Which is stronger for undergraduate international relations: WashU or Georgetown?

Georgetown is stronger for an undergraduate focused specifically on international relations. Its School of Foreign Service is a dedicated undergraduate professional school built around global affairs, rather than an IR option housed primarily within a broader liberal-arts structure. Students can pursue fields such as International Politics, Science, Technology and International Affairs, International Economics, and regional or cultural studies within a cohort centered on international questions.

The academic environment is distinctive because the SFS curriculum combines political science, economics, history, languages, and quantitative work with internationally oriented coursework. Georgetown also has a deep bench of faculty and practitioners connected to diplomacy, security, development, international law, and global business, making it easier to encounter policy-relevant perspectives in class.

Its Washington, D.C., location is a major practical advantage. During the academic year, students have direct access to internships and events at embassies, federal agencies, congressional offices, research organizations, international NGOs, and multilateral institutions. Those opportunities can make it more feasible to build substantive experience before graduation rather than relying mainly on summer positions.

WashU can still provide an excellent liberal-arts education and has worthwhile international and area-studies, political science, language, and study-abroad opportunities. But for a student who already knows that IR is the central academic goal, Georgetown offers a more concentrated curriculum, a more IR-focused peer community, and a location closely tied to the field.