Pipeline to the Beltway?
Ranking which schools train the best candidates for jobs with the U.S. government.
These rankings are part of the Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) survey, conducted by Paul C. Avey, Michael C. Desch, James D. Long, Daniel Maliniak, Susan Peterson, and Michael J. Tierney. All additional information provided was added by Foreign Policy and is not part of the survey results.
In this survey, IR practitioners were asked to rank which schools train the best candidates for jobs with the U.S. government. The question made no distinction regarding the type of degree earned.
1. Harvard University
Notable Alumni:
President Barack Obama, J.D. ’91,
Former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, B.A. ’50, A.M. ’52, Ph.D. ’56
Former chairman, Council of Economic Advisors, Lawrence Summers, Ph.D. ’82
2. Georgetown University
Notable Alumni:
Former President Bill Clinton, B.S. ’68
Former CIA Director George Tenet,B.S ’76
Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, M.A. ’61
3. Johns Hopkins University
Notable Alumni:
Ambassador to Lithuania Anne E. Derse, M.A. ’81
Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, M.A. ’80
Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner, M.A, ‘85
4. Princeton University
Notable Alumni:
CIA Director David Petraeus, M.PA. ’85, Ph.D ‘87
Former Secretary of State, James Baker. B.A ‘52
Former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, MCF, ‘70
5. Stanford University
Notable Alumni:
U.S Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, A.B. ’86
Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, L.L.B ‘49
Former U.S Trade Representative Susan Schwab, A.M. ‘77
6. Tufts University
Notable Alumni:
Former U.S ambassador to the U.N Bill Richardson,M.A. ’70
Counselor to the U.S. State Department, Philip D. Zelikow, Ph.D.
Former U.S ambassador to the U.N. Thomas R. Pickering, M.A.
7. Columbia University
Notable Alumni:
Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, ‘55
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,
Former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft
8. Yale University
Notable Alumni:
Former President George H.W. Bush, B.A. ’48
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, J.D ’73
Former C.I.A Director Porter Goss,B.A. ’60
9. George Washington University
Notable Alumni:
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, M.B.A. ’71
Former U.S ambassador to China Adm. Joseph Prueher, M.S. ’73
9. University of Chicago
Notable Alumni:
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Ph.D. ’72
Former U.S Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad, Ph.D. ’79
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, J.D. ’67
11. U.S. Naval Academy
Notable Alumni:
Former President Jimmy Carter, B.S. ’47
Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, ’68
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, ’68
12. U.S. Military Academy at West Point
Notable Alumni:
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, B.S. ’74
Former President Dwight Eisenhower, B.A. ’15
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, B.S.
13. American University
Notable Alumni:
Former U.S Ambassador to the OECD Connie Morella, M.A. ’67
U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, J.D. ’63
Former Homeland Security advisor Frances Townsend, B.A. ’82
14. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Notable Alumni:
Former Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, Ph.D. ’66
Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, Gregory Mankiw, Ph.D. ’84
Former Secretary of State George Schulz, Ph.D., ’49
15. University of Michigan/Ann Arbor
Notable Alumni:
Former U.S President Gerald Ford,B.A. ’35
Director of USAID, B.S. Rajiv Shah, ’95
Ambassador Susan D. Page, first U.S Ambassador to South Sudan, A.B.
16. Syracuse University
Notable Alumni:
Vice President Joseph Biden, J.D. ’68
Former U.S Secretary of Commerce, John T. Connor, B.A. ’33
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White, Ph.D. ’69
16. Duke University
Notable Alumni:
Former President Richard Nixon, J.D. ’37
Chief of Staff to Vice President Cheney, David Addington, J.D. ’81
18. University of California/Berkeley
Notable Alumni:
Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, B.A. ’37
Former Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta, B.BA. ’53
Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, J.D. ’40
18. College of William and Mary
Notable Alumni:
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, B.A. ’65
Former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer,B.A. ’81
U.S ambassador to Honduras, Charles Ford, B.A. ’72
20. Four-way tie
Susan Peterson is the Wendy and Emery Reves professor of government and international relations and the chair of the Department of Government at William & Mary.
Michael J. Tierney is the George and Mary Hylton professor of international relations and director of the Global Research Institute at William & Mary. Twitter: @MikeTierneyIR
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