What is International Relations?

Students of International Relations (IR) examine the foreign relations of states, the incentives and influence of non-state actors, characteristics of the international system, and explanations for international conflict and cooperation. Central phenomena of interest in international relations include power, strategy, armed conflict, conflict resolution, trade, and economic development.

What do International Relations Scholars do in the Army?

Graduates of International Relations programs serve in a variety of command and staff positions from the tactical to the strategic levels in nearly all branches and functional areas of the Army. The issues that IR explores help officers understand the explanations for conflict and cooperation that impact the Range of Military Operations that the Army conducts. Besides serving largely in command and staff positions throughout the Army, officers with graduate school in IR serve as strategists (FA59), foreign area officers (F48), strategic intelligence officers (FA34), and rotating or permanent faculty members at USMA, the Army War College, and other military professional education schools.

What kinds of Degrees predominate in the field?

Most graduate students in IR pursue either masters degrees in international affairs or policy studies or doctoral degrees in policy or political science.

What kinds of professionals study in the typical programs?

In the typical masters program, one will find junior to mid-level professionals who have worked for and want to be future leaders in government, the UN system and IGO community, the NGO community, and international business. In doctoral programs, one will generally find future academics, government and business policy analysts, and think tank members.

Top Political Science Programs for Army Officers

Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Chicago, Johns Hopkins-SAIS, Tufts-Fletcher School, MIT, Georgetown, and Yale