every major American university awards the Ph.D. degree in political science. A few universities also have schools or programs offering a two-year interdisciplinary Masters degree in international affairs or (discussed in the next section) in public policy or public management. The distinction between a graduate program in political science on the one hand and a school of international affairs (or public policy or management) on the other hand is sharp. Graduate programs in political science are designed to provide academic training: the required coursework and research are aimed at preparing students to become professors of political science. International affairs schools, by contrast, provide professional training. Much as law schools teach their students the practical knowledge needed for a career in law, and business schools teach their students the practical knowledge required for a career in business, schools of international affairs aim to teach the management, communications, economics, statistics, and foreign language skills needed in a professional career involving international affairs. The precise name of the degree offered by these schools varies from place to place: Master's of Public Policy, Master's of Public Affairs, Master's of Public and International Affairs, Master's of International Affairs, and so forth.
Originally, some of these schools were designed to produce candidates for the Foreign Service. Since so few applicants are accepted into the Foreign Service and since admission is now by examination, these schools have altered their focus and now try to prepare students to work for other government agencies and for international businesses as well.
In general, the curricula at these schools stress international politics, history, and economics. There are; however, substantial differences in emphasis between various schools of international affairs. Some put relatively more stress on management skills and economic and statistical training, seeking to train generalists who can comfortably move into a variety of jobs or fields. Others put relatively more stress on language or area skills, or on specialized training in a particular policy problem (for example, international trade or arms control), in an effort to prepare students for a more narrowly-defined career track. In addition, different schools offer different geographic or policy specializations. If considering this educational route, students should write to particular schools for their catalogs and compare the curricula offered.
These schools take placement seriously, an important point to consider. Typically they require (and help arrange) an appropriate internship in the summer between the two years of the program. The older and better established schools also have a considerable alumni network upon which to call. If interested in working for the government in international affairs, one of these schools may be the best bet. To varying degrees these schools also provide training that is useful (and is seen by potential employers as useful) in the business world, particularly in the world of international banking and finance. Certainly many graduates of international affairs schools get jobs with major corporations. It is less clear; however, whether this training is optimal for a business career and whether or not graduates of international affairs schools may have to go back to business school later on.
There are relatively few schools of international affairs. All of them are competitive for admission and the best are extremely competitive. Increasingly, the top schools strongly prefer admission candidates who have already had some relevant career experience -- for example, who have worked in Washington for a few years, have been in the Peace Corps, or have worked with an international charity or PVO. Financial aid varies substantially from school to school typically and is based on merit rather than need. Presently, the most prestigious of these schools are the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard, both of which stress management and do not specialize exclusively in international affairs but consider domestic concerns as well. Other top, very competitive programs include the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California at San Diego; and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. Somewhere in here is the International Relations Program at Yale, which is much smaller than the others and allows students essentially to custom tailor their educations. The international affairs schools at the University of Maryland, George Washington University, The University of Southern California, the University of Denver, the University of Kentucky, and American University, as well as a new program at Georgia Tech., are somewhat easier to gain admission into. Many of these schools also offer combined international affairs/law degrees with selected law schools; admission to combined programs requires separate admission to both the school of international affairs and the law school.