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2025 Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

32 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
2,563 Bachelor's Degrees
$42,300 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #58 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 32 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for international relations & national security students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,563 bachelor's degrees in international relations & national security during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great International Relations & National Security School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region Your choice of international relations & national security for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for international relations & national security students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More International Relations Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The international relations school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study International Relations & National Security in the Middle Atlantic Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for international relations & national security students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Bachelor's in International Relations

1

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security has to look into Johns Hopkins University. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the international relations program earn an average of $44,004 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Johns Hopkins University

2
511 Annual Graduates
$52,933 Median Starting Salary
$55,471 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat George Washington University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

International Relations & National Security bachelor's degree recipients from George Washington University earn a boost of around $10,633 over the typical earnings of international relations & national security graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from George Washington University

3
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
283 Annual Graduates
$50,588 Median Starting Salary
$42,952 Median Student Debt

Georgetown University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.

International Relations & National Security bachelor's degree recipients from Georgetown University earn a boost of approximately $8,288 over the average income of international relations & national security graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Georgetown University

4
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
387 Annual Graduates
$47,551 Median Starting Salary
$53,146 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat American University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security. Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the international relations & national security program at American University make $5,251 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from American University

5
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.

Those international relations & national security students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Pennsylvania make $23,259 more than the standard international relations student.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from University of Pennsylvania

6
18 Annual Graduates

Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Carnegie Mellon University

7
96 Annual Graduates
$46,653 Median Starting Salary
$83,352 Median Student Debt

Fordham U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bronx.

Bachelor's recipients from the international relations & national security program at Fordham University earn $4,353 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Fordham University

8
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
88 Annual Graduates

NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from New York University

9
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
94 Annual Graduates
$43,249 Median Starting Salary
$49,333 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the international relations program report average early career earnings of $43,249.

More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Syracuse University

10
Colgate crest
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY
44 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Hamilton, Colgate is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Colgate University

Best International Relations & National Security Colleges by State

Explore the best international relations & national security schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 275 700
Pennsylvania 274 474
Maryland 207 170
New Jersey 193 118
Delaware 130 55
District of Columbia 126 1,270

View All Rankings >

International Relations & National Security is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.

International Relations Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
International Relations 2,529
International Security 34

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 7,994
Political Science & Government 7,829
Sociology 3,747
General Social Sciences 1,317
Anthropology 1,121
Other Social Sciences 589
Geography & Cartography 474
Urban Studies 260
Sociology & Anthropology 158
Archeology 59

Notes and References

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