A Professor's Guide to Applying for International Relations Graduate Programs

Stephen M. Walt offers advice for prospective graduate students in international affairs, covering how to think about the decision and how to improve admission chances. He notes that his guidance applies mainly to U.S. and Canadian programs and is based on his experience in political science and public policy. He cautions that academic institutions and job markets are changing rapidly.

Walt's guidance targets students weighing master's versus doctoral paths in international affairs, emphasizing that a two-year M.A. typically suits those avoiding academia, offering networking and internship advantages with less debt. He explicitly limits his advice to U.S. and Canadian political science and public policy programs, acknowledging his expertise does not extend to law, STEM fields, or foreign institutions. The piece also stresses that academic institutions and job markets are shifting quickly, urging prospective students to treat his perspective as one opinion among many, and to seek additional counsel from faculty or employers familiar with their specific circumstances.