Searching for a masters in public policy or similar in a French or Japanese speaking country

Graduate School
1

I finished up my BA in Political Science earlier this year an am looking for a Master’s program in public policy, or something similar. I’d also like to find something that focuses, at least to a moderate degree, on international affairs.

I’m currently studying French and Japanese, so I would highly prefer a university located in a country that speaks one of those languages. So I’ve been looking at Japan, France, French speaking parts of Belgium, Switzerland, and other French speaking countries. Since I know I’m not going to become totally fluent in a foreign language by living in the US I’m determined to find a program in a location where I can get some practical experience using it.

In Japan I’d prefer to be in the area around Tokyo, just because that’s where I’d get the most exposure to “Standard Japanese”, but I would also consider other regions. I’d rather not do Quebec, since I’m American and want to go abroad for my degree. I know its not really in the US, but by “abroad” I mean outside North America.

Because I’m not fluent yet, I need something that offers courses in English.

The two I’ve found so so far, that look really good, are the University of Tokyo, and Sciences Po. The both have a program in Public Policy. I also saw their dual degree program, where I could do one year at both schools.
http://www.sciencespo.fr/public/en/content/sciences-po-university-tokyo-graspp
http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/mppip/
http://www.sciencespo.fr/public/en/content/master-public-policy

I know I’m not guaranteed acceptance into any of those programs, so does anyone here know of any other good options? I haven’t had much luck searching with google.

Also, might I be better off asking this in the College Search & Selection section? Questions there seemed to focus on undergraduate education, but could be wrong.

2

Questions in CS&S do mostly focus on undergrad education; this is the place to ask about graduate school.

Rather than searching on Google, your best bet might be to find a list of universities in those regions and then check the websites of each one to find out whether they have a program. For example, a list of top French universities lists Ecole Normale Superieure as a top university in France, and so I went to the website and checked out their master’s programs and they have a master’s in politique publiques et development (http://www.economie.ens.fr/spip.php?article43&lang=fr).

But here’s the other question you should ponder: Where do you want to work in the future? Do you want to come back to the U.S. and work in international affairs, or are you planning to spend your career abroad? Do note that there are only a few international universities that have top status in the U.S., and that international affairs can be a fairly prestige-focused career area (some programs have better connections and career services than others). A program at Sciences Po is probably really great, but their career services and connections are all going to be in France and maybe some other nearby Western European countries.

Many American universities have master’s programs that allow you to spend a year or two abroad at a partner university. For example, Columbia and Sciences Po have a dual degree program - a year at Sciences Po, a year at Columbia, and you get a master’s in international affairs or public policy (http://www.sciencespo.fr/en/education/graduate-studies#Dual-degree%20programmes). American University’s SIS has a dual-degree program with a Japanese university, through which you can get an American U master’s but also study in Japan for a year (http://www.american.edu/sis/admissions/degrees_dual.cfm).