Graduate School Of International Relations and Pacific Studies

Fantastic graduate education for sure. Professors have impeccable academic and applied («real world») credentials. Very rigorous course load; 98 credits in 2 years, which is more than twice the load you’ll get at GW’s Elliot school and similar East Coast programs. In short you come out of the program with a superior skill set and knowledge base that puts you on par with any graduate from SEPA, SAIS or the Kennedy School.
So why 4 instead of 5 stars?
Over emphasis on the management aspect. Curriculum wise this is not a bad thing, however the majority of career services alumni connections are in the private/​consulting sectors. I worry about IR/PS’s ability to compete in the job market with the big name east coast schools in the realm of foreign policy, human rights, civil society, think tank work, etc.
Name recognition. It’s an unfortunate aspect to being located in SoCal, but the local invites good collaborations with Mex and Pacific based institutions (ie. US-​Mex center, Center on Pacific Economies, etc.)
A few things you should know:
Quantitative heavy work load, if this turns you off (it shouldn’t in this field) then look elsewhere.
Language requirement is rather lax.
Limited field work in the area (internships, volunteer work etc.)
Alumni connections seem to be west coast oriented.
So, go to this school if:
You love the Pacific Rim, love quantitative work, want an exceptional degree, want to enjoy a diverse student body (interest wise/​country of origin wise), love the So-​Cal sun.
Just don’t expect a job to be waiting for you at the Council on Foreign Relations upon graduation… though you will have the necessary training.

I just spent the last 2 years at this fine institution. IR/​PS gets 5 stars for one simple reason: those 2 years have been two of the best years of my life (so far). Why?
1. I learned a lot. Before IR/​PS, statistics were foreign to me and I had no idea what econometrics was. Now I (somewhat) know what a confidence interval is, and am familiar with regressions. Woo hoo. Thanks to IR/​PS, I know what a public good is, and am familiar with the principal-​agent relationship. Crucial stuff right? I should know what a debit/​credit is, but frankly, the accounting professor sucks big time, so I still don’t know what the hell that is all about. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
2. I partied a lot. Sure, I did a fair amount in undergrad, but i had plenty of opportunities to socialize while at IR/​PS as well (just look at all the Unilocal reviews I’ve written the last 18 months to get an idea). I’ll tell you this much: us grad students know how to drink and party as well as any undergrads. Well ok, definitely compared to UCSD undergrads. Hmm, yeah. That only means we partied more than once a quarter. Just take my word for it– we found ways to have fun. At least those of us who didn’t get caught up in the competitive bullshit.
3. The professors. They’re all bright, most helpful, and many friendly. There are only a couple that I’d deem subpar (simply due to super boring lectures. one exception is aforementioned accounting professor, who wasn’t boring, but sketchy as can be).
4. Last and most definitely not least: my classmates. The cool thing about this program is it attracts such a wide variety of people. You have us management people, who have a curriculum akin to a MBA program, the econ people who love quantitative crap apparently, and the non-​profit people who are a lot more noble and optimistic than I am. Oh, and the politics and policy people. Not sure how to describe them (guess my generalizing skills are lacking tonight). Anyway, all these different groups are brought together at IR/​PS. Result is an eclectic group of cool ass mofos. I can’t think of any classmate who didn’t have at least a couple interesting life stories. And I know I’m going to miss them all when i say adiós to San Diego. Well besides the half that will end up in DC with me.
So if you want to have an enriching two years and are interested in international relations, I strongly recommend going to IR/​PS.