American looking at UK universities

Might also want to see if the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) has an IR programme - they might be a decent target school.

If you are interested in maybe conflict/war studies, you might want to also check out Essex, Sussex, and Manchester; for international development, see the University of East Anglia.

Greetings,

I'm a Mexican-American currently in my final year of undergrad at a public university in Illinois. I'll be getting my bachelor's in political science next May. I've decided to continue my education and pursue my masters in International Relations, or something similar.

In addition to looking at schools in the US, I'm also looking at several schools across the pond. Right now Aberystwyth, Kings College London, Royal Holloway, Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Nottingham are on my list.

My stats aren't very impressive. I'll likely only graduate with about a 3.0 GPA, which I think is the equivalent of a 2:2? This is due to my not taking school very seriously early on and dropping out, then returning after three years. I have gotten much better grades since going back to school, however.

I know most of the International Relations programs at these universities require a 2:1, however I have spoken with someone at Edinburgh who says I might still be competitive because I'm a more mature applicant (29 years old) with some relevant work experience (four years in the US military and three years in state government), plus my grades have improved over the years.

I guess I'm wondering what my chances might be of getting into any of these programs? At first studying in the UK was just a thought but now it's really growing on me. Are there any other schools I might be more suited to apply to? Any advice on how I can make myself more competitive? Thanks in advance and apologies for any ignorance on my part in regards to the UK or its educational system over there, as I've never been there and am just now reading about it.

Within IR, some unis have particular centre of excellence and have cluster of researchers in following areas:

For War Studies, King's is best suited in IR and has good contacts with MoDefence. Some officers teach IR.
Terrorism and Russian Studies: St Andrews
Development and Conflict studies: Sussex
Development and Political Economy in Africa/Asia: SOAS
Sub area in Population and Migration: Manchester

Further target schools with decent IR programmes and US student recruitment: Sussex actively recruits US students and even have scholarships reserved. alumni give good student satisfaction for teaching and course. it would be wise to spread your 6 applications in reach and target. Good luck

I can't advise on the course as I study other disciplines, but I go to Aberystwyth University and Interpol is one of the top 2/3 if not THE most subscribed course in our university. Also, the other universities you have mentioned; Aberystwyth is a tiny town on the West coast of Wales, whereas all of the others you have mentioned are either in cities or close to towns/cities. The nearest major town to us is Shrewsbury which is 75 miles (120km) away. I'm assuming you're currently studying in Chicago (I am geographically aware of a lot of places in the states :P) ? If so, it will definitely be a bit of a culture shock for you. Aberystwyth is also bilingual too and Welsh is the predominant language, but EVERYBODY can speak English as English is the 1st language of the UK followed by Welsh as 2nd language.

I'm pretty adaptable when it comes to living in different places. I grew up near Chicago but I'm actually currently studying in a small town six hours south of there. I've moved around quite a bit since graduating high school and have lived both in urban and rural settings. I spent three years in Palmer, Alaska, a town of about 7,000 people, and absolutely loved it except for the cold winters, so I wouldn't mind Aberystwyth being a tiny town. I also spent three years in Japan, so while I'm sure I will experience culture-shock at first, I also know I can overcome it.

That being said, of course I have some worries. I worry about how welcoming people will be there, whether they'll have preconceived notions about me being the stereotypical loud, ignorant American, or if I can adjust to how courses (modules?) are taught over there, etc. But I'm not concerned about things like night life, being in an urban setting or things of that nature. And from what I've read about Aber's Interpol department, it would be amazing if I got accepted there.

I would reccomend Sussex for the University but I'm afraid that I don't know what the IR masters course here is like specifically - I have a friend that recently graduated with a Masters in European Politics though and she was really happy with the teaching, I'm assuming that the two courses are probably quite similar?

* Regarding what you said about people being welcoming - obviously individuals vary but I don't think you would have a problem settling in here, I've met plenty of Americans and the only ones I haven't liked were in America at the time

Thanks, I will take a look a Sussex as well! Yes, International Relations and European Politics would both fall under the same Political Science umbrella, I suppose.

Just checked it out and I can re-affirm that Sussex is working looking at :P
Ranked 3rd in the UK for IR with 95% of research internationally accredited (more than any other IR uni department in the country apparently) and they have 5 different taught MA/Msc courses to choose from There's a specific course for international security/conflict if you're interested in that (I'm guessing from the military background?) too.

Wow. Those are some impressive stats. I wonder how many universities I should ultimately narrow it down to? I was thinking 5 American unis and 5 UK unis?