Master of International Relations: Australian National University vs. University of Kent, Brussels plus Virginia Tech (dual degree)

[Henry26]

It’s quite a hard choice for me… Let me first describe a bit about my struggle.

I wanna pursue an academic career in the discipline of international relations. My main research interests include international cooperation, IR theory, IOs, and Asia-Pacific. Both schools have very significant pros and cons in my view. 

ANU is a leading institution in Asia-Pacific studies and very rich in academic resources. However, I tend to complete my doctoral studies (Ph.D.) in the US. As you guys may know, ANU is a base for the English School of IR (emphasize the value of traditional research methods, which means I won’t have enough quantitative training if I choose to study at ANU). And I worry that if my quantitative background is weak, it might hurt my chance to get into top US universities (well, honestly, I found the English School is attracted to me, whereas I still more fond of scientific behaviorism with regard to research methodology…). Also, the location of ANU makes me even more hesitant… (in Canberra).

University of Kent, Brussels and VTech (DC campus) can hugely widen my perspective I guess since these two cities are the political centers and have plenty of IOs. In addition, I suppose if I get a US degree (by VTech), it would be easier for me to apply for other American universities. And I might be able to build my networking in the region of DC. But these two schools seem not as prestigious as ANU in the field of IR. So, I am concern about it might influence my academic career if I cannot get good enough academic training in these two schools. 

Hence, my questions can be simply summarized as follow:
1)    Is ANU’s IR programme highly recognized in the US? Will it affect my chance to get into US universities for Ph.D.? (in the negative sense)
2)    Is VTech’s Government and International Affairs programme (the programme I admitted in) known in the US? Or would you say it good?

I apologize for typing a lot, but I really want to describe my concerns clearly. Thank you guys!