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Best International Relations & Security Master's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best International Relations & Security Master's Degree Schools in California

9 Colleges
$56,002 Avg Salary

Finding the Best International Relations & National Security Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,379 degrees and certificates were awarded to international relations and national security students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #76 most popular major in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best International Relations & Security Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best International Relations & National Security Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for international relations majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top California Schools for a Master's in International Relations & Security

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for international relations and national security students working on their master’s degree. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - San Diego is a great place for international relations and national security students working on their master’s degree. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Full International Relations & National Security at University of California - San Diego Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best International Relations & Security Master’s Degree Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best International Relations & Security Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Middlebury Institute is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Monterey.

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Out of the 9 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Claremont Graduate University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.

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#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree international relations and national security programs. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

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#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best International Relations & Security Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

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#8

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

University of San Diego came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best International Relations & Security Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for international relations and national security students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. CSUSB is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.

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Best International Relations & National Security Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best International Relations & National Security Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 64
Oregon 56
Nevada 49
Hawaii 18

International Relations & National Security is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar 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 9 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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