2023 Best Value Colleges for International Relations & National Security in District of Columbia (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 14,306 people earned their degree in international relations and national security, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, international relations and national security graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $41,288 and had an average of $21,455 in loans still to pay off.

Across District of Columbia, there were 2,268 international relations and national security graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,009 and $20,688 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in international relations and national security. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent international relations and national security programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the international relations and national security program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for International Relations & National Security in District of Columbia (With Aid)

1

Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$32,108 Average Net Price

$69,885 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Georgetown University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid. Georgetown University is located in Washington, District of Columbia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 572 ’s international relations degrees to qualified students.

Georgetown did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in District of Columbia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Georgetown University is $32,108 for District of Columbia International Relations students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on International Relations & National Security at Georgetown University

2

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$32,563 Average Net Price

$65,148 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, George Washington University landed the #2 spot on the list. George Washington University is a large school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 948 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our district of columbia international relations students with aid list, GWU has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for George Washington University is $32,563 for District of Columbia International Relations students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full GWU International Relations & National Security Report

3

American University
Washington, District of Columbia

#3 in overall quality

$40,088 Average Net Price

$50,575 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value International Relations Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid list. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 700 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.

The American University also took the #3 spot in our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The American University is $40,088 for district of columbia international relations students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about International Relations & National Security at American University

• Best Value Colleges for International Relations & National Security in the Middle Atlantic Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for International Relations & National Security (With Aid)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to RepubFan12.