Rankings by major · 269 schools scored

Best colleges for international relations

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for international relations. The score weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid.

The top international relations schools: Stanford University, New York University, University of Southern California.

Top 100 colleges for international relations
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Stanford University Stanford, CA	100	Standout	62	3.7%	1.34×	4%
2	New York University New York, NY	97	Standout	88	1.2%	–	9%
3	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	95	Standout	155	2.5%	1.25×	10%
4	Yale University New Haven, CT	94	Standout	61	3.5%	–	5%
5	Brown University Providence, RI	93	Standout	118	5.4%	1.28×	5%
6	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	93	Standout	86	4.2%	1.34×	34%
7	Georgetown University Washington, DC	92	Standout	276	12.2%	1.21×	13%
8	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	91	Standout	48	1.3%	1.28×	5%
9	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	91	Standout	194	3.5%	1.22×	17%
10	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	90	Standout	79	4.1%	1.46×	8%
11	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	90	Standout	18	0.8%	–	4%
12	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	89	Standout	29	6.3%	1.42×	9%
13	Tufts University Medford, MA	89	Standout	143	6.9%	1.15×	11%
14	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	88	Standout	20	1%	–	11%
15	George Washington University Washington, DC	88	Standout	524	15.8%	1.13×	47%
16	Northeastern University Boston, MA	87	Standout	46	1%	1.10×	5%
17	American University Washington, DC	87	Standout	384	19.5%	1.09×	62%
18	Emory University Atlanta, GA	87	Standout	34	1.3%	1.15×	10%
19	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	86	Standout	31	1.1%	1.09×	7%
20	Pomona College Claremont, CA	85	Standout	16	3.3%	–	7%
21	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	85	Standout	60	2.1%	1.14×	14%
22	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	85	Standout	36	2.1%	–	45%
23	Fordham University New York, NY	84	Standout	94	3.7%	1.13×	59%
24	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	84	Standout	30	0.9%	1.24×	19%
25	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	84	Standout	48	5.8%	1.36×	11%
26	Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA	83	Standout	24	0.6%	1.16×	13%
27	The Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA	83	Standout	138	1.3%	1.04×	61%
28	University of Georgia Athens, GA	82	Standout	224	2.6%	1.04×	38%
29	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	82	Standout	46	4.9%	1.13×	14%
30	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	82	Standout	134	1.7%	1.06×	55%
31	Lafayette College Easton, PA	81	Standout	31	3.5%	–	31%
32	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	81	Standout	16	2.1%	–	14%
33	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	81	Standout	37	0.6%	1.05×	68%
34	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	80	Standout	34	2.4%	1.17×	29%
35	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	80	Standout	98	2.3%	1.00×	46%
36	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	80	Standout	6	0.1%	–	29%
37	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT	79	Strong	10	0.8%	1.39×	33%
38	Boston University Boston, MA	79	Strong	211	4.3%	0.98×	13%
39	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	79	Strong	143	2.3%	1.02×	87%
40	United States Military Academy at West Point West Point, NY	78	Strong	52	5%	–	12%
41	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	78	Strong	98	1.1%	1.10×	85%
42	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	78	Strong	52	9.4%	1.03×	45%
43	The Ohio State University Columbus, OH	77	Strong	138	1.2%	0.97×	51%
44	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	77	Strong	287	2.9%	0.94×	24%
45	Binghamton University–SUNY Binghamton, NY	77	Strong	2	0%	–	37%
46	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	76	Strong	20	1.9%	1.33×	29%
47	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	76	Strong	13	1.8%	–	24%
48	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	76	Strong	123	1.3%	0.99×	44%
49	Baylor University Waco, TX	75	Strong	45	1.2%	0.99×	52%
50	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	75	Strong	20	1%	0.99×	42%
51	Creighton University Omaha, NE	75	Strong	6	0.5%	–	92%
52	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA	74	Strong	5	0.7%	–	40%
53	University of Massachusetts–Boston Boston, MA	74	Strong	31	1.2%	–	84%
54	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	74	Strong	26	0.5%	–	80%
55	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	73	Strong	6	0.9%	–	26%
56	Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY	73	Strong	16	2.9%	1.15×	64%
57	Carleton College Northfield, MN	73	Strong	48	8.6%	–	20%
58	Denison University Granville, OH	72	Strong	10	1.5%	–	17%
59	Connecticut College New London, CT	72	Strong	20	3.6%	1.06×	37%
60	Miami University–Oxford Oxford, OH	72	Strong	43	0.9%	0.99×	75%
61	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	72	Strong	68	1.5%	1.01×	72%
62	University of Delaware Newark, DE	71	Strong	34	0.7%	0.95×	71%
63	Indiana University–Bloomington Bloomington, IN	71	Strong	118	1.6%	0.85×	78%
64	Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA	71	Strong	10	0.6%	–	89%
65	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	70	Strong	25	4%	0.95×	14%
66	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	70	Strong	54	0.9%	0.97×	96%
67	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	70	Strong	50	0.6%	0.83×	80%
68	Suffolk University Boston, MA	69	Strong	9	0.8%	–	87%
69	The College of Wooster Wooster, OH	69	Strong	10	2%	–	60%
70	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ	69	Strong	72	4.4%	1.06×	73%
71	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University–Prescott Prescott, AZ	69	Strong	76	13.2%	1.11×	75%
72	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	68	Strong	26	1.1%	0.97×	87%
73	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	68	Strong	25	3.2%	0.93×	19%
74	Butler University Indianapolis, IN	68	Strong	14	1.2%	–	85%
75	University of Mississippi Oxford, MS	67	Strong	37	0.9%	–	97%
76	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	67	Strong	50	13.4%	1.07×	74%
77	Florida International University Miami, FL	67	Strong	279	2.1%	0.95×	55%
78	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	66	Strong	78	0.8%	0.87×	43%
79	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	66	Strong	7	0.2%	–	72%
80	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	66	Strong	4	0.1%	–	48%
81	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA	65	Strong	27	3.7%	–	36%
82	Long Island University Brookville, NY	65	Strong	2	0.1%	–	93%
83	University of Denver Denver, CO	65	Strong	92	5.9%	0.88×	85%
84	Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA	65	Strong	8	1.1%	–	72%
85	Wheaton College (IL) Wheaton, IL	64	Solid	20	3%	0.96×	87%
86	Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL	64	Solid	12	2.6%	–	57%
87	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	64	Solid	24	4.2%	0.92×	42%
88	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	63	Solid	2	0.1%	–	62%
89	University of St. Thomas (MN) St. Paul, MN	63	Solid	6	0.4%	–	85%
90	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	63	Solid	50	0.6%	0.88×	37%
91	Wofford College Spartanburg, SC	62	Solid	16	3.2%	–	52%
92	University of South Carolina Columbia, SC	62	Solid	40	0.6%	0.81×	60%
93	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	62	Solid	38	2.6%	0.87×	62%
94	High Point University High Point, NC	61	Solid	8	0.7%	–	79%
95	DePaul University Chicago, IL	61	Solid	26	0.8%	1.00×	76%
96	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	61	Solid	29	0.7%	–	89%
97	Simmons University Boston, MA	61	Solid	4	0.8%	–	70%
98	University of Scranton Scranton, PA	60	Solid	4	0.4%	–	80%
99	CUNY–City College New York, NY	60	Solid	56	2.4%	0.87×	60%
100	University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH	60	Solid	35	0.5%	0.84×	85%

169 more schools are on the full international relations ranking.

How this ranking works

Updated October 18, 2026. Sources: early-career pay for graduates of each program, by field of study (College Scorecard), graduates per year in the major (IPEDS), undergraduate courses listed in each department's current catalog, and the student body's test scores. Inputs that are missing for a school are dropped and the rest reweighted; programs with fewer than five graduates a year are capped at 30. Scores are relative to the other schools covered, from 0 to 100.

To cite: prefrosh.ai, "Best colleges for international relations," updated October 18, 2026, https://prefrosh.ai/majors/international-relations. For a specific student's chances at these schools, use Chance me, which reads odds from the student's own high school's admissions chart.

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Best colleges for international relations

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