jph5125

I will be starting a dual degree this fall at Indiana. MPA-MIS (Masters of Information Science for those who are not familiar with the 2nd acronym). I chose this dual degree because I want to do government work with IT. My focuses are in public finance (MPA) and information security (MIS), which I think is a decent combination to open many careers paths. When I did my research on my combination I found that there were few schools that offered this dual options, and even fewer schools that were decently ranked/known. I of course went and visited both programs at Indiana before making my final decision and advisers at both programs indicated there were maybe 5 people in the last 3 years who got this dual title. The MIS program adviser also specifically indicated 2 of the graduates went on to work at the GOA (Gov Accountability Office), and one at the CIA with these degrees--both of which are great placements. For me these 2 degrees are quite varied and do not overlap that much. I also must complete internships for each program, which I hope will allow me to network and get more experience. Because of this I do not feel the extra year will be detrimental and I was given a decent scholarship to cut down on costs. As carpecc indicated though, this path is best suited if you need to pursue 2 different goals that cannot easily be met by one program. For instance at Indiana's SPEA they offer concentrations in Public Admin, Public Finance, International Affairs, and Environmental Affairs. At their program you can easily do a double concentration and still finish in 2 years with about the same number of credits. So it all depends on the school your applying to and broader career goals. For you it could go either way since the fields are so closely related and usually taught in the same school. If you are having trouble deciding between a single degree that combines elements of both or a dual program I would contact the program and ask their career services adviser or admissions person questions.

Hopefully the OP would qualify for a public service job and IBR the debt to 8.5% of his income per year for 10 years. Therefore, assuming the OP made 60k a year with no salary increases for 10 years, the total paid back would be 51k and the rest + interest wiped out. Of course with a government hiring freeze and increase grad enrollment I would not be willing to chance 140k in loans for an MA solely based off of public loan forgiveness.

I sent in the admissions acceptance card as soon as they sent it to me (about 3 weeks ago). However, they pretty much knew I was attending before that because I already went to visit their school and indicated I was going.

Yeah that is a tough one then! I was going to apply to Trachtenberg, but I already had an acceptance at Indiana (my top choice). If money was not a problem I would have gone to Trachtenberg (assuming I got in). At least it sounds like you really can't make a bad decision with your options

Just got financial aid package today from Indiana, 18 credits of tuition remission for the first year! The admissions lady said they wanted to have the first round of offers out by this Thursday the 14th. So if anyone is waiting there is still hope

Do you currently have any work experience in the field? Are the lobbying firms in the area you plan on studying at the MPA? The big issue I see for you is that you were offered a research position, but do not like research and probably don't plan on moving to a PhD (thus almost useless to you). Furthermore, if this MPA program is in DC then this job will prevent possible internship possibilities during the school year. Many DC schools have classes at night to allow for students to do internships in the day. If you don't have work experience, or very little, and you have an interest in these firms I would definitely go for that. You can always go back later and get an MPA/MPP, or eventually do half-time. Plus it seems like people will 3-5 years of work experience have an easier time getting in (or in your case getting back in) and also seem to get some nice funding. What program did you get into if you don't mind me asking?

I'm currently a PSU undergrad in International Politics. The SIA school does not manage my major (Political Science oversees undergrads), but because SIA are allowed to schedule 400 level classes as electives I have met a few of them in my courses. If you're wondering 400 level classes are the highest level courses for undergrad and grad classes start at 500, but grads are allowed to schedule some special topics 400s with approval. Anyway to address your question, I haven't heard any negative things about PSU SIA except that it is a completely unknown program in the field. I believe this year will be their 2nd or 3rd graduating class. SIA is located in the new Dickinson Law School building with a private library (and parking) at the outer edge of campus. This is nice for PSU graduates as Penn State has an overabundance of undergrads thanks to the university's inability to manage a budget (i.e. there are too many people and not enough places to study or use a computer). As far as opportunities go I haven't heard of any trouble securing good internships--many students are able to do DC internships. However, post-graduation seems tougher due to the lack of a professional International Affairs career network. You have access to the university's career network, but that network is not populated with as many IR professionals as other universities. You also run into the problem of PSU being located in the middle of rural PA. If you are looking for an extra-curricular activity related to the field there are many student groups, but as far as local part time jobs, internships, and volunteering related to IR good luck. To sum it up in my honest opinion the program itself is not bad and seems to have great faculty. At the end of the day though, you're not getting good career connections or opportunities that other established programs can offer. Unless they are giving you substantial aid or you qualify for in-state tuition I would not even consider this program if you got admitted to AU, BU, or NYU. If you have any questions about PSU in general (housing, campus, administration, etc) I would be happy to answer them. Good luck with your other programs and hope AU decides to admit you

I don't have anything substantial to say about the content of either program. I looked into Pitt myself when I was applying to MPA programs (I am from Pittsburgh), but their offering seemed so-so and Public Finance was not one of their stronger focuses. However, I do present the following financial analysis. Are you getting those classes marked off as free in addition to the $1k a month or are you saying the $1k a month will pay for a class? If you're getting money in addition to tuition remission that seems pretty solid. The tuition difference will be steep if you qualify for in-state at either one. GMU: http://policy.gmu.ed...24/Default.aspx In-State Graduate Tuition (Per Credit Hour): $631.50 Out-of-State Graduate Tuition (Per Credit Hour): $1,146.50 Pitt: http://www.gspia.pit...78/Default.aspx In-State Per credit hour: $701 Out-of-State Per credit hour: $1210 Pittsburgh will have a lower cost of living, but if you're qualifying for in-state GMU I do not think your living expenses (in VA/DC) will kill the savings you get from instate tuition (plus the free classes). It just comes down to your career prospects. You already know about Pitt's semester in DC, but this is only a semester. GMU seems more poised to help you develop a better network, but on the other hand it seems like you already have connections in DC so you have to weigh how much this is going to benefit you in the end. At the end of the day I think you would be happy at either program, which is why I present a cost analysis. Congrats and good luck

I believe Pitt still has the semester in DC option for GSPIA students. So you can fit a DC internship in there and get a chance to network there before graduating. http://www.gspia.pitt.edu/StudentLife/WashingtonDCConnection/tabid/110/Default.aspx -Edit: added linked

When I went to visit I inquired about this and the program director (Rhonda Spencer) told me they would send an email or a letter later on with information on how to "confirm" your attendance. Also she told me there was no deposit fee. I would assume the same applies to library science as the two programs are tightly bound together.

Is anyone heading to Indiana? I will be attending their Information Sci program, which is in the same department and shares coursework with the library science degree.

Haven't heard anything yet

If you're looking for a future career in D.C. I would say GWU is your best bet since you will have plenty of opportunity to find internships and developing networking in D.C. You'll already have your housing and from what I hear Elliot school classes are at night to encourage you to work or volunteer during the day. UPitt also has a semester in Washington program where you intern somewhere in D.C. and take classes at Georgetown so that can get you a small foot in the door as well, but not as significant as GWU. If you're planning on using your MA as a stepping stone to some other degree at another school (PhD or whatever) then I would go where it is the cheapest.

I have looked into this subject a lot since I am also planning on a similar path. If you read the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program PDF, which discusses IBR and the qualifications it states that you can indeed changes jobs and the jobs do not have to be consecutive. (i.e. You can work in a public service job for 3 years, do 1 year private, and then 7 years public service somewhere else). All the payments you make while not in a public service job do not count towards the 120 payments you are required to make. You may also not double up payments (i.e. pay double your monthly payment) as they will still count as only 1 of your 120 loan payments under the IBR PSLF. You should keep detailed documentation of every place you have worked (job offer letters, pay stubs, W2s, etc). At some point in the unknown future the DirectLoans website will have a place where people applying for forgiveness programs can upload these documents to streamline the process (so they say at least).

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Penn State (public) Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA East Asian Studies, BA International Politics, 3.6 GPA GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): Not the best - 530V, 590Q, 4.5AW Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): Only part time jobs; Had one security research internship and one public affairs internship Math/Econ Background: Calculus, Statistics, Programming, Microeconomics and some Int'nl Political Econ classes Foreign Language Background: 2 years of Japanese Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Public Admin (with a focus on finance) & IT (focus in information architecture) Long Term Professional Goals: Job placement in government managing IT. Hope to combine public admin knowledge with IT to more efficiently use public resources and depending on the sector improve access to public goods (i.e. health care, social services, etc). Schools Applied to & Results: Only one, University of Indiana--Bloomington (IUB) dual degree MPA/MSIS (MSIS = MS Information Sci). Accepted to both. Ultimate Decision & Why: Indiana because I only applied to Indiana. There are few schools that offered this dual degree combination I was seeking. I was considering UPitt because it was in state, I live in Pittsburgh, and their programs were ranked similarly--but their Information Science school did not feel right at all and their MPA program was not ranked for financial management like Indiana. Because both programs at Indiana were rolling I decided to just apply and if things didn't work out I would apply elsewhere. Also when I visited their school it felt really similar to Penn State (both are big 10 so no surprise) and it was rather comforting especially since this is a "big move" for someone in my family. Any advice to Future Applicants? As others have said make sure you know what you want and why. This will help you immensely on your SOP and when you ask your recommenders, the more clearly you can describe your future goals and purpose to them the better your LORs will match your SOP. If you are applying to a dual degree program make sure you pick the best recommenders for each degree if the degrees are in different fields