are a cut above the others.

GW isn't a bad choice. It does have the advantage of being in DC. Still, I don't think most would turn down Midd or Tufts for GW. Also kids may switch majors and if they do, this kid would likely regret choosing GW over Midd/Tufts all the more.

I'm not going to share my credentials, but I'm comfortable with my level of knowledge of Midd and these majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First tier: Tufts and GW

Second tier: American and Middlebury

Forget the rest unless there is something specific that really appeals.

Take advantage of all of the offerings on campus, find internships during the summers and even during the semester, plan for grad school.

I don't think you know Middlebury very well. It is EXCELLENT for econ and international/languages.

I actually know Middlebury extremely well and it is not on the same level for IR and political science as Tufts and GW. Sorry. It sounds like you don’t know those fields very well.

Forgot how many Middlebury boosters are on this forum.

That might be true if the question was just IR/poli sci. Except you missed that this kid is also interested in Econ. Midd is excellent in Econ (finance pipeline), and it is also very good for international/languages. Check out all of the Midd schools abroad. Midd also has a combined major called International Politics and Economics for combining these two interests.

Tufts is also very good. I was the one who said the choice is between Tufts and Midd, depending on the fit. They have very different environments obviously. Those two - Tufts and Midd - are a cut above the others.

GW isn't a bad choice. It does have the advantage of being in DC. Still, I don't think most would turn down Midd or Tufts for GW. Also kids may switch majors and if they do, this kid would likely regret choosing GW over Midd/Tufts all the more.

I'm not going to share my credentials, but I'm comfortable with my level of knowledge of Midd and these majors.

And you missed my last post that GW is exceptionally good in international economics. Kid doesn’t want to go into finance (so not sure why you mention it), but potentially wants econ with an international bent.

You can, of course, study IR or econ at Middlebury. But that doesn’t mean it offers anything close to the other two. The IR program only has two international economists, one of whom is a Russia specialist.

Languages are the only thing where Midd is probably clearly better. And OP never mentioned that, and the kid is already (likely fluent) in French.

[Anonymous]

I have an advanced degree in IR and have been working in the field for three decades.

My two pence is that it doesn’t matter much. Most jobs are going to require an advanced degree. Nobody cares too much where you get your first degree, though an ivy plus is a slight advantage. So factor in things like cost, preferred location etc.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure there are any jobs in that area?

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack this thread, but how would the William and Mary/ St Andrew’s joint degree programme for IR compare to these options?

[Anonymous]

Foreign Service folks I happen to have met (not a good statistical sample) were from Georgetown, GW, Cornell, or Middlebury.

The one who was from Cornell had studied an uncommon foreign language and did well in that language. The several from Middlebury also were very strong in relevant foreign languages.

[Anonymous]

OP, the other thing to be aware of is that Middlebury and American have both had financial problems in recent years that were forcing cuts to programs. Middlebury’s caused some turmoil. So you may want to look into that as well as you decide.

[Anonymous]

Comments/review on UVA Foreign Affairs degree? Chances for my kid to get a job? Not having any luck with internships for this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the only ranking that matters in the IR world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower#Undergraduate_Programs

Tufts/GW
American close behind
The rest

If you want to make the argument that the kid could switch, fine. But don’t let randoms talk you into thinking that Middlebury is somehow academically superior to the Elliott School.

Well put.

[Anonymous]

Grad school, honestly. JHU SAIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grad school, honestly. JHU SAIS.

Or Georgetown