2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
There are about 27,284 students enrolled in International Relations and Affairs in the USA.
Menu: summary
popularity
Above Average
Compared to national avg.
Diplomas received last year
16,495
Vs. National Avg.
4%
popularity Rank
#66
cost
Somewhat Expensive
Compared to national avg.
Median degree cost
$34K
Vs. National Avg.
39%
cost Rank
#83
salary
Above Average
Compared to national avg.
Average Salary Two Years Out of School
$46K
Vs. National Avg.
14%
salary Rank
#118
professors
Average
Compared to national avg.
Professor Rating
B-
Vs. National Avg.
10%
professors Rank
#143
students
Above Average
Compared to national avg.
Diversity Rating
B-
Vs. National Avg.
7%
students Rank
#111
SUMMARY
Majoring in International Relations and Affairs is a valuable choice and usually a required first step for scholars endeavoring to begin a career as an international public relations officer, an all source intelligence analyst, or a public affairs specialist. Interestingly, international relations and affairs is pretty common ranking as the 48th most popular area of study. Last year alone, there were 9,868 international relations and affairs degrees conferred. In-state tuition for international relations and affairs at private schools is, on average, 4.1 times more expensive than their public fellows.
There are 380 colleges which offer international relations and affairs. This number of colleges is fairly average in terms of the number of institutions which offer each degree. If you are looking to surround yourself with other international relations and affairs majors, consider looking at colleges in District of Columbia which have the most undergraduates admitted to international relations and affairs annually. less precisely, the top region to study international relations and affairs is in the Southeast region with Florida International University, Florida State University, and University of Georgia best representing the region. Interestingly, our selection for the top conference to study international relations and affairs is the Atlantic 10 Conference with George Washington University, Fordham University, and George Mason University representing the conference. From our list of the best colleges, our belief is that the best school for international relations and affairs is Stanford University.
The objectively best school does not mean it is the best school for you. There might be many more facets to think about when deciding on university. Stuff like campus amenities, transportation services, and food might definitely affect your thoughts of which university to attend. At Authority, we have examined the pros and cons for you. If, for example, you are interested in which international relations and affairs school boasts the best campus, the winner is New York University. If, for example, you are primarily interested in which school has the finest campus, we have an entire page dedicated to that. We have carefully pored through student reviews, professor reviews, government databases, and more in order to compare all U.S. majors in an unbiased and informative way. Here you can explore our well researched list for the schools with the best student life and from that list, our pick for the university with the best student life for international relations and affairs is Georgetown University. Curious why? Keep scrolling to learn more about Authority's top recommendations. Many of our picks might shock you.
If price is a primary deciding factor in your choice of where you attend college, you might be cautious about University of Chicago. University of Chicago is our most expensive school for international relations and affairs, at least for out of state enrollment. We do have a list of the most expensive colleges that could put the price tag of University of Chicago into perspective. You may also care to know that international relations and affairs is the 7th most expensive program in the US, with an average associated cost of $54,700. To zoom out a little, the most expensive state for international relations and affairs on our list is Rhode Island with costs at the main institution, Brown University, of $57,112. Even more broadly, the most costly region of the U.S. for international relations and affairs is the New England region which is best demonstrated with Connecticut College with a cost of $56,540, Tufts University with a cost of $57,324, and Brown University with a cost of $57,112.
Our cheapest region for international relations and affairs is the Rocky Mountains region which is represented by University of Idaho with a cost of $25,418, The College of Idaho with a cost of $31,000, and Brigham Young University-Provo with a cost of $5,790. More optimistically, the most affordable school for international relations and affairs is Florida International University. Authority's comprehensive list of the most affordable colleges can be found here.
In-state students can anticipate paying about $10,900 for a degree in international relations and affairs. That cost balloons significantly to an average of $25,300 for the out-of-state public-school student. Our pick for the college with the best value for international relations and affairs: Stanford University. Here you will find our comprehensive list about the schools we believe to be the best value overall. With that said, this section is based on out-of-state tuition costs. A discussion of value changes when it comes to in-state tuition, but we do not know where you live (and are not trying to collect that kind of data).
Earnings for international relations and affairs students can differ, but two-years after finishing the degree graduates will typically earn around $53,900. There is much variation in salary; top positions can rake in up to $108,800. Straight out of university, the lowest earning jobs within the international relations and affairs field make $27,100, which is an alright wage. The highest earning graduates from international relations and affairs attended Stanford University and if you are looking for colleges with all of the highest earning graduates, we have that too.
The prevailing diversity of international relations and affairs stands high, coming within the 82nd percentile of all programs. The college with the highest composite diversity for international relations and affairs is New York University and here you can find our general list for the schools with the most diversity. The financial diversity of the International Relations and Affairs major sits only within the 7th percentile of all majors. Racial diversity is actually greater, ranking in the 72nd percentile. White undergraduates make up the largest proportion at 54% of scholars studying international relations and affairs. Additionally, 60% of undergraduates seeking an international relations and affairs degree are women.
The median score for international relations and affairs' professors is 4 stars, a score which is actually the median score for every major; this is a fine. If you are looking for the most popular international relations and affairs professor in the country, consider looking up Kenneth Abbott at University of Houston. It might come as a shock, but the top rated instructors of international relations and affairs by student are found at George Washington University. As we including data beyond basic rankings it becomes clear that the college with the best instructors for international relations and affairs is Stanford University. You will find more detail on our ever evolving ranking methodology of the best overall professors here, as well as many of the top professors nationwide.
Finally, the hardest school to get into for international relations and affairs is Stanford University. While we do not necessarily see the value in it, we do have a detailed page for the hardest colleges to get into. That being said, we hope you believe that approaching academics with a perspective primarily derived from superlatives can cause problems. We at Authority encourage you to look at some of our more focused pages on different topics and peruse a few of our informative background 'blog posts' on important things to consider as you progress with your university search.
Top 25 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Search for the best International Relations and Affairs colleges according to your filter parameters.
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#1 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Yale University
New Haven, CT | https://www.yale.edu/
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#2 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Stanford University
Stanford, CA | www.stanford.edu/
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#3 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Tufts University
Medford, MA | https://www.tufts.edu/
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#4 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Georgetown University
Washington, DC | www.georgetown.edu/
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#5 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Brown University
Providence, RI | www.brown.edu/
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#6 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA | https://www.virginia.edu/
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#7 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO | www.wustl.edu/
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#8 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
George Washington University
Washington, DC | https://www.gwu.edu/
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#9 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD | www.jhu.edu/
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#10 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Pomona College
Claremont, CA | www.pomona.edu/
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#11 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA | www.usc.edu/
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#12 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI | https://umich.edu/
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#13 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA | www.upenn.edu/
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#14 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Boston University
Boston, MA | www.bu.edu/
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#15 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA | www.cmc.edu/
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#16 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA | www.bc.edu/
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#17 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
American University
Washington, DC | www.american.edu/
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#18 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL | www.northwestern.edu/
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#19 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA | www.swarthmore.edu/
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#20 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA | www.ucla.edu/
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#21 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX | https://www.utexas.edu/
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#22 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Carleton College
Northfield, MN | https://www.carleton.edu/
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#23 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY | https://www.colgate.edu/
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#24 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA | www.wellesley.edu/
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#25 2024 Best Colleges for International Relations and Affairs
Emory University
Atlanta, GA | www.emory.edu/