<p>It’s not going to help you with the admissions process if that’s what you’re asking.</p>
<p>I could definitely be wrong, but my understanding is that MA in IR grads can’t really find many jobs and either 1) go on for the PhD and teach or 2) career change.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s definitely hit or miss right now. And I would fall within your number 1 there. :p</p>
<p>Im currently a Junior and Im hoping to pursue a Masters in Public Policy concentrating in international affairs or a Master program specific to international policy studies (such as SAIS in Washington DC). I also might pursue a joint program with International Law, but thats a big ‘maybe’. For the Masters program, Im looking to finish with the following:</p>
<p>Political Science major, 3.8+ major GPA, 3.8-3.9 overall, with minors in African Studies and European Studies. </p>
<ul>
<li>Three year columnist for the student newspaper, at least one year as editor of the Opinion page, have also had letters to the editor published in the New York Time and The Times (London) - idk if thats something I would include on a resume or not</li>
<li>Spent Summer 2011 taking courses at the London School of Economics, interning in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords (of which I hope to get a letter of rec from the Baroness I worked for) and the completion of a dissertation which I’m currently submitting to some undergraduate journals. </li>
<li>Spending Spring 2012 at the University of Sydney taking courses and most likely participating in an additional internship</li>
</ul>
<p>Completing micro.macro econ, international trade and finance and political statistics to satisfy the requirements of Stanford’s Ford Dorsey school (which I assume will satisfy the econ requirements of any other school) and I speak workable Spanish and French.</p>
<p>Only thing missing is the GRE, which I plan to take in about two weeks, and I feel only somewhat prepared for it. Does anyone have any advice on how important the score will be in regards to my other qualifications for schools such as Stanford Ford Dorsey, John Hopkins SAIS, GW Elliot, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Tufts Fletcher, Harvard Kennedy IR concentration and the London School of Economics?</p>
<p>I know these are some pretty specific questions and I apologize for such a long post, i dont like listing my resume things I feel like an ass but Im trying to get a sense of how worried I should be about the GRE (and i think it makes it more frustrating just in terms of the stupidity of a standardized test and the fact that this exam is supposed to cover public policy, engineering and psychology at the same time…)</p>
<p>@ #352 (I think).</p>
<p>Nah, I didnt go to Patterson. I went to GIPIS, Reading. Nice green town. I am now doing a PhD at KCL which I almost certainly wont complete cos I have lost all interest in IR.</p>
<p>ggbadgers–I’d look at it as meeting a GRE threshold versus having to get 800Q/800V/6.0AW (did they just recently change the scoring system?). As long as you get high 600s and keep the GPA up then you’ve probably done the best you can. You’re going to be competing with people with work experience for admission, so being a stellar student with no work experience (though internships are better than nothing) just might not be enough. I think you have a shot though. And you’re only a junior? Just worry about your classes for now, you shouldn’t have to worry about the GRE for several months.</p>
<p>Of course, we all want to attend SAIS, Georgetown, Tufts, The Graduate Institute of Geneva etc. My question is this: what school can I realistically be admitted into?</p>
<p>I graduated with a Poli Sci degree, 2.89 GPA in 2009. Not so flattering. However, I was Vice President of Chinese Club, taught English for a year in the middle of nowhere undeveloped China, learned quite a bit of Mandarin (but not fluent), and Spanish fluently. I have excellent relationships with the head of my college’s Political Science, History, and Chinese Language departments, who will each conclude that I had a remarkable “mental growth spurt.” For what it’s worth, I speak to my East Asian History professor’s undergraduate classes each semester about China. I also have 6 credit hours toward graduate studies in Chinese Politics from a university in Beijing.</p>
<p>Provided my GRE score is satisfactory, what IR graduate schools should I be looking into? I would love to attend a college abroad, as I do not necessarily wish to work for the US Federal Gov’t.</p>
<p>Or, would you suggest that I gain more experience?</p>
<p>My region of focus is East Asia and subject of focus is negotiation/conflict resolution.</p>
<p>Any advice will be kindly welcomed.</p>
<p>With a 2.89 GPA I honestly don’t see you getting into any top tier program especially with a focus on East Asia. Due to the “rise” of East Asia you have more and more kids with backgrounds in the region with high grades and strong language skills. The SAIS China program for example is one of their most competitive programs. I’d definitely suggest getting some kind of work experience and looking at other schools such as Korbel School in Denver that has a China research center.</p>
<p>Yeah, Denver might be a possibility.</p>
<p>Thank you for the honest advice. I’ll research Denver. Have any additional school recommendations? How about schools abroad?</p>
<p>Here is Wikipedia’s list of all International Relations Schools:
[List</a> of International Relations schools - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_International_Relations_schools]List”>List of schools of international relations - Wikipedia) .</p>
<p>For regional studies, what are the typical regions available? (East Asia, Europe, etc.)</p>
<p>Pretty much anywhere…is there a region in particular you’re looking at?</p>
<p>Central Asia + Caucus</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the closest thing I could find was IU’s Central Eurasian program, or the Russian and Eurasian programs. </p>
<p>This wouldn’t be for a few years anyway, but I like to do my research.</p>
<p>I’m going to mix things up a bit… I’m looking more for post-MA career advice here. On the admissions front, I’ve read a lot of what people had to say and feel that I’ve got a pretty decent shot at getting into one of the top tier schools based on my college GPA, GRE scores, recs, and work experience (~3 years in management consulting plus a stint in the foreign policy think-tank world). My hope is to go into geopolitical risk consulting after I receive an MA in IR (i.e. at a place like Eurasia Group, Oxford Analytica, etc). I’d like some honest advice from current and former graduates who can comment on what the private sector career prospects are for grads of SIPA, SAIS, Kennedy, etc. Are there particular schools that are or are not better suited for candidates who’d like to enter the private sector? Thanks guys, great thread.</p>
<p>As long as this thread looks like it has a chance of reviving itself, I’ll jump in and see if anyone has any interesting thoughts. I’m looking at applying specifically to a program that will allow me to study most or all of the time in China, while earning a graduate degree from an American university. Obviously SAIS-Hopkins Nanjing Center jumps to mind. I’ve been researching around and having a lot of trouble identifying other schools that fit my criteria. I’m posting here in the MA-IR thread because that’s what I’d be earning for a degree if I did SAIS-Nanjing, but I’m open to other ideas. I just really want to be in China so I can solidify my Chinese and not lose it, while earning a Master’s from an American school. The American school is important, cause while I could easily be accepted for various full rides to Chinese schools, I don’t want an advanced degree from a Chinese school. </p>
<p>So my question is…does anyone know of any other such programs that let you earn degrees from American universities while studying mostly in China? Someone mentioned Korbel above, but I can’t see from their website that they have opportunities to do most of your study abroad. SAIS-Nanjing is really ideal for me, but I’d like to have other options (and am worried about how much money they’ll give me). </p>
<p>For reference, I’m a senior at Emory graduating with probably a 3.3 to 3.4. I am a double psychology (not relevant really) and Chinese (3.8 GPA) major. Native English speaker, high level Mandarin Chinese (HSK 6 on the new system) with internship experience and work experience. I’m hoping to go private sector after my degree. </p>
<p>Thanks all for a good threat, hope to see some good suggestions.</p>
<p>I’m a Pakistani-American planning on finishing my MA/Int’l Affairs in May 2012. I’ve visited Pakistan numerous times, and know the culture and can speak the language (Urdu and dialects). </p>
<p>Given that the Afghanistan/Pakistan region is of particular interest to the US, would someone with my credentials be in high demand? Where should I consider focusing on applying for jobs? I’m interested in think-tanks and IR consulting firms in particular (though beggars can’t be choosy, of course). </p>
<p>Any insights are appreciated!</p>
<p>More background:</p>
<p>One of my aims is to earn a doctorate in IR, but I’m debating on whether I should apply straight out of my MA (May, 2012), or work for a couple years first. </p>
<p>And I have a BS in International Business & Finance if that clarifies anything.</p>
<p>I graduated back in June 2009 from a top 2 Canadian school with a crappy 2.82 cumulative GPA. My first 3 years were a wash, I picked up the pace in 1st semester of 4th year (3.2 GPA), and finished the 2nd semester of my senior year with a 3.54 GPA.</p>
<p>In the last 2.5 years I’ve been mostly doing volunteer work, interning, studying languages and I traveled to about 15 countries. I did an internship in Geneva with an NGO and am in the process of learning a 3rd language. While in Geneva I got two works published, one in a magazine and one in a manual. I also left a solid impression at my Geneva internship so I should be able to get good references from them. On the other hand, I didnt interact much with my University Professors so I’m not too confident in the references I’ll get from them although I will do my best to try and motivate them to write strong letters.</p>
<p>I would like to apply to only schools in Europe that instruct in English and offer MA’s in International Relations. Based on my background, which schools do I have a shot at getting in to?</p>
<p>Most schools say they require a minimum of UK Upper 2:1 honors which pretty much rules me out. Other schools say they require a 3.0 minimum. Where should I apply?</p>
<p>I’m really interested in reading for a MA in IR and was hoping to get a few questions answered.</p>
<p>I graduated from Oxford in Law and got a solid 3.6GPA. I also have a masters. I worked as a lawyer for 6 months but decided it was not for me. Since then I have been interning extensively (some even prior to the lawyer gig), includes:</p>
<p>6 month internship in Beijing law firm
3 month internship with international IP law firm
3 month strategy consultancy x 2
3 months policy internship - European work but based in London
6 months government internship (economic development)
2 months work in Bosnia</p>
<p>I have 3 internships to come before I matriculate (1 in Berlin, 1 in DC and other in London)</p>
<p>Yet to take the GRE but am optimistic. I test well. Got 171 LSAT when I was thinking of an American JD.</p>
<p>I speak 4 languages fluently and am conversational in Mandarin and German. Learning Arabic as we speak.</p>
<p>2 solid recs and one so-so (prof doesnt seem to want to meet, so am not optimistic about the quality of it) - 1 problem, I have no work experience recommendation (last 3 internships, people I worked for/with have moved on). </p>
<p>Questions:</p>
<p>1) schools I’m aiming for - Yale Jackson, CIR, SAIS, SIPA, Fletcher and Georgetown MSFS - based on your experience and general things you’ve seen and heard, what are my chances?
I’m thinking of adding Stanford, Elliott and UCSD as backups (Stanford only as backup because I’m not optimistic about aid). Speaking of financial aid, how likely do these schools provide aid?</p>
<p>2) Am I disadvantaged having work experience in form of internships and not full-time?</p>
<p>3) Will the lack of W/E recs have an adverse effect?</p>
<p>4) Can I put my future internships (confirmed) into my application to further highlight my candidacy? i.e. on resume</p>
<p>Love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!</p>
<p>@UTgirlie Take a look at UC San Diego - IR/PS for East Asia. They don’t have much for negotiation and conflict resolution, but maybe the international politics track. They require a regional focus and the school is entirely focused on the Pacific.</p>
<p>Fortgot to mention in first post that a 2.89 wouldn’t be a deal killer there.</p>