American University’s (AU) School of International Service (SIS) was identified in the top-tier of international relations programs around the world at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels by Foreign Policy magazine. The SIS masters and undergraduate programs both rank in the top 10, with the master’s program placing eighth and the undergraduate program also ranking eighth, up one spot from previous rankings.

In their first published rankings since 2018, Foreign Policy added two additional sets of rankings in each category, one by policymakers and the other from think tank staff. SIS’s undergraduate program ranks 10^th amongst policymakers and 11^th amongst think tank staff. SIS’s master’s program ranks 10^th amongst policymakers and 12^th amongst think tank staff.

“We’re proud of this recognition,” said SIS dean Shannon Hader, MD, MPH. “It speaks to our success in educating global leaders who will engage with some of the biggest challenges and biggest opportunities of our times. At SIS, we do global differently — preparing students to understand the world from multiple vantage points, building their real-world skills in navigating an ever-more complex world, and fostering expertise at the intersection of major issues that impact humanity.”  

Foreign Policy magazine typically releases rankings every three to four years. This year’s rankings come at a time of international uncertainty, with a critical election cycle in the US underway and with countries around the world grappling with democracy and democratic backsliding, populism, mis- and dis-information, and civic engagement. This coupled with ongoing wars, conflict, and recurrent humanitarian crises and climate events, the need to train agile, service-minded global leaders is greater than ever.

“The SIS network of faculty, students, and alumni is both broad and deep, rooted in DC and stretching around the world,” said SIS professor and senior associate dean for faculty affairs Rachel Sullivan Robinson. “Our students come to SIS to learn how to make a positive difference in the world, and they leave prepared to do so." 

With more than 25,000 SIS alumni worldwide, our graduates go on to successful careers of impact in government, nonprofits, and the private sector. More than 91 percent of BA graduates and 91 percent of MA graduates were employed or pursuing an advanced degree within six months of graduation. American University is the top producer of Peace Corps volunteers among medium-sized colleges for 2023, and AU’s Model UN team has been first in North America for three years in a row. American University ranks sixth in the nation for 2024 Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) finalists with 21. AU and SIS also excel in fellowship programs that broaden the population of global leaders, with 13 Charles B. Rangel, Thomas R. Pickering, and Donald M. Payne Fellows attending SIS in fall 2024. AU is currently third in the US for Boren Fellows, and in 2021, AU was first in the number of the Peace Corps’ Paul D. Coverdell fellows.

SIS master’s programs—both on campus and online—are still accepting applications. For undergraduates, recruitment for the 2025 entering class and transfer students are underway. For more information, please contact sisgrad@american.edu.

According to Foreign Policy, the rankings are derived as part of a longtime partnership with the Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) Project at William & Mary’s Global Research Institute. Their process is to ask IR professionals what they think are the five best places to study for an undergraduate, terminal master’s, and doctoral degree. In the most recent survey on the topic, conducted from October 2022 to January 2023, they received responses from 979 IR scholars across the United States, 294 staff affiliated with US think tanks, and 291 policymakers who worked in the US government during the George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations.