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Top 25 International Relationsmaster's degree programs

According to The College of William & Mary's Teaching, Research, and

International Policy (TRIP) project's most recent survey of international relations

(IR) faculty:

By Staff

posted October 20, 2011 at 12:20 pm EDT

1.The top five

Georgetown University

(Andy Nelson / The Christian Science Monitor)

1. Georgetown University Department of Government

(est. 1922; government.georgetown.edu).

Georgetown offers joint degrees in international relations and a master of

science in foreign service through its Edmund A. Walsh School of ForeignService. It was the first to confer a degree in "international affairs."

2. Johns Hopkins University, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced

International Studies

(1943; www.sais-jhu.edu).

In addition to its Washington, D.C., campus, SAIS has locations in

Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China.

3. Harvard University Kennedy School of Government

(1936; www.hks.harvard.edu).

The Kennedy School's John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum has hosted speaking

events by figures such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, and GeorgeH.W. Bush over the years.

4. Tufts University Fletcher School

(1933; fletcher.tufts.edu).

The Fletcher School has admitted students from more than 70 countries.

5. Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs

(1946; sipa.columbia.edu).

Nearly half of its employed 2010 graduates are working in the privatesector: consulting, banking, and business.

2.Princeton - Oxford

George Washington University(Andy Nelson / The Christian Science Monitor)

6. Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public &

International Affairs

(1930; www.princeton.edu).

More than 85 percent of those earning advanced degrees here find jobs inpublic service each year.

7. London School of Economics Department of International Relations

(1927; www2.lse.ac.uk/internationalRelations).

One of the oldest and largest IR programs, LSE director Sir WilliamBeveridge felt the school should "be equipped to deal with international

affairs from all the three angles of law, history and administration."

8. George Washington University Elliot School of International Affairs

(1988; elliott.gwu.edu).

More than 75 percent of its 2010 graduates found jobs after graduating,nearly half of them finding work in the public sector.

9. American University School of International Service

(1958; american.edu/sis).

The School of International Service was founded at the urging of President

Dwight Eisenhower at the peak of the cold war.

10. University of Oxford Department of Politics and InternationalRelations

(2000; www.politics.ox.ac.uk).

It's home to The Centre for Political Ideologies and the Oxford Centre for

the Study of Inequality and Democracy, among others. The programstresses an interdisciplinary approach.

3.University of Chicago - Stanford

Stanford University(Paul Sakuma/AP)

11. University of Chicago Committee on International Relations

(1928; cir.uchicago.edu).

The Committee on International Relations is the oldest US program of itskind.

12. Yale University Jackson Institute for Global Affairs

(2009; jackson.yale.edu).

This is the newest IR program on the list. The Jackson Institute's first class

began its studies in the fall of 2010.

13. Maxwell School of Syracuse University

(1924; www.maxwell.syr.edu/ir).

The Maxwell School has had an enduring focus on citizenship. In 2005,

with a federal grant, the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs was

founded, named for former Maxwell faculty member and US Sen. Daniel

Patrick Moynihan.

14. Carleton University, The Norman Patterson School of International

Affairs

(1965: www1.carleton.ca/npsia).

Alumni have found positions in Canadian public service as well as in other

governments, the United Nations, and in the private and nonprofit sectors.

15. Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International

Studies

(1987; fsi.stanford.edu/centers).

It conducts interdisciplinary educational programs and research.

4.Cambridge - Aberstwyth

Cambridge University

(Newscom/File)

16. Cambridge University Centre of International Studies

(late 1970s; www.polis.cam.ac.uk/cis).

The centre has evolved from focusing on cold-war-era national security to

globalization, opportunities for international collaboration, and

leadership.

17. King's College London

(2003; www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/graduate/international-relations).

The IR program was a new addition to the Department of War Studies,

which focuses on understanding war, conflict, and international security.

18. University of California, San Diego, School of International

Relations and Pacific Studies

(1986; irps.ucsd.edu).

It's the sole program in the US to have a Pacific focus, including Asia and

the Americas.

19. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International

Studies

(1952; web.mit.edu/cis).

Founded in response to the cold war, it was funded by the CIA in its early

years. The goal was to further "social science entrepreneurship" to better

understand and respond to world events.

20. Aberystwyth (Wales) University Department of International

Politics

(1919; www.aber.ac.uk/en/interpol/).

It was founded in response to World War I as an attempt to understand the

causes of conflict. It claims to be among the first programs of its kind inthe world.

5.University of Denver - University ofKentucky

21. University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies

(1964; www.du.edu/korbel).

Included among its alumni is former US Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice.

22. The Institute of International Studies at the University of

California, Berkeley,

(1955; iis.berkeley.edu).

It supports research and interdisciplinary study focused on current

concerns about peace, sustainability, globalization, and technology.

23. New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies

(2003; www.scps.nyu.edu/areas-of-study/global-affairs/graduate-programs/ms-global-affairs/index.html).

The graduate course of study is intended to prepare students for

international careers.

24. University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public andInternational Affairs

(1957; gspia.pitt.edu).

It was founded to study national and international public policy.

25. University of Kentucky Patterson School of Diplomacy andInternational Commerce

(1959; www.uky.edu/PattersonSchool).

It prepares students for careers in diplomacy, international affairs, and

commerce.

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