2025 Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree Schools
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.
College Factual looked at 134 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best International Relations & National Security Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8,561 bachelor's degrees in international relations & national security to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great International Relations & National Security School for Your Bachelor's Degree
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 consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different 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.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to international relations & national security students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of international relations & national security students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt international relations & national security students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized international relations & national security related body.
Our complete 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
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 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 United States
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for international relations & national security students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in International Relations
Johns Hopkins University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the international relations & national security program at Johns Hopkins University get $4,415 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Johns Hopkins University
It is hard to beat University of Virginia - Main Campus if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security. University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
Bachelor's recipients from the international relations & national security degree program at University of Virginia - Main Campus earn $7,281 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from University of Virginia - Main Campus
George Washington University is a great choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the international relations & national security major at George Washington University make $13,344 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from George Washington University
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in international relations & national security needs to take a look at Georgetown University. Georgetown is a very 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 around $10,999 above the typical earnings of international relations & national security majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from Georgetown University
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 degree program at American University make $7,962 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in international relations & national security from American University
