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The Best IR Schools in the World :

Undergraduate
Masters
Ph.D.

The Best International Relations Schools in the World

Foreign Policy magazine, in collaboration with the Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) project at the College of William & Mary, is pleased to present the results of the 2018 Ivory Tower survey. The survey provides a snapshot of how top international relations scholars assess their discipline at a moment when the liberal international order — overseen by a U.S. president with little evident attachment to it — is in unprecedented flux.

Responses from 1,541 IR scholars at U.S. colleges and universities determined rankings for their field’s leading Ph.D., terminal master’s, and undergraduate programs. The scholars were asked to list the top five institutions in each category, and the percentages below reflect the portion of respondents who listed that school.

The survey is accompanied by two essays that address whether IR is in a state of existential crisis. Can IR help policymakers respond to President Donald Trump and other global challenges that they failed to predict? Francis Gavin, the director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, argues that the field of IR’s greatest strength is its adaptability and that other university departments would be wise to take their cues from schools of international affairs. Stephen Walt, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and columnist for FP , suggests that IR scholars have more work to do to get their own house in order before advising diplomats on how to do the same.

Illustration by Peter and Maria Hoey for Foreign Policy

Top U.S. Undergraduate Institutions to Study International Relations

1. Harvard University 51.10%
2. Princeton University 49.14%
3. Stanford University 41.67%
4. Georgetown University 39.46%
5. Columbia University 32.97%
6. Yale University 21.08%
7. University of Chicago 20.96%
8. George Washington University 17.40%
9. American University 15.20%
10. University of California—Berkeley 11.64%
11. University of California—San Diego 9.68%
12. Dartmouth College 9.56%
13. Tufts University 9.07%
14. University of Michigan 8.58%
15. Johns Hopkins University 7.23%
16. College of William & Mary 6.86%
17. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6.37%
18. Cornell University 5.76%
19. University of Pennsylvania 4.53%
19. Ohio State University 4.53%
21. Williams College 3.68%
22. Brown University 3.31%
23. University of Virginia 3.19%
24. Swarthmore College 3.06%
24. University of California—Los Angeles 3.06%

26. Duke University 2.94%
27. New York University 2.82%
28. Middlebury College 2.57%
29. University of Denver 2.33%
30. University of Southern California 2.21%
30. Wellesley College 2.21%
32. University of Notre Dame 1.96%
33. Pomona College 1.72%
34. University of Texas—Austin 1.59%
34. University of Wisconsin 1.59%
36. University of Washington 1.47%
37. Amherst College 1.35%
37. Macalester College 1.35%
37. University of Minnesota 1.35%
40. Syracuse University 1.23%
41. Boston University 1.10%
42. Brigham Young University 0.98%
42. Michigan State Univeristy 0.98%
42. University of Florida 0.98%
42. Vassar College 0.98%
46. Claremont McKenna College 0.86%
46. Emory University 0.86%
46. London School of Economics 0.86%
46. University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill 0.86%
50. Oberlin College 0.74%
50. Pennsylvania State University—University Park 0.74%
50. University of Colorado 0.74%

Show Top 50 | Back to Top

America’s IR Schools Are Broken

There’s a lot of innovation on the surface, but the rot runs deep. Here’s how to fix it.

Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations

1. Georgetown University 60.53%
2. Harvard University 49.43%
3. Johns Hopkins University 48.30%
4. Princeton University 37.58%
5. Columbia University 37.45%
6. Tufts University 30.90%
7. George Washington University 29.38%
8. American University 21.06%
9. London School of Economics 18.16%
10. University of Chicago 13.75%
11. Stanford University 9.08%
12. University of Oxford 8.07%
13. Yale University 7.82%
14. University of Denver 7.31%
15. University of California—San Diego 5.42%
16. Syracuse University 4.67%
17. University of Cambridge 3.78%
18. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3.28%
18. University of Michigan 3.28%
20. University of California—Berkeley 2.40%
20. University of Pittsburgh 2.40%
22. New York University 2.14%
22. Sciences Po—Paris 2.14%
24. Duke University 1.77%
25. School of Oriental and African Studies 1.51%

26. King’s College London 1.39%
26. Texas A&M University 1.39%
28. Cornell University 1.26%
29. University of Virginia 1.13%
29. Graduate Inst. of Int’l and Dev. Studies 1.13%
31. University of California—Los Angeles 1.01%
31. University of Texas 1.01%
33. Middlebury Institute of Int’l Studies at Monterey 0.88%
33. University of Sussex 0.88%
33. University of Washington 0.88%
36. Carleton University 0.63%
36. George Mason University 0.63%
36. University of St. Andrews 0.63%
39. Florida International University 0.50%
39. Indiana University 0.50%
39. University of Maryland 0.50%
39. University of Notre Dame 0.50%
39. Ohio State University 0.50%
44. Aberystwyth University 0.38%
44. Arizona State University 0.38%
44. Boston University 0.38%
44. Georgia Institute of Technology 0.38%
44. Northeastern University 0.38%
44. University of Kent 0.38%
44. University of Southern California 0.38%
44. University of Toronto—Downtown Toronto 0.38%

Show Top 51 | Back to Top

It’s Never Been a Better Time to Study IR:

Donald Trump has changed the world — and some people will understand it better than others.

Francis J. Gavin

Top Ph.D. Programs for Academic Career in International Relations

1. Harvard University 68.13%
2. Princeton University 60.78%
3. Stanford University 57.35%
4. Columbia University 39.45%
5. University of Chicago 27.61%
6. Yale University 25.83%
7. University of California—San Diego 21.45%
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 19.19%
9. University of Michigan 14.45%
10. University of California—Berkeley 14.34%
11. Georgetown University 10.66%
12. University of Oxford 10.55%
13. Cornell University 7.82%
14. London School of Economics 7.58%
15. Ohio State University 6.99%
16. Johns Hopkins University 5.69%
17. George Washington University 5.09%
18. University of Cambridge 4.98%
19. American University 4.50%
20. Duke University 3.91%
21. New York University 3.32%
22. Tufts University 2.96%
22. University of Minnesota 2.96%
24. University of Wisconsin—Madison 2.84%
25. University of California—Los Angeles 2.61%

26. University of Rochester 2.25%
27. University of Pennsylvania 2.13%
28. Brown University 1.66%
29. Emory University 1.30%
29. University of Texas 1.30%
31. University of Virginia 1.18%
32. Aberystwyth University 1.07%
32. Pennsylvania State University 1.07%
34. University of Denver 0.83%
35. Northwestern University 0.71%
35. School of Oriental and African Studies 0.71%
35. University of Maryland 0.71%
35. University of Sussex 0.71%
35. Sciences Po—Paris 0.71%
40. Texas A&M University 0.59%
40. University of Southern California 0.59%
40. University of Washington 0.59%
43. Australian National University 0.47%
43. King’s College London 0.47%
43. Syracuse University 0.47%
43. University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill 0.47%
47. George Mason University 0.36%
47. Rice University 0.36%
47. University of Arizona 0.36%
47. University of Edinburgh 0.36%
47. University of Georgia 0.36%
47. University of Iowa 0.36%
47. University of Toronto—Downtown Toronto 0.36%
47. Graduate Institute of Intl. and Development Studies 0.36%

Show Top 54 | Back to Top

The Teaching, Research, and International Policy project is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.