2024 Best International Relations & National Security Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

a master's degree in international relations & national security is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #43 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for international relations & national security students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 65 master's degrees in international relations & national security 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 Relations & National Security School for Your Master's Degree

The international relations master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality international relations program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on international relations & national security students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of international relations & national security 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 much debt international relations & national security students go into to obtain their master'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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for international relations & national security students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank International Relations & National Security Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best International Relations & National Security Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study International Relations & National Security in North Carolina

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

Top North Carolina Schools for a Master's in International Relations

1

Duke University
Durham, NC

34 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in international relations & national security has to check out Duke University. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from Duke University

2

North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC

20 Annual Graduates

$41,004 Median Starting Salary

North Carolina State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in international relations & national security. NC State is a very large public university located in the city of Raleigh.

Soon after graduating, international relations master's recipients generally earn an average of $41,004 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from North Carolina State University

3

East Carolina University
Greenville, NC

11 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat East Carolina University if you want to pursue a master's degree in international relations & national security. ECU is a very large public university located in the small city of Greenville.More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from East Carolina University

Best International Relations & National Security Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best International Relations & National Security Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	208	72
Georgia	190	61
Virginia	182	192
Tennessee	166	18
Alabama	151	73
Kentucky	147	27
South Carolina	146	2
West Virginia	112	0

View All Rankings >

International Relations & National Security Related Rankings by Major

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

International Relations Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
International Relations	54
International Security	11

Majors Similar to International Relations

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Economics	148
Sociology	51
Political Science & Government	46
Geography & Cartography	32
Anthropology	23

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 RepubFan12. More about our data sources and methodologies.