2024 Best International Studies Master's Degree Schools

a master's degree in international studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #125 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 25 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best International Studies Master's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 834 master's degrees in international studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great International Studies School for Your Master's Degree

The international studies master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to international studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of international studies students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for international studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized international studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for international studies students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best International Studies Master's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study International Studies in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in international studies.

10 Top Schools for a Master's in International Studies

1

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

69 Annual Graduates

$162,528 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in international studies has to look into University of Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

International Studies master's degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of about $105,712 over the typical earnings of international studies graduates.

More information about a master’s in international studies from University of Pennsylvania

2

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

19 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in international studies needs to take a look at University of Southern California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in international studies from University of Southern California

3

University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN

29 Annual Graduates

University of Notre Dame is a good decision for students pursuing a master's degree in international studies. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in international studies from University of Notre Dame

4

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

7 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a master's degree in international studies. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in international studies from University of California - Berkeley

5

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Norman, OK

121 Annual Graduates

$61,250 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the international studies degree program at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus earn $4,434 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in international studies from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

6

University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

21 Annual Graduates

KU is a very large public university located in the small city of Lawrence.More information about a master’s in international studies from University of Kansas

7

American Public University System
Charles Town, WV

113 Annual Graduates

$75,015 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the international studies degree program at American Public University System get $18,199 more than the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in international studies from American Public University System

8

University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

23 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in international studies from University of Arizona

9

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

11 Annual Graduates

UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill.More information about a master’s in international studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

10

Providence College
Providence, RI

Located in the midsize city of Providence, Providence is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in international studies from Providence College

International Studies by Region

View the Best International Studies Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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International Studies Related Rankings by Major

International Studies is one of 51 different types of Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies programs to choose from.

International Studies Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
International/Globalization Studies	834

Majors Similar to International Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	1,716
Sustainability Science	1,227
Nutrition Science	1,196
Behavioral Science	1,148
Computational Science	953
Human Computer Interaction	748
Data Analytics	530
Biological & Physical Science	496
Museum Studies	490
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	449

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Yerpo. More about our data sources and methodologies.