2023 Best International Relations & Security Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 14,306 people earned a degree or certificate in international relations and national security, making the major the #66 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best International Relations & Security Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 210 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in International Relations & Security
Our 2023 rankings named Claremont McKenna College the best school in the United States for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Out of the 210 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Yale University is a great place for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of New Haven.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Pomona College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best international relations and national security schools in the United States. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Claremont.
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Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #7, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, international relations majors at UPenn accumulate an average of around $16,517 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #8, Colgate University did quite well on this year’s best schools for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hamilton.
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Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
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With a ranking of #10, Lafayette College did quite well on this year’s best schools for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #11, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a very large student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, international relations majors at University of Virginia accumulate an average of around $18,391 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $236.
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Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $690.
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Bucknell University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree international relations and national security programs. Located in the distant town of Lewisburg, Bucknell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Carleton College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the town of Northfield, Carleton is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Tufts University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best International Relations & Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Angelo State University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best International Relations & Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Angelo State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of San Angelo.
The average amount in student loans that international relations majors at Angelo State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,527.
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Denison University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the suburb of Granville, Denison is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Brown University ranked #18 on this year’s Best International Relations & Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #19, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
On average, international relations graduates from USC take out $15,490 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $340.
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Hamilton College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best International Relations & Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Clinton, Hamilton is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Wellesley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Wellesley, Wellesley is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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William & Mary landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree international relations and national security programs. Located in the small suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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University of Chicago ranked #23 on this year’s Best International Relations & Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Emory University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best International Relations & Security Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Atlanta.
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With a ranking of #25, Virginia Tech did quite well on this year’s best schools for international relations and national security students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for International Relations & Security students that almost earned our Best International Relations & Security Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, TX |
| 33 | Hobart and William Smith Colleges | Geneva, NY |
| 34 | Mount St Mary’s University | Emmitsburg, MD |
| 35 | Webster University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 36 | Virginia Military Institute | Lexington, VA |
| 37 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 38 | Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT |
| 39 | American University | Washington, DC |
| 40 | Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus | Atlanta, GA |
| 41 | Dickinson College | Carlisle, PA |
| 42 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI |
International Relations & National Security by Region
View the Best International Relations & Security Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More International Relations & National Security Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to International Relations
One of 12 majors within the area of study, international relations and national security has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to International Relations
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Economics | 49,055 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to RepubFan12.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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