[LoveDC]

What types of students study IR at St. Andrews? Are they there for the academics or more for the party/preppy scene?

[chester.]

To be honest, I don't think anyone comes to St Andrews for the party scene so I highly doubt IR would be special in that way.
As an outsider of IR and having never studied it at all I can't judge an awful lot, but I've known people of all sorts who study it- the really academic, those who just want to scrape by, those with little interest, those who are passionate, yahs, non-yahs etc. There doesn't seem to be a set recipe for the person who takes IR, but I'd say IR has a higher percentage of Americans than most (if not all) other subjects. That would be my only observation.

[AviG123]

I guess the IR students in St Andrews will be competitive and hard working, as the course is very well ranked and hard it get in to. The university is ranked second in the UK by the Guardian for studying IR, separated from the University of Cambridge by only 0.01 points.
Here is the full list of league tables if you're interested:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/...guide-politics

[Oxy]

Most them just scrape by and party too much.

[Connhk]

(Original post by Oxy)
Most them just scrape by and party too much.

I definitely wouldn't say that. Whilst the general tendency is for people to opine that Arts (IR included) work less than Science, this is not always the case. In my first year at St Andrews, the IR student body has by some margin been the most dynamic, and in many ways intellectual, of all the subjects I have taken. Whilst many international students are admitted for IR and end up doing other subjects due to either the difficulty, the workload or - quite possibly - that they found something else to their fancy; this does not mean that IR students that you will encounter in first year are dossing around. It should be added that most will not be living with their noses to the grind stone either!

The IR faculty is one of the best, if not the best, at the university. Though the undergraduate student body is amongst the largest in the university the course has a personalised feel. Mark Imber is a great first year course director and his feedback after examinations is one of the best things about the course!

Sorry for the long post but, all in all, as with most of St Andrews, the IR students you will meet are highly qualified, interesting yet laid back. Due to the ability to change course, passions will vary however there is a bit of camaraderie amongst the students especially when it comes to slogging through the endless readings

[Oxy]

(Original post by Connhk)
I definitely wouldn't say that. Whilst the general tendency is for people to opine that Arts (IR included) work less than Science, this is not always the case. In my first year at St Andrews, the IR student body has by some margin been the most dynamic, and in many ways intellectual, of all the subjects I have taken. Whilst many international students are admitted for IR and end up doing other subjects due to either the difficulty, the workload or - quite possibly - that they found something else to their fancy; this does not mean that IR students that you will encounter in first year are dossing around. It should be added that most will not be living with their noses to the grind stone either!

The IR faculty is one of the best, if not the best, at the university. Though the undergraduate student body is amongst the largest in the university the course has a personalised feel. Mark Imber is a great first year course director and his feedback after examinations is one of the best things about the course!

Sorry for the long post but, all in all, as with most of St Andrews, the IR students you will meet are highly qualified, interesting yet laid back. Due to the ability to change course, passions will vary however there is a bit of camaraderie amongst the students especially when it comes to slogging through the endless readings

Haha ok then, I dunno what IR classes you've been in.

[Connhk]

(Original post by Oxy)
Haha ok then, I dunno what IR classes you've been in.

It's all relative in first year . But seriously there are a fair amount of very smart people in IR, some don't give off the worker-bee vibe (mainly, yes, the Americans with their backwards hats...) Surprisingly though they do perform in tutorials which leads me to my comments.

[Oxy]

(Original post by Connhk)
It's all relative in first year . But seriously there are a fair amount of very smart people in IR, some don't give off the worker-bee vibe (mainly, yes, the Americans with their backwards hats...) Surprisingly though they do perform in tutorials which leads me to my comments.

Fair enough, I guess I've just been unlucky not to see any