The undergraduate International Studies program at Hopkins is the 19th best in the country, according to a study published in the influential Foreign Policy magazine's March/April issue. It was the first time that Foreign Policy has ranked undergraduate international relations (IR) programs.The study, conducted by faculty at the College of William & Mary, polled nearly 1,200 international-relations scholars and professors across the United States, comprising over 41 percent of the field. The respondents were asked which five undergraduate programs they considered to be the best. In a listing of the top 20 undergraduate programs, Hopkins tied with Duke for 19th place. Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Georgetown and Columbia took the top five places, respectively."I was disappointed by the results of the survey," said Steven David, director of Hopkins' international studies program. "But I think that it did not get an accurate measure of our program's strengths." While it is commonplace to attack studies that don't place a program in a positive light, in this case the study warrants an explanation, he said. "I participated in the survey myself, and the undergraduate program question was only one of a much broader 50-question survey. Considering that some of the schools ranked above us in the study don't even have specific International Relations programs, I don't think many of those surveyed had a good sense of the best programs. Most knew the graduate schools better," David said.
Hopkins performed better in the Foreign Policy's ranking of master's degree and Ph.D. programs. The Nitze School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), came in second behind Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, relinquishing its top spot from a similar study conducted for Foreign Policy for the November/December 2005 issue. It was also ranked No. 12 for Ph.D. programs, up from No. 13 in the 2005 study.
When asked if anything in the Hopkins undergraduate program will change due to the survey results, David responded, "It is dangerous when changing a program to be whipsawed by various surveys. It has to be based on more substantive critiques. In other surveys, we've been ranked as high as number two. We have one of the oldest programs in the country, one of first of its kind, taught by a superb faculty and with an excellent student body."Emily Jones, a sophomore International Studies major, was unimpressed with the study."In some sense I don't think that rankings are always accurate because they don't show you how you'll fit into the program as an individual," she said. But she also noted that the study has not been repeated, and suggested that it might become more accurate with time. "Based on the internships I've had, I feel like I am better prepared than the other people I was working with," she said. "Based on that, how could we rank so low?" The International Studies major, often referred to as "IR" by undergraduates and even professors for the more common "International Relations," is one of the most popular among Arts and Sciences students.Paula Burger, dean of Undergraduate Education, was unavailable for comment.
