ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best International Relations & National Security Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts

5 Colleges in Massachusetts
453 Master's Degrees
$62,495 Avg Early-Career Salary
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.

College Factual reviewed 5 schools in Massachusetts to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of international relations & national security. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 453 master's degrees in international relations & national security during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "social-sciences//international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json", major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 9
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 45.09), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Homeland Security (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Homeland Security (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Grad Cert - Homeland Security (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Grad Cert - Homeland Security (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Homeland Security (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Homeland Security (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Science & Engineering Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Diploma Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Science & Engineering Diploma Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "International Business (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "International Business (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Grad Cert - International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Grad Cert - International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MBA - International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MBA - International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No relevant offers, showing generic ESYOH widget

Choosing a Great International Relations & National Security School for Your Master's Degree

Best International Relations & National Security Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts Your choice of international relations & national security for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More International Relations Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The international relations school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best International Relations & National Security Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts.

DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "social-sciences//international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json", major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 9
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 45.09), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Homeland Security (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Homeland Security (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MBA - International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MBA - International Business (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No relevant offers, showing generic ESYOH widget

ADBLOCK #171

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

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

Top Massachusetts Schools for a Master's in International Relations

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
100 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in international relations & national security needs to take a look at Harvard University. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard 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 Harvard University

2
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA

It's hard to beat Tufts University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in international relations & national security. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

International Relations & National Security master's degree recipients from Tufts University earn a boost of around $10,837 over the typical income of international relations & national security graduates.

More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from Tufts University

3
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA

Boston University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in international relations & national security. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the international relations program make around $51,374 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from Boston University

4

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in international relations & national security needs to look into Northeastern University. Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

After graduating, international relations master's recipients usually earn around $60,311 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from Northeastern University

5

UMass Lowell is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Lowell.

Those international relations & national security students who get their master's degree from University of Massachusetts - Lowell make $4,651 more than the average international relations student.

More information about a master’s in international relations & national security from University of Massachusetts - Lowell

ADBLOCK #172

DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "social-sciences//international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json", major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/international-relations-national-security/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = "social-sciences/international-relations-national-security"
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 9
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 45.09), keeping min_relevance at 0.5
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.5, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No relevant offers, showing generic ESYOH widget

Best International Relations & National Security Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best International Relations & National Security Colleges in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Connecticut 153 55
Rhode Island 127 19
New Hampshire 108 27
Vermont 91 79
ADBLOCK #173

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, International Relations & National Security has other similar majors worth exploring.

International Relations Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
International Relations 383
International Security 46
Other International Relations & National Security Studies 24
ADBLOCK #174

Majors Similar to International Relations

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 713
Political Science & Government 101
Urban Studies 56
Anthropology 48
Geography & Cartography 46
Sociology 30
Other Social Sciences 21
Archeology 13
General Social Sciences 3

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options