<p>Tell me about the MSc in IR at the LSE. Was accepted in Feb and would love to hear any and all input on the program and the school in general, but specifically: its standing relative to the two year MA programs in the states, employment prospects afterwards, whether/to what extent it will enhance my chances at a top phd program in the states, what everyone thinks are the top phd programs in IR... tell me everything!</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>what do you all think of the MA-IR program at the Geneva School of Diplomacy? I can't find any info or reviews of the school online aside from the website itself. </p>
<p>Master</a> of International Relations - GSDIR Academic Programs</p>
<p>I'm currently pursuing a poli-sci undergrad in Canada and was hoping to focus my studies on conflict in the Middle East in the future. Thanks</p>
<p>Ok, so I am currently at Syracuse University w/ a major in IR concentration in International Political Economy.<br>
I am interested in international development and international organizations (UN, OECD, etc), but I am also trying to figure out what kind of private sectors jobs are good fits for people with a masters in IR.</p>
<ul>
<li>I have gotten into dual ECN/IR program at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, which is a good school, however that's were I did my undergrad (although I was gone for 1.5 years studying abroad).</li>
<li>I also just got into the Elliott School at GWU. I am excited about that, although it will be a lot more expensive, DC has a lot of great IR style experience.<br></li>
<li>I am waiting to hear back from the MS in Global Affairs program, part of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at NYU. I actually don't know anything about this program except it is NYU, they emailed me (which is how I heard of it) and their Private Sector: International Business concentration looked really interesting.</li>
</ul>
<p>Another factor is my soon-to-be fianc</p>
<p>Anyone know anything about JD-MAs in IR? I believe Stanford Law has a joint program with SAIS but don't know much more than that...</p>
<p>Baya---I've heard some fairly negative reviews of NYU's MS in Global Affairs. It isn't affiliated with the APSIA and is in the school of continueing ed, which is generally not very competitve. If you are considering going there I'd recommend speaking to some current students. </p>
<p>emigre0518---I know that Seton Hall has a JD-MA in IR program which is pretty respectable. The law school is top 50 and the IR program---the Whitehead school if Diplomacy and International Relations is affiliated with the APSIA. It is in a good location, just 20 minutes outside of NYC and has a good relationship with the UN I think.</p>
<p>UCLAri, and anyone familiar with DC schools,</p>
<p>As a follow-up to your advice regarding which school to attend, how would you judge whether or not a school's higher ranking or name recognition merits the difference in cost? I could go to American for free, pay the full amount at Georgetown, or somewhere in the middle at GW. How does one decide?</p>
<p>I harbor no illusions about the relatively small paychecks I can expect following graduation. I know that Georgetown grads all find jobs, but is it worth it at this cost?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>does anyone know anything about the International Science and Technology Policy Program at Elliot school, I was recently accepted and have undergrad degrees in physics math and astrophysics and am interested in getting into science and space policy but dont know too much about how good the school is for that or if there is a better option out there. Thank you.</p>
<p>Hi everybody,</p>
<p>I am looking for some information and I hope you will be able to help me.</p>
<p>I am a french student and I would like to study in a good IR program.
I have a licence(french undergraduate degree) in economics and management with grade of cum laude, and a ma</p>
<p>Can someone help me weigh the pros/cons between DU Korbel and Whitehead? Is one significantly better, and how does location hurt/help? Thanks.</p>
<p>Whitehead is an affiliate member of APSIA while Korbel is a full member - that’s one place to start. Whitehead isn’t even ranked on the Foreign Policy survey while Korbel-DU is ranked 12th, tied with MIT and Yale.</p>
<p>Leaving out issues of money (I don’t know if Whitehead has given you any) I don’t see why you’d pick Whitehead over DU.</p>
<p>I’m not saying Whitehead is a poor program because it’s not - it looks like a great program. But if you’re going on rankings and affiliations then DU has Whitehead beat - hands down.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. DU absolutely has rank over Whitehead, but I have spoken with a few IR academics and former ambassadors that have led me to believe the advantage of being in the beltway outweighs DU’s higher ranking. It is also much more likely that I’ll be given an assistantship from Seton Hall, but I’m willing to make an investment in a better school if it will prove beneficial later. I’m visiting Korbel Thursday and can hopefully make a more informed decision after.</p>
<p>Nice - I’ll see you there!</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind - Korbel shares a campus in DC with Maxwell and GSPIA.</p>
<p>My adviser convinced me to pick DU over Tufts because she felt it was a better program for Int. Security. That AND the fact Tufts didn’t give me any cash :-(</p>
<p>InSF,</p>
<p>I chose DU over Syracuse’s Maxwell School and my focus is Intl. Security. So if you end up going there, I’ll see you for the orientation in Sept.</p>
<p>UCLA 09</p>
<p>Oh I’ll definitely be there - I just got back from the admitted student week in Denver.</p>
<p>See you in September.</p>
<p>So I have been admitted to the International affairs or development programs at Tufts, Columbia, Johns Hopkins (waitlisted for IDEV program, though), American and GW. GW has offered me the most fellowship money, making most of the other programs at least $20K more expensive. I am really interested in policy work, especially with regard to human rights, genocide prevention and development. I am struggling with picking the right school that will give me the most opportunities post graduation (taking into consideration having less debt is an important part of that equation). Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Pick the program that gives you the most $$$$ so you owe the least when you graduate. No one can say one school’s program “got me this job” over another because you know what? No one really cares where you went once you have your MA as long as you’ve attended a recognized school.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that. I do agree that the quality of education should be similar across the spectrum as long as you go to a recognized school, but for me, one of the main reasons to get an MA in IR is for the networks that your degree and school opens for you. All of these programs are relatively small and as such, a lot of the alumni remain very tied with the program.</p>
<p>As such, I wouldn’t necessarily agree that schools like GW or American would open as many doors as SAIS/SIPA/Fletcher. For example, I think its well known that if you want to work for the World Bank, SAIS is probably one of the best bets since it is nearly a feeder school into that organization. I do understand that the debt load would be a large consideration though, especially if you are interested in human rights policy work.</p>
<p>I really don’t think I would have landed my internship this summer if it wasn’t for alumni contacts in the summer. I think these contacts are arguably even more important than the actual education your receive at a professional school…</p>
<p>Doors open because you PUSH on them, not because someone else does it for you. </p>
<p>This is the eternal conflict on these boards - does a “higher ranked” school do more for you than a “lower ranked” school? But since everyone is relying on only one ranked study for IR schools (the Foreign Policy Magazine yearly ranking) which statistically doesn’t provide a very wide field for comparison, that’s a difficult question to answer. Some schools outside the Beltway have as high or higher numbers of students in government service than those IN the Beltway. And some students, like myself, don’t want to work for the government after we graduate to having a network for alumni in government isn’t particularly helpful to us.</p>
<p>Regardless - school is a very personal choice. I believe in choosing the school with which you feel the most comfortable, the program you see yourself enjoying the most and the one which gives you the most aid. No school is worth graduating $100,000 in debt for an MA in IR - that is just not a reasonable proposition.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thank you! </p>
<p>On another board, someone mentioned that at the admitted students’ day for Kennedy School admits, some of the current KSG students made it sound like (or openly stated) that they were simply there for the networking opportunities and didn’t put forth too much academic effort. While an interesting observation in itself, this raises another issue - it may be that students at “lower ranked” schools are inclined to work harder (both academically and professionally) to achieve their goals because they feel like they need to, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing for their own sake. I’ve also come across significant amounts of anecdotal evidence suggesting that some grads from “higher ranked” schools attempt to sail through on the reputation of their program at their first job post-graduation, and employers don’t seem to particularly like that. I’m not saying that this is always the case for all students, of course, but this whole rankings business doesn’t necessarily provide the most accurate picture of life post-graduation. Sadly, SIPA’s latest employment stats seem to suggest 12.5% of their grads are unemployed 6 months after graduation… </p>
<p>What I’m perplexed by is the discourse prevalent in the MA IR field, where applicants wax poetic about the benefits of going to a “higher ranked” program over a “lower ranked” one based solely on the rankings, and by “lower ranked” they mean a school ranked 6th in the nation. Granted, there aren’t as many IR programs as there are law schools or med schools, but still.</p>
<p>Yeah, the discourse on these boards can be a bit perplexing and create a “hall of mirrors” effect if you allow it to do so. Lots of great schools with wonderful IR programs, like the Monterey Institute of International Affairs or the Jackson School of International Studies, aren’t even on the Foreign Policy list of “ranked” programs. These are excellent programs and it kinda pains me that someone would cross them off their list because neither is on that Foreign Policy Magazine list.</p>
<p>Personally I visited all the schools to which I applied before I did so, then crossed more than 1/2 off the list based on my experiences at the schools, then applied where I WANTED to go. I didn’t spend a lot of time obsessing over rankings because I knew wherever I ended up going I’d be happy with.</p>
<p>Get to know your program, ask alumni and current students, but don’t allow your final decision to be based on some amorphous list.</p>