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Syracuse MPA or Georgetown MPP?


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I wanted to seek your input: I'm not sure what the best option is between the two:

 

Syracuse MPA                                                                                     Georgetown MPP
#1                                                                                                          #16
$55k                                                                                                      $94k
No money awarded.                                                                               No money decision yet.

Well-established.                                                                                   Relatively new change.
1 Year                                                                                                    2 Year but can attempt double JD or PhD in 3-4                                                                                                              years.
Syracuse                                                                                               DC
Cheap cost of living.                                                                              Center of everything politics/policy related.
Quickly back to work/life.                                                                       More opportunities for work/internship                                                                                                                           /assistantships in DC.
Strong alumni network.                                                                          Stronger alumni network in NV where I live and                                                                                                                want to return to.
Prestige within civil service and public admins particularly back East.   General and perceived prestige in all sectors                                                                                                                  everywhere.
More flexible and focus on state and local finance.                               More rigid on the quantitative skills I want to                                                                                                                     develop.

 

 

 

My goal is flexibility of the degree and employability after graduation.  I currently am in Government and Public Affairs and want to continue in that area for the foreseeable future and ultimately want to become a VP of Gov. Affairs for a private firm or start my own consutling company.

Conversely, I want to teach policy and political science courses at a Community College and ultimately a reasearch university further down the road and perhaps get into higher education leadership.

Either route depends on numerous factors: job availability and opportunity, money, personal decisions at the time so I want to be able to apply my experiences and education to different sectors.

 

I am pursuing an MPP or an MPA with an emphasis on the former because I want to develop the qantitative skills necessary to be able to do rigorous research in academia or for the private sector, depending upon which opportunities present themselves.  Moreover, everyone in Gov. Affairs is a lawyer yet there is always a need for people who understand the economics but not enough people who possess those skills where I live.

 

I've asked a number of employers their gut reaction of whom they would pick all other things being equal and they've all said Georgetown except when I talk up Syracuse's rankings, program and history, than they say if they had been aware of those than they probably would pick Syracuse.

 

I appreciate any and all input, advice or experiences you might have to share?

Edited by NovareRes
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I faced the same choice 5 years ago (cost would have been the same for me though) and went with Syracuse.  Syracuse is a great program, and the fact that it's one year is a huge advantage - you'll have a degree and start working one year sooner (I did a dual degree and therefore spent two years studying, which in hindsight I don't think was the best choice for me).  You'll also have a huge alumni network that is a big help when applying to jobs in the private and public sectors.  I will say the MPA by itself is not going to give you enough quant to do academic research (it's taught more for the practitioner level), though it's certainly a start and the great thing is, if you're not good at quant, the professors are excellent.  Teaching is very clearly a high priority at Syracuse and it shows in the dedication of the professors to their students.  Can't speak much to how it compares to Georgetown in that respect though.

I wanted to seek your input: I'm not sure what the best option is between the two:

 

Syracuse MPA                                                                                     Georgetown MPP
#1                                                                                                          #16
$55k                                                                                                      $94k
No money awarded.                                                                               No money decision yet.

Well-established.                                                                                   Relatively new change.
1 Year                                                                                                    2 Year but can attempt double JD or PhD in 3-4                                                                                                              years.
Syracuse                                                                                               DC
Cheap cost of living.                                                                              Center of everything politics/policy related.
Quickly back to work/life.                                                                       More opportunities for work/internship                                                                                                                           /assistantships in DC.
Strong alumni network.                                                                          Stronger alumni network in NV where I live and                                                                                                                want to return to.
Prestige within civil service and public admins particularly back East.   General and perceived prestige in all sectors                                                                                                                  everywhere.
More flexible and focus on state and local finance.                               More rigid on the quantitative skills I want to                                                                                                                     develop.

 

 

 

My goal is flexibility of the degree and employability after graduation.  I currently am in Government and Public Affairs and want to continue in that area for the foreseeable future and ultimately want to become a VP of Gov. Affairs for a private firm or start my own consutling company.

Conversely, I want to teach policy and political science courses at a Community College and ultimately a reasearch university further down the road and perhaps get into higher education leadership.

Either route depends on numerous factors: job availability and opportunity, money, personal decisions at the time so I want to be able to apply my experiences and education to different sectors.

 

I am pursuing an MPP or an MPA with an emphasis on the former because I want to develop the qantitative skills necessary to be able to do rigorous research in academia or for the private sector, depending upon which opportunities present themselves.  Moreover, everyone in Gov. Affairs is a lawyer yet there is always a need for people who understand the economics but not enough people who possess those skills where I live.

 

I've asked a number of employers their gut reaction of whom they would pick all other things being equal and they've all said Georgetown except when I talk up Syracuse's rankings, program and history, than they say if they had been aware of those than they probably would pick Syracuse.

 

I appreciate any and all input, advice or experiences you might have to share?

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Isnt most of Syracuse's programs more geared towards scholarly interests and academia? If you're talking about wanting to be a professor at a community college along with furthering specific research interests, then Syracuse might be the answer.

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Isnt most of Syracuse's programs more geared towards scholarly interests and academia? If you're talking about wanting to be a professor at a community college along with furthering specific research interests, then Syracuse might be the answer.

 

I am pretty sure this is false. Maxwell seems to put a lot of emphasis on professional development. Perhaps their MPA is different but their MAIR focuses a lot on professional development, networking and internships. 

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Yes - the MPA and MAIR programs are professional programs.  Syracuse has more academic-focused programs within the Maxwell school, but the MPA and MAIR specifically are geared towards preparing students to work in government and other public service-related organizations.  For example, at least when I was there three years ago, there was no thesis requirement for the MPA or MAIR.

 

I am pretty sure this is false. Maxwell seems to put a lot of emphasis on professional development. Perhaps their MPA is different but their MAIR focuses a lot on professional development, networking and internships. 

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