Notre Dame vs Tufts for international relations: which is better for an IR major?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Tufts is more tightly identified with international relations as a core undergraduate strength, while Notre Dame offers a strong IR path inside a broader, more traditional campus experience with especially notable strengths in political theory, global affairs, and policy-oriented study. For an undergraduate focused primarily on IR itself, Tufts usually has the clearer edge because of how central the field is to the university’s academic identity. Its location near Boston also adds access to internships, research centers, and a student culture where global politics is a major focus.

Tufts stands out because of the Fletcher connection, the university’s long-standing reputation in international affairs, and the depth of coursework across diplomacy, security, development, regional studies, and foreign policy. Even though Fletcher is a graduate school, undergrads still benefit from the surrounding ecosystem, visiting speakers, faculty expertise, and the overall concentration of students interested in global issues. For someone who wants IR to feel like one of the school’s signature academic lanes, Tufts is hard to beat.

Notre Dame is absolutely credible in this area, especially if you want international relations combined with strong liberal arts training, serious faculty engagement, and a campus culture shaped by ethics, service, and global engagement. The Keough School of Global Affairs gives Notre Dame real substance in international study, and the university has meaningful opportunities in global development, peace studies, and international research. If your version of IR leans toward global justice, political thought, public service, or international policy through a values-driven lens, Notre Dame can be especially appealing.

For a student choosing mainly on the strength of the undergraduate IR program itself, I would give Tufts the advantage. Notre Dame is strong, but Tufts is more consistently recognized as a top destination for undergraduates who want international relations to be a central academic and pre-professional focus.