Hi College Confidential folks,
I recently finished my Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from an American University outside of the U.S.
I produced a solid thesis and am an honor student (3.85 GPA at graduation). I was recently asked to co-author a paper based on my thesis by a senior professor who happened to be head of a UN organization earlier in his career.
I have the chance to work with an internationally-renowned Carnegie Fellow as a Teaching and Research Assistant, also worked with a Professor who was at some point a Visiting Scholar in Harvard.
I have solid work experience, I worked for the both the UN and the EU, and an INGO earlier in my career.
I was aiming for more practical fields like MPA for the past few years but I long to go back to Political Science, my undergrad major (it was at a national public university, the norm in my country).
I would like to know my chances of getting accepted in Harvard for an MA program- what they look for and whether I fit the criteria. I am looking into other universities in Boston as alternatives as well. Thanks
**Also, if it helps, I was head of a student activity during my undergraduate studies and I did a brief internship in the U.S. Congress.
Any chance for a reply guys? Help out a fellow grad student?
Which MA program are you looking into? I think you have a solid chance considering your work experience and high GPA. GRE scores are also a major factor, though, and schools like Harvard bank a lot on test scores/GPA.
Thanks @InamoratiAnon! I am aiming for Political Science. I am happy to take a GRE one but would be required for the Poli Sci program?
I believe the GRE is required for a Masters degree, though that could be up to the discretion of the school. I’d check the admissions page of the school to make sure. GMAT and LSAT are for business and law school, respectively, and as far as I know, the GRE is generally for other Masters programs.
I can’t really speak to your chances, but with an MPA and a high GPA, as well as some research experience and a thesis, I’d say you could be a competitive candidate. The work experience is less important for an academic MA than your prior research experience. Similarly, your student activity during undergrad won’t matter. Your internship with Congress might, depending on what you were doing. But an MA in political science is an academic degree, not a professional one - they’re going to be interested in your academic/scholarly/research potential.
My bigger question is why would you want to go back to get another MA? If you want to make the transition to doing research in political science at the master’s level, you could probably do that with an MPA. There are lots of jobs at think tanks and policy institutes and probably the government where a person with an MPA could do some research and move up.
And if you want to direct research and/or work as a researcher at a university, you’d probably want a PhD.
Why not try to get a job as a research associate or something first before going back for another masters?
Look at the graduate admissions requirements for Harvard’s Department of Government (political science in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences–you can’t get a terminal MA. The department only grants PhDs. You can get a terminal MA at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, which has many programs that are primarily for practitioners.