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Best Online International Relations Degrees (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Key takeaway: International relations is the study of how states, international organizations, firms, and non-state actors deal with each other – security, trade, diplomacy, law, and development. It is a social science, not a job-training program, and no employer is required to hire you because you hold the degree. The credential that opens doors in this field is usually a master’s plus a region, a language, and a quantitative or legal skill. There is no programmatic accreditor for international relations, so institutional accreditation is the check that matters. Compare accredited programs below.
The academic core is theory plus evidence: why states cooperate and why they fight, how institutions like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization constrain behavior, how trade and finance move across borders, and how to test a claim about any of it with data or with careful comparative case work. Around that core, programs layer a region, a language, and a functional track such as security, political economy, human rights, or development. Accredited online programs generally award the same degree titles as campus programs; browse the best accredited online colleges to compare schools that offer them. To find programs near you, see international relations programs by state.
Schools Offering International Relations Programs
These accredited schools offer online programs. Request information to compare programs, costs, and formats.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Careers and Wages for International Relations Graduates
International relations graduates analyze, advise, comply, translate, manage programs, and communicate. Very few of them hold a job titled “international relations.” The occupations below are the ones the coursework most often feeds. Median annual wages come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
Median annual wage for the highest-paying international relations careers. Source: BLS OEWS. Chart: Best Online College.View the data behind this chart
Highest-paying international relations careers. Source: BLS OEWS (May 2025 release)
Occupation
Median annual wage
Public Relations Managers
$146,910
Political Scientists
$142,080
Economists
$124,720
Management Analysts
$101,860
Compliance Officers
$80,730
Social and Community Service Managers
$80,390
Survey Researchers
$69,460
Interpreters and Translators
$60,170
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Projected job growth (2024-2034) for international relations careers. Source: BLS Employment Projections. Chart: Best Online College.View the data behind this chart
Fastest-growing international relations careers. Source: BLS Employment Projections (2024-2034)
Occupation
Projected job growth (2024-2034)
Management Analysts
8.8%
Social and Community Service Managers
6.4%
Public Relations Managers
5.0%
Compliance Officers
3.0%
Interpreters and Translators
1.7%
Economists
1.2%
Political Scientists
-3.1%
Survey Researchers
-5.2%
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Political ScientistsSOC 19-3094
$142,080Median annual pay
Median hourly$68.31
Mean annual$142,510
Employment (US)5,540
Pay range (25-75%)$114,030 - $174,180
Interpreters and TranslatorsSOC 27-3091
$60,170Median annual pay
Median hourly$28.93
Mean annual$66,360
Employment (US)52,060
Pay range (25-75%)$46,530 - $80,830
Management AnalystsSOC 13-1111
$101,860Median annual pay
Median hourly$48.97
Mean annual$113,790
Employment (US)898,280
Pay range (25-75%)$77,950 - $133,370
EconomistsSOC 19-3011
$124,720Median annual pay
Median hourly$59.96
Mean annual$142,130
Employment (US)17,790
Pay range (25-75%)$89,330 - $174,720
Public Relations ManagersSOC 11-2032
$146,910Median annual pay
Median hourly$70.63
Mean annual$164,760
Employment (US)74,850
Pay range (25-75%)$106,580 - $204,520
Compliance OfficersSOC 13-1041
$80,730Median annual pay
Median hourly$38.81
Mean annual$88,400
Employment (US)417,070
Pay range (25-75%)$61,280 - $109,010
Survey ResearchersSOC 19-3022
$69,460Median annual pay
Median hourly$33.40
Mean annual$79,580
Employment (US)8,290
Pay range (25-75%)$51,270 - $99,760
Social and Community Service ManagersSOC 11-9151
$80,390Median annual pay
Median hourly$38.65
Mean annual$88,880
Employment (US)209,330
Pay range (25-75%)$64,290 - $103,200
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Read that list for size as well as for pay. Political scientists is the occupation that matches the discipline most exactly, and it is tiny: a median annual wage of $142,080 with the 10th percentile at $83,350 and the 90th at $195,190 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), on employment of 6,500 in 2024, projected to decline 3.1 percent through 2034, with about 500 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). That is a high median attached to a very narrow door, and most of those jobs sit in federal agencies, think tanks, and universities and expect a PhD or a long publication record.
The occupations that actually absorb most graduates are larger and pay less per person. Management analysts had a median annual wage of $101,860 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), with employment of 1,075,100 in 2024, projected growth of 8.8 percent, and roughly 98,100 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Compliance officers had a median of $80,730 on employment of 418,000, with 3.0 percent projected growth and about 33,300 openings a year. Social and community service managers, the occupation covering much nonprofit and international development program work, had a median of $80,390 with 6.4 percent projected growth and roughly 18,600 openings a year. Public relations managers, which covers a great deal of communications and public affairs work in multinational organizations, had a median of $146,910 with 5.0 percent projected growth. Interpreters and translators had a median of $60,170 with a 10th percentile of $37,070 and a 90th of $103,660 on employment of 75,300 and 1.7 percent projected growth. Economists had a median of $124,720 with 1.2 percent projected growth and about 900 openings a year, and that occupation generally expects graduate training in economics rather than in international relations. Individual outcomes vary by employer, geography, clearance status, language ability, and experience.
Quick Answers
What is an international relations degree?
It is a social science degree covering how states and other international actors interact: security and conflict, diplomacy, international law and organizations, trade and finance, and comparative politics. Most programs pair that core with a region, a language, and a functional specialization. It is analytic training, not vocational training for a named job.
Is international relations the same as political science?
No, though they overlap heavily and often live in the same department. Political science studies politics generally, including American institutions, political behavior, and theory. International relations is the subfield that looks outward at the system between states. If you want domestic policy, elections, or courts, political science is the broader home; if you want the international system, this is the narrower one.
Do you need a master’s in international relations?
For most professional international affairs jobs, yes or close to it. The bachelor’s is a strong analytic undergraduate degree, but hiring in policy analysis, international organizations, and international development skews toward candidates with a master’s plus a language and a functional skill. That is a real cost, and it belongs in the decision before you enroll.
Does this degree make you a diplomat?
No. Entry into the U.S. Foreign Service runs through a competitive selection process – a written exam, a personal narrative review, an oral assessment, and security and medical clearances – and it does not require any particular major or degree. The coursework helps you compete. It does not qualify you. See how to become a diplomat.
Is there a programmatic accreditor for international relations?
Not for the field as such. NASPAA accredits master’s programs in public policy, affairs, and administration, and a small number of international affairs master’s degrees hold that accreditation; membership in associations of professional schools is not accreditation. Verify that the institution holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor through the U.S. Department of Education database.
What you’ll study
International relations curricula generally move through four layers, and the last two are what separate programs from each other.
The first layer is theory. Realism, liberalism, constructivism, and their descendants are not trivia; they are competing accounts of why states behave as they do, and analysts use them as priors whether or not they name them. Courses cover the security dilemma, alliance formation, deterrence, cooperation under anarchy, and how domestic politics constrains foreign policy.
The second layer is method. This is where programs diverge sharply. Some are almost entirely qualitative: comparative case studies, archival and document work, process tracing. Others require statistics, research design, and sometimes economics. Quantitative coursework is the single most transferable thing an undergraduate can take out of this major, because it turns a humanities-adjacent transcript into evidence that you can handle data.
The third layer is substance: international political economy, international law and organizations, security studies, human rights, development, and regional coursework on a part of the world you intend to know well. A graduate who can speak precisely about one region and one functional area is far more employable than one who can speak generally about all of them.
The fourth layer is language. Serious international affairs programs treat language as part of the degree, not as decoration. Online programs vary widely here, and this is the most common weak spot in a fully remote curriculum. Ask directly how language instruction is delivered and assessed before you enroll.
At the bachelor’s level, expect roughly 120 credits, with the international relations core concentrated in the last two years, usually as a BA. At the master’s level, expect a professional MA built around a functional concentration, a capstone or thesis, and often a required internship or practicum. See how online international relations degrees work for how these components are delivered at a distance.
Careers for international relations graduates
The work sorts into a few shapes, and they hire on different evidence.
Analysis and research is the closest to the discipline: political risk analysis for firms, research at think tanks and nonprofits, and intelligence and policy analysis in government. Federal analytic work often requires a security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship and a background investigation, and that process runs on its own timeline regardless of your transcript.
Compliance and trade is the least glamorous and most consistently hiring lane. Export controls, sanctions screening, anti-money-laundering, and customs work all draw on the same knowledge of international law and institutions, and compliance officers are a large occupation with steady openings.
Program management in international development and humanitarian organizations is the operational path: budgets, reporting, grantmaking cycles, and field logistics. That work rewards a language, field experience, and a master’s more than it rewards theory seminars.
Business and communications roles absorb a large share of graduates: consulting and management analysis, corporate public affairs, market entry work, and international communications. If commerce is the actual interest, compare international business, which trains the finance, marketing, and operations side directly.
How to choose an online international relations program
Accreditation – confirm recognized institutional accreditation through the U.S. Department of Education database. There is no programmatic accreditor for the field itself.
Method requirements – read the required course list for statistics, research design, or economics. A program with no method requirement is a reading degree, and it will compete poorly for analytic jobs.
Region and function – confirm that the program lets you build depth in one region and one functional area rather than sampling everything.
Language – ask how language instruction is delivered online, whether it is required, and how proficiency is assessed.
Degree level – decide between a bachelor’s and a master’s, and be honest that most professional entry points in this field expect the master’s.
Applied work – look for a capstone, a policy memo sequence, a simulation, or an internship requirement, and ask how remote students complete it.
Cost – compare total program cost including fees and any residency travel rather than the advertised per-credit rate, and review how to evaluate affordability.
International relations or a related field? Choose international relations for the international system itself. Choose political science for a broader study of politics including domestic institutions, public policy if you want to analyze and design policy with formal analytic tools, international business if the work is commerce across borders, homeland security if the work is domestic security and emergency response, or economics if trade and finance are the real interest and you are willing to do the math.
