How do Georgetown and the University of Maryland compare for undergraduate international relations?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Georgetown offers a more concentrated, internationally focused undergraduate environment in Washington, while Maryland offers a broader large-university experience with strong political science and policy options. Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service is one of the country’s most established undergraduate homes for international relations, with dedicated majors, language expectations, a global core curriculum, and unusually close access to diplomats, think tanks, embassies, and federal agencies. At the University of Maryland, students can pursue international relations through Government and Politics, International Studies, and related policy, area-studies, economics, language, and security-focused coursework.

Georgetown is likely to feel more immersive for a student who already knows they want IR. Many classmates will be pursuing related fields, and the SFS curriculum creates a common foundation in history, economics, politics, and foreign language before students specialize. Its location in D.C. makes semester-time internships and guest speakers especially integrated into student life.

Maryland College Park has meaningful access to D.C. as well, including through internships and the university’s connections to federal research and public-policy institutions. Its advantages are scale and flexibility: students can combine international relations interests with fields such as computer science, public policy, business, public health, or language study, and they can benefit from a major research university’s course offerings and organizations. The experience may require more self-direction because IR is less centralized than it is at Georgetown.

For the strongest undergraduate academic experience specifically centered on international relations, Georgetown has the clearer edge because of the SFS’s specialized curriculum, peer community, and built-in D.C. ecosystem. Maryland can be the more compelling choice when cost matters significantly, or when the student wants IR within a wider, more flexible research-university setting.