International Programs at an EU University?

[ali914]

Hi everyone,

My goal is to eventually work for the UN, an international organization, NGO, non-profit, etc. and I am looking into getting my masters in a related field (i.e. international relations, poli sci, diplomacy, etc.).

I'm from the US and have been looking into an international school, preferably in Europe, in order to help me achieve my goal. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on how "good" or "reputable" some schools I've been looking into are, and if they are worth attending over a US school.

I have looked at the QS, Shanghai and Times world rankings but I want to hear about these schools from a perspective that is not just a ranked listing.

I'm considering:

- University of Zurich (Switzerland)

- KU Leuven (Belgium)

- Utretch University (Netherlands)

- Leiden University (Netherlands)

- Uppsala (Sweden)

- Lund (Sweden)

Any help is greatly appreciated! It's hard to navigate the quality of these programs because I really know nothing about them. Keep in mind these are for humanities/social science programs in order to get me experience needed to work in Int'l organizations.

Thank you!

[lecorbeau]

I'm biased, but if you have the relevant profile/grades/etc. I'd recommend that you take out Zurich (which is much more of an engineering/applied sciences-y school, anyway) and replace it with the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Especially if you're after a career in the NGO/UN/etc. world.

Besides the usual suspects in the UK (UCL/LSE/Kings), some other schools you should look at are Sciences Po Paris and the Hertie School in Berlin.

There are a million about this, just do some searches.

Edited June 25, 2012 by lecorbeau

[OregonGal]

I did at one point look at Utrecht/Leiden/Rotterdam but I don't recall much in the way of specifics--that was in college and then I realized going to school in Europe when my interest was Asia was a bit silly

However, if you want to talk about social science/humanities Masters programs at Leiden one of my friends just graduated from their psychology program. He's a dual-citizen US/Dutch but he can speak a bit to the ex-pat experience and also the general merits of the English-language programs, or possibly connect you with someone who can speak to that a bit better. PM me if you want his contact info.

[domnulsl]

Syracuse's Maxwell has the Transatlantic Dual Degree Program in International Security and Development Policy in which you combine the Maxwell MAIR degree with a master's of public policy (MPP) from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin OR a master's of development policy from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University in The Hague. This is a pretty new program since it just started last year and there are only 8 candidates selected every year; some of the good things about this program are that the Department of Education will pay for your living cost in Europe and it will take two year for two masters.