Stony Brook College? Or best international relations colleges in USA?

[rencor27]

Hi the Math teacher at my school has a daughter interested in studying in NY. I am from NY so she came to me and asked me about some schools. Her daughter wants to study international relations.
First she asked me about SUNY Stony Brook because I think her daughter is interested in that school. But also she was curious about what other schools are considered good for that major. I am not sure how much money matters.
Anyway do any of you know much about Stony Brook or any other good colleges for international relations? I am trying to do research online but you could probably give me better info anyway. Thanks.

[rmiller152]

While I'm not from NY I looked at many schools out there. I really liked Wagner College in Staten Island. I think it would be a good place for an international student since it is small, quiet and has a good reputation.

[Catfish]

Another school you could point her to is the University of South Carolina.  It has one of the top rated International Relations Schools in the country (Number 2 or 3 on Princeton's Review--at least two years ago). 

I went to USC and was pretty involved with their international department.  They have a really good multicultural affairs department, conversation partners program, and they have some Korean language courses--so there are SOME people who do speak Korean on campus.  The exchange students I worked with and became friends with were from all over Asia:  Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, and India.  They were all pretty great people and they formed a really close community.  They live on the edge of campus--not great--but if she enrolls as a full time student it might be different.  I think you have to have a pretty high English proficiency score, but if she is looking at studying in America it sounds like her English is really good.

I totally understand why she would want to go to NY, but the South also has a lot of culture, flavor, and character.  USC is located right in the middle of the south so everything is basically an hour or two away: Charlestons, Augusta, Atlanta and Savannah.  Columbia is a "big" city--but not huge.  The exchange program regularly schedules little trips to the various locations, including Thanksgiving dinners, Spring Break vacations, and football game tailgates. 

If you or your student has any other questions --I would be happy to answer them.  Just let me know.

[jaybird]

Hey, I'm also from NYC! Most IR programs are graduate level and Columbia is no doubt the most well known in the city! I did my own undergrad in political science at Baruch CUNY

[sunshinefiasco]

While most IR programs are in grad school, there are certain undergrad institutions that would give her a leg up/access to opportunities in IR. I would look at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, Georgetown U, in D.C., Tufts U in Boston, Middlebury in Ct. Those can be really hard schools to get into, but they also have TONS of resources and opportunities available to do things abroad that other schools don't always have.

 I would honestly just advise her to go to the best school that she can get into (so long as they have a decent IR program), as that may be a deciding factor for grad school. Those are the schools most likely to have grant programs, etc. for projects abroad, that will really set her grad application apart.

Also, I would recommend choosing a school with a thriving immigrant community (either coast, or St. Paul, which has huge Somali, Hmong, and Mexican communities, as well as some of the best resource centers for refugees/torture victims in the world), because that way, even if she doesn't get the grant-type stuff, there are tons of ways to be involved in international/immigrant issues. 


Full disclosure: I went to Macalester, if you can't tell from my post.

[jfromtheway]

As a holder of a degree in IR, I feel comfortable saying that a BA in IR itself won't get you much outside of entry-level NGO/non-profit, policy analyst, or various other government positions, even coming out of some of the best schools. The Foreign Service is a different story. But it's a very good general degree that covers global politics, economics, history, and foreign language. As others have mentioned, if that's the field she wants to pursue and if she's overly ambitious, she'll be best off planning for an MA to make it a quarter of the way up the tree, or a law degree to make it half-way. The second half is mostly reserved for rich and successful white male business-related lawyers .

I'll try to upload a PDF I have explaining more about careers and a little on schools.

And there are some rankings here, but they're mostly in regard to graduate schools. Again, like others have mentioned, I doubt you'll find much on undergraduate rankings, though they should mostly fall in line with these.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/191105-rank-ma-international-relations-programs.html

This forum, however, will likely not give you better information than google will, as people will simply feed you information they googled. And, lastly, I know very little about Stony Brook aside from it being a pretty good university, though one without a law school...

[rencor27]

Thanks everybody, great responses! Very very helpful. 

[karnaz]

I am hold a BA in Global History from SUNY Stony Brook. I am in no way a Stony Brook fanboy, but it had some very good  things, and some not so good things. Let me give you my Pros and Cons:

Pros:
-Stony Brook offers many different majors. You can major in just about anything you want there.
-The size of the campus is very large.
-There are many electives that are offered because of the large size of the student body
-There is an attached hospital (Stony Brook University Hospital) which is used by the general public as well as to teach medical students.
-There is a very large population of foreign students, including MANY Asians (my dorm-mate one year was a Korean transfer student from Seoul).
- Many extra-curricular activities and clubs are offered.
-Stony Brook is connected to New York City. There is a Long Island Rail Road station ON the campus. Travel time to NYC: 1.5 hours.

Cons:
- Public Transit is almost non existent. You NEED a car when you live on Long Island. If she doesn't make friends with someone with a car, or buy a used one herself, she may feel isolated (who am I kidding, she WILL feel isolated).
-The campus is an hour and a half away from New York City by train. While this may be considered by some as a Pro, if she wants to live in NYC, she is definitely choosing the wrong school. Maybe she should try a CUNY (City University Of New York) school instead.
-Large cliques of ethnicities exist, which allow one to speak L1 most of the time. One Korean transfer student I knew said she was disappointed that she could get through most days without having to speak English to anyone.
-Train ticket to NYC costs about $15 one way.


SB is an all around good school, with no especially good departments (although the Math and Pre-Med departments are respected). She should go there, because there are so many choices there that from there she can make her life how she wants it, but definitely let her know that she is basically in the middle of nowhere on Long Island. If you live on Long Island you need a car to basically do anything.