Inside the Ivory Tower

"Inside the Ivory Tower" is a ranking of the world's best university programs in international relations. The ranking is published by the Foreign Policy magazine in collaboration with the Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) Project at the College of William & Mary. The survey is based on input from "all international relations scholars employed at a college or university who have an affiliation with a political science department or school of public policy and who teach or conduct research on issues that cross international borders."

The first TRIP Faculty Survey was conducted in 2004. One of the questions asked respondents to rank International Relations graduate schools in the U.S. The survey has since expanded to include undergraduate programs. The survey began including universities outside of the U.S. in 2009. The survey was last conducted in 2018, and asks the respondents to rank the top five international relations programs by degree level. The rankings are determined by the percentage of respondents who list a particular school.

2018 rankings

Undergraduate programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 51.10
2 Princeton University 49.14
3 Stanford University 41.67
4 Georgetown University (Walsh) 39.46
5 Columbia University 32.97
6 Yale University 21.08
7 University of Chicago 20.96
8 George Washington University (Elliott) 17.40
9 American University 15.20
10 University of California, Berkeley 11.64
11 University of California, San Diego 9.68
12 Dartmouth College 9.56
13 Tufts University 9.07
14 University of Michigan 8.58
15 Johns Hopkins University 7.23
16 College of William & Mary 6.86
17 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6.37
18 Cornell University 5.76
19 University of Pennsylvania 4.53
19 Ohio State University 4.53
21 Williams College 3.68
22 Brown University (Watson) 3.31
23 University of Virginia 3.19
24 Swarthmore College 3.06
24 University of California, Los Angeles 3.06
Master's programs
Rank School Percent
1 Georgetown University (Walsh) 60.53
2 Harvard University (Kennedy) 49.43
3 Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) 48.30
4 Princeton University (Wilson) 37.58
5 Columbia University (SIPA) 37.45
6 Tufts University (Fletcher) 30.90
7 George Washington University (Elliott) 29.38
8 American University 21.06
9 London School of Economics 18.16
10 University of Chicago (CIR) 13.75
11 Stanford University (Dorsey) 9.08
12 University of Oxford 8.07
13 Yale University 7.82
14 University of Denver 7.31
15 University of California, San Diego 5.42
16 Syracuse University (Maxwell) 4.67
17 University of Cambridge 3.78
18 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3.28
18 University of Michigan 3.28
20 University of California, Berkeley 2.40
20 University of Pittsburgh 2.40
22 New York University (Center for Global Affairs) 2.14
22 Sciences Po-Paris 2.14
24 Duke University (Sanford) 1.77
25 School of Oriental and African Studies 1.53
Ph.D. programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 62.51
2 Princeton University 53.17
3 Stanford University 48.76
4 Columbia University 32.44
5 Yale University 21.80
6 University of Chicago 21.37
7 University of California, San Diego 16.00
8 University of Michigan 15.68
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 13.43
10 University of California, Berkeley 12.03
11 University of Oxford 8.59
12 Cornell University 7.30
13 London School of Economics 6.66
14 The Ohio State University 5.48
15 Georgetown University 5.37
16 University of Cambridge 4.51
17 Johns Hopkins University 4.08
18 George Washington University 3.22
19 New York University (Center for Global Affairs) 2.69
19 University of Wisconsin–Madison 2.69
21 University of Minnesota 2.26
22 American University 2.15
22 Duke University 2.15
22 University of Rochester 2.15
25 University of California, Los Angeles 2.04

2014 rankings

Undergraduate programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 46.20
2 Princeton University 39.14
3 Stanford University 33.02
4 Georgetown University 28.06
5 Columbia University 24.37
6 University of Chicago 19.62
7 Yale University 18.67
8 George Washington University 11.39
9 American University 9.92
10 University of Michigan 9.49
11 University of California, Berkeley 8.54
12 Dartmouth College 8.23
13 University of California, San Diego 7.70
14 Tufts University 7.07
15 Cornell University 6.43
16 Johns Hopkins University 6.12
17 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5.06
18 College of William & Mary 4.54
19 Swarthmore College 3.48
20 Williams College 2.95
21 University of California, Los Angeles 2.85
22 Brown University 2.74
22 University of Virginia 2.74
24 Ohio State University 2.64
25 Duke University 2.22
Master's programs
Rank School Percent
1 Georgetown University 58.61
2 Johns Hopkins University 47.76
3 Harvard University 46.31
4 Princeton University 33.33
5 Columbia University 31.21
6 Tufts University 29.08
7 George Washington University 26.06
8 American University 17.11
9 London School of Economics 13.42
10 Stanford University 5.37
11 University of Denver 5.15
12 University of Chicago 5.03
13 University of California, San Diego 4.70
14 University of Oxford 4.47
15 Yale University 3.91
16 Syracuse University (Maxwell) 3.13
17 University of California, Berkeley 2.57
18 University of Cambridge 2.35
19 University of Pittsburgh 1.79
20 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1.68
21 Monterey Institute of Int'l Studies 1.45
21 Sciences Po—Paris 1.45
21 University of Michigan 1.45
24 Graduate Inst. of Int'l and Dev. Studies 1.12
24 New York University 1.12
24 Texas A&M University 1.12
Ph.D. programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 62.51
2 Princeton University 53.17
3 Stanford University 48.76
4 Columbia University 32.44
5 Yale University 21.80
6 University of Chicago 21.37
7 University of California, San Diego 16.00
8 University of Michigan 15.68
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 13.43
10 University of California, Berkeley 12.03
11 University of Oxford 8.59
12 Cornell University 7.30
13 London School of Economics 6.66
14 Ohio State University 5.48
15 Georgetown University 5.37
16 University of Cambridge 4.51
17 Johns Hopkins University 4.08
18 George Washington University 3.22
19 New York University 2.69
19 University of Wisconsin—Madison 2.69
21 University of Minnesota 2.26
22 American University 2.15
22 Duke University 2.15
22 University of Rochester 2.15
25 University of California, Los Angeles 2.04

2012 rankings

Undergraduate programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 58
2 Princeton University (Wilson) 53
3 Stanford University 39
4 Columbia University 34
5 Georgetown University (Walsh) 33
6 Yale University (Jackson) 28
7 University of Chicago 21
8 Dartmouth College 15
9 George Washington University (Elliott) 13
10 American University (SIS) 11
11 University of California, Berkeley 10
12 Cornell University 9
13 University of Michigan (Ford) 8
14 Tufts University 7
14 Williams College 7
14 Johns Hopkins University 7
14 Swarthmore College 7
18 Duke University 6
19 Brown University 6
20 University of California, San Diego 5
Master's programs
Rank School Percent
1 Georgetown University (Walsh) 69
2 Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) 60
3 Harvard University (Kennedy) 57
4 Princeton University (Wilson) 44
5 Tufts University (Fletcher) 41
6 Columbia University (SIPA) 40
7 George Washington University (Elliott) 38
8 American University (SIS) 20
9 London School of Economics 12
10 University of Chicago (CIR) 8
11 University of Denver (Korbel) 7
12 Stanford University (Dorsey) 6
13 Yale University (Jackson) 6
14 Syracuse University (Maxwell) 5
15 University of California, San Diego 4
16 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4
16 Oxford University 4
18 University of California, Berkeley (Goldman) 3
19 New York University (PoliSci Dept) 2
19 University of Michigan (Ford) 2
Ph.D. programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University (Govt Dept) 70
2 Princeton University (Wilson) 62
3 Stanford University 54
4 Columbia University 44
5 Yale University 27
6 University of Chicago 27
7 University of California, San Diego 21
8 University of California, Berkeley 19
9 University of Michigan 18
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 18
11 Cornell University 11
12 University of Oxford 10
13 London School of Economics 9
14 Georgetown University 7
15 George Washington University 7
16 Johns Hopkins University 7
17 University of Cambridge 7
18 The Ohio State University 6
19 University of Rochester 5
20 New York University 4

2009 rankings

Methodology note for 2009 rankings: Undergraduate programs were ranked by individual country in this particular survey. For full undergraduate listings, see the original survey.

Ph.D. programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 59
2 Princeton University 42
3 Stanford University 34
4 Columbia University 31
5 Yale University 20
6 London School of Economics 19
7 University of Chicago 18
8 University of Carlifonia-Berkeley 14
8 Oxford University 14
10 University of Michigan 11
11 University of California, San Diego 10
12 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 10
13 Cornell University 9
14 University of Wales, Aberystwyth 7
15 Cambridge University 7
16 Johns Hopkins University 6
17 Georgetown University 5
18 New York University 3
19 University of California, Los Angeles 3
20 University of Minnesota 3
21 The Ohio State University 3
22 University of Rochester 3
23 Duke University 3
24 Tufts University 3
25 Australian National University 3
Master's programs
Rank School Percent
1 Georgetown University (SFS) 48
2 Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) 44
3 Harvard University (HKS) 43
4 Tufts University (Fletcher) 29
4 Columbia University (SIPA) 29
6 Princeton University (WWS) 25
7 London School of Economics 22
8 George Washington University (Elliott) 16
9 American University (SIS) 9
10 Oxford University 9
11 University of Chicago (CIR) 5
12 Yale University (Jackson) 4
13 Syracuse University (Maxwell) 4
14 Carleton University (Paterson) 4
15 Stanford University 4
16 Cambridge University 4
17 King's College London 3
18 University of California, San Diego 2
19 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2
19 University of Wales, Aberystwyth 2
21 University of Denver (Korbel) 2
22 University of California, Berkeley 1
23 New York University 1
24 University of Pittsburgh (GSPIA) 1
24 University of Kentucky 1

2007 rankings

Methodology note for 2007 rankings: Only schools based in the United States were ranked in this particular survey.

Ph.D. programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 65
2 Princeton University 52
3 Columbia University 45
4 Stanford University 45
5 University of Chicago 30
6 Yale University 26
7 University of California, Berkeley 25
8 University of Michigan 22
9 University of California, San Diego 20
10 Cornell University 12
11 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 11
12 Johns Hopkins University 10
13 Georgetown University 8
14 Duke University 8
15 The Ohio State University 8
16 New York University 7
17 University of Minnesota 5
17 University of California, Los Angeles 5
19 Tufts University 4
20 University of Rochester 4
Master's programs
Rank School Percent
1 Georgetown University 65
2 Johns Hopkins University 64
3 Harvard University 46
4 Tufts University 42
5 Columbia University 39
6 Princeton University 38
7 George Washington University 28
8 American University 19
9 University of Denver 9
10 Syracuse University 7
11 University of California, San Diego 5
12 University of Chicago 4
12 Yale University 4
14 Stanford University 4
15 University of Pittsburgh 3
16 University of California, Berkeley 2
16 University of Maryland 2
18 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2
18 Monterey Institute of International Studies 2
20 University of Southern California 2
Undergraduate programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 48
2 Princeton University 46
3 Stanford University 30
4 Georgetown University 28
5 Columbia University 28
6 Yale University 23
7 University of Chicago 21
8 University of California, Berkeley 12
9 Dartmouth College 11
10 George Washington University 10
11 American University 10
12 University of Michigan 9
13 Tufts University 8
14 Swarthmore College 8
14 University of California, San Diego 8
16 Cornell University 6
17 Brown University 6
18 Williams College 5
19 Duke University 5
19 Johns Hopkins University 5

2005 rankings

Methodology note for 2005 rankings: Only the graduate programs of schools based in the United States were ranked in this particular survey.

Ph.D. programs
Rank School Percent
1 Harvard University 75
2 Columbia University 48
3 Stanford University 47
4 Princeton University 43
5 University of Chicago 36
6 Yale University 29
7 University of Michigan 28
8 University of California, Berkeley 27
9 University of California, San Diego 16
10 Cornell University 12
11 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 11
12 Duke University 10
13 Johns Hopkins University 9
14 Georgetown University 8
15 The Ohio State University 7
16 University of Minnesota 7
17 University of California, Los Angeles 6
18 New York University 6
19 University of Rochester 4
20 Tufts University 3
Master's programs
Rank School Percent
1 Johns Hopkins University 65
2 Georgetown University 62
3 Harvard University 47
4 Tufts University 45
5 Columbia University 45
6 Princeton University 39
7 George Washington University 26
8 American University 16
9 Syracuse University 7
10 University of California, San Diego 5
10 University of Denver 5
12 Yale University 5
13 University of Chicago 4
14 University of Pittsburgh 4
15 University of Maryland 3
16 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2
16 Stanford University 2
18 University of Kentucky 2
19 New York University 2
19 University of Southern California 2

This page was last updated at 2023-07-26 08:59 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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