International Relations Help (1 Viewer)

[mcaus]

Hi, I'm aspiring to a career in International Relations....Department of Foreign Affairs etc...and i have heard that ANU is the best place to be for such a career in Aust.

I'm from Melbourne, and these are my Options, please give me some advice!! thanks

ANU:

B Arts (international studies)/ B Asian Studies (Arabic Language) : 90

OR

Deakin University Melbourne

B Arts(international studies)/ B Law

What do u think would be better for my career aspirations? any advice is welcome..Cheers!

SS

 

[sezy_jane]

well, i wanna end up in a fairly similar field. not necessarily DFAT, maybe an NGO. i decided to do Arts/Law at ANU (i think it was 95 last year... not really looking to go any higher than that at the moment)

although in the end it might be more impressive to finish with the IR degree rather than the major, i decided to do just normal arts rather than the IR degree coz it allows you to be a little bit more flexible with what subjects you choose. I know a shitload of people doing IR, and most seem to just be doing the major rather than the degree. It means that if you change your career aspirations (as is quite possible when you're looking at 5ish years at uni) you don't have to go through the hassle of changing degrees.

At the end of the day, I decided a world reputation like ANU's was by far better than the comfort of being at home in Melbourne (I'm from Glen Waverley) and going to Melbourne, Monash or Deakin.

Good luck with everything! And don't stress TOO much bout your exams, it all works out in the end and no one gives a shit about TER scores after you get an offer at a uni.

 

[mcaus]

Thank you so much for your reply!!!!! that really does put me at ease!!! Yeah Arts/Law @ ANU is my first preference...but if i dont get it my second preference is Arts/Asian Studies (specialist)...do u think that is a better alternative than say Arts/Law @ Deakin?

Thanks again!!!!

SS

PS ahhh exams, its hard not to get stressed....i always find myself at this board around exam times, it reminds me that everyone is in the same situation haha!!!!!

 

[sezy_jane]

Any time I'm happy to help.

Umm... i'm not too sure bout Deakin's rep when it comes to law. In my opinion, i'd put ANY course at anu above deakin, but that's probably my own bias towards anu coming in I guess it depends on how important the law degree is to you.

Also, don't forget that you CAN transfer into law from another degree. It's not easy, but if you're one or two points below the required TER for the arts/law at anu maybe start off with arts/asian studies, allow yourself to get used to uni and then make a decision as to where you wanna go with it. It's a lot easier to move around the university system once you've got your foot in the door.

 

[littlewing69]

although in the end it might be more impressive to finish with the IR degree rather than the major, i decided to do just normal arts rather than the IR degree coz it allows you to be a little bit more flexible with what subjects you choose. I know a shitload of people doing IR, and most seem to just be doing the major rather than the degree. It means that if you change your career aspirations (as is quite possible when you're looking at 5ish years at uni) you don't have to go through the hassle of changing degrees.

Is it possible to couple IR with Law? How do I go about doing that? I've accepted an offer to Arts/Law at ANU.

 

[neo o]

Is it possible to couple IR with Law? How do I go about doing that? I've accepted an offer to Arts/Law at ANU.

IR is just a specialised arts degree. You can do all of the subjects you would otherwise have done in an IR degree in an arts degree, but you won't graduate with a B Arts (International Relations).

 

[littlewing69]

IR is just a specialised arts degree. You can do all of the subjects you would otherwise have done in an IR degree in an arts degree, but you won't graduate with a B Arts (International Relations).

I see. Cheers.

 

[patbox64]

I'm in a similar situation, so I thought it was pointless making a new thread. I know uni's a ffair way off, but I've just started thinking about it heaps.

Anyways, I've been considering doing double degrees that would looks something like this:
B Arts (international relations)/ B Asian Studies (Japanese)

or

B Arts (majoring in IR and English)/B Asian Studies (Japanese)

Does doing the Bachelor of Arts (IR) give me anything special that I really cant get with a major in IR under the arts degree?
I hope im making sense, just trying to wrap my head around all this stuff.
Thanks for any help guys!

 

[truper]

I'm in a similar situation, so I thought it was pointless making a new thread. I know uni's a ffair way off, but I've just started thinking about it heaps.

Anyways, I've been considering doing double degrees that would looks something like this:
B Arts (international relations)/ B Asian Studies (Japanese)

or

B Arts (majoring in IR and English)/B Asian Studies (Japanese)

Does doing the Bachelor of Arts (IR) give me anything special that I really cant get with a major in IR under the arts degree?
I hope im making sense, just trying to wrap my head around all this stuff.
Thanks for any help guys!

you can't do a double degree with the specialised IR course... but I don't think that's a concern for you cuz you need to learn a language as part of the course.

i want to do IR as well but the problem is, i don't think there's a lot of career (compared to, let's say, commerce) opportunities available. I mean, it's REALLY REALLY (x 1,000,000) hard to get into DFAT and same goes for the UN (where you need at least five years experience no matter what you're signing up for)

 

[bassbeats.]

I really want to a double degree of Law/Asian Studies (specialist)

I'm presuming that Asian Studies is an Asia-focused International Relations degree? Therefore would it be better for career prospects to do Asian Studies (specialist) over an International Relations degree?

Thanks

 

[Venusian]

hot tip if you badly want to work for dfat you will need honours (and good honours at that)

 

[Triangulum]

hot tip if you badly want to work for dfat you will need honours (and good honours at that)

Unless you're Alexander Downer's daughter, in which case third-class honours will suffice.