<p>Does the Dual BA aspect trump a normal degree in political science at Yale? How do both programs look in terms of post-graduate opportunities?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Congratulations on two excellent choices. Political Science, as a major, provides a good undergraduate liberal arts foundation. Columbia + Sciences Po would give you the additional study experience in France. If you are interested in a career in Wall Street, a dual degree with Columbia will enhance your uniqueness among other potential candidates. Yale does have a campus in Singapore, and perhaps you can study at NUS for 1-2 semesters? Do you know what career choices you might be interested? </p>
<p>I would really like to apply for a fellowship after graduation. Regardless of career, where do you think I would be able to have a more enriching education in political science and economics?</p>
<p>Political science dept is Yale’s largest with more than 50 faculty members. From a US standpoint, Yale has deep underlying influence among political elites in this country. Sciences Po is the equivalent of Yale for political science in France. However, depending on the campus, you will specialize in a particular region of the world. Looking through the curriculum at Sciences Po, the lecture (contact) hours per semester are far higher than a typical US based college lecture hours. Don’t know how it translates into the amount of individual study (hours) that students are expected to put in order to be ready for class discussion at Sciences Po. Enriching, yes both Yale & Sciences PO for political science; the amount of individual effort - don’t have comparative estimates. For economics, both Yale & Columbia have well known professors, Yale slants slightly in the direction of public/government policy, Columbia more towards private sector. </p>
<p>Check that with the dual degree you’ll get a Columbia COLLEGE degree. If not (Extension or GS), go to Yale.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 It’s a GS degree. How much of a difference does it make if its a degree from Columbia College?</p>
<p>?</p>
<p>Your choice is between Yale and Columbia GS then. I would go with Yale. Columbia GS is <em>not</em> the same “worth” as Columbia college, although it’s very good, but compared to Yale it’s not worth enough.</p>
<p>For those who are skeptical about the value of a GS degree, just remember that it is still a Columbia degree. It makes no difference to employers or gradaute institutions. Academically, GS students have access to the same classes, resources, and facilities as all other Columbia students have. Plenty of GSers have gone on to receive incredible job offers from some of the best firms, both in the US and internationally.
The Dual BA Program has the added benefit of preparing its students well for life and work abroad. Many students exit the program with strong multilingual abilities, something that is difficult to achieve for any student at a normal US university.
Message this account if you have any questions!</p>
<p>It depends – if you’re planning on finding a career more domestically, then Yale is your best choice. But if you’re more international you may be better with Columbia.</p>
<p>^Yeah, I’m going to go with ScPoParisLH. GS students take the same classes and have access to the same resources as CC students, and if you look at their alumni profiles they go work for the same kinds of firms doing similar things. The Sciences Po program just happens to be housed at General Studies.</p>
<p>I think Yale and Columbia are probably equally known both domestically and internationally. Personally, I think this is up to you and the experience that you want to have. They’re both fantastic, prestigious institutions, have roughly similar reputations in political science, and will give you a great education. Neither one is going to be more objectively “enriching” than the other.</p>
<p>The major difference is going to be the split nature of the Columbia degree. If you are a traditional-aged college student looking for a “traditional college experience,” just note that the European college experience (and French specifically) are quite different from what Americans imagine college to be like. You’ll spend the first two years of your college career at Sciences Po taking classes there. After those 2 years, you will return to Columbia to take mostly the Core and a few random major electives you may not have gotten. It’s like a regular degree in reverse. Note that when you return to take the Core, you’ll be a junior in classes with primarily freshmen and sophomores. You won’t be very familiar with your graduating class, although you can make friends as time goes on. The upside, of course, is 2 full years in France studying at a great international institution. You’ll get international experience and probably learn French pretty well.</p>
<p>Going to Yale will give you that more “traditional” experience so many kids are looking for. You’ll begin and end with your graduating class, participate in American college freshman stereotypical rituals, etc. You’ll take your gen eds first and your major classes last. You can also study abroad at Yale, if you wanted to - for a full year, usually your junior year. Yale has their own programs and then accepts credits from lots of others, including France if you wanted to go there specifically. If you are interested in critical study and an immersive experience you may want to check out SIT’s programs: <a href=“http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/”>http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/</a></p>
<p>Sciences Po isn’t any big deal in France. Most certainly these thirty or so programs are not like École Nationale d’Administration (ENA) or any of the other French grandes écoles. Anybody can go to a Sciences Po program - no “prepa” after the “bac” required. The fact that the instruction is in English, when most of the students and faculty are more proficient in some other language especially French, makes the first two years easy for Anglophones.</p>
<p>To pretend that this program is on a level of Yale is absurd. Yale versus Columbia GS? LOL! </p>
<p>Exactly who will OP’s classmates be? General studies second-chancers or ex-patriot frogs seeking refuge from 12% “chômage” or Marine Le Pen’s FN?</p>
<p>^Are you familiar with the Columbia School of General Studies or how the class structure works at Columbia?</p>
This program is graduating its second class this year. One of the graduates is Columbia’s first Rhodes Scholar in about six years. The students in this program are at least on par academically with students at CC. This program is not eligible to be run from CC because CC only offers a traditional 4 year program. The dual degree program is not considered traditional and therefore it is run out of GS. Students take all of their classes with CC students at Columbia (there are no such things as GS or CC classes at Columbia, just classes) and the majority of Columbia’s core curriculum is satisfied by what students take at Sciences Po.
Great news! In the last 6 years Columbia University has produced only two Rhodes Scholars and they both came from the School of General Studies.
Luca Springer, GS ’16
http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2015/12/02/columbia-student-wins-rhodes-scholarship-first-time-five-years
Nur Artfeh, GS '13
http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2016/12/01/gs-alumna-wins-rhodes-scholarship
Both were dual BA/Sciences Po