JD or MBA for Foreign Service/ International Development?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>I recently graduated with a major in Business Administration and I'm considering which graduate school route to take.</p>

<p>I'm currently applying to Peace Corps and hope to volunteer for 2 years in a business development project abroad. After graduate school, I would like to work in either a foreign service field (e.g. Foreign Service Officer) or in international development (World Bank, UN, NGOs, etc). My primarily reason for wanting to go graduate school is future career advancement.</p>

<p>After two years in Peace Corps and/or work experience- here are two routes that I am considering:</p>

<p>1) JD - International Law (I think that a law degree would be helpful in the diplomatic field and the course work itself is useful, but I have no interest in practicing law. Considering it's expense and rather intense coursework.. is it worth it to go for the degree but not practice?)</p>

<p>2) MBA + MIA - Master in Business Administration and a Master in International Affairs/International Relations--- this program will take 3 years to complete. </p>

<p>I appreciate any of your tips, suggestions, and ideas.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>It sounds like you don’t want either a JD or an MBA. What you seem to want is a Master’s in IR or a Master’s in Public Policy. Look into Georgetown’s SFS, Johns Hopkins’s SAIS, Tufts’s Fletcher School, etc.</p>

<p>JD’s are for lawyers. MBA’s are for people running businesses. It sounds to me like you don’t want to do either of those things, so neither degree makes sense.</p>

3

<p>^^concur with bdm. </p>

<p>Or, if you are interested in health, consider a Master’s from a School of Public Health with a strong focus on International Health (Hopkins, Harvard,
Emory, for example).</p>