Fall 2016 Applicant - Question about work experience

[vanatrick]

Hi everyone! I just graduated from a Top 20 U.S. university with a degree in Political Science and Theology. I've been hoping to apply for Fall 2016 admission to a Master's program dealing with international issues of some sort, and don't have anything immediately planned until then.

 

I've mainly been looking at programs in Europe (IHEID, Cambridge, Sciencespo and Central European University) and have been wondering about work experience. My academic profile is strong—I have a 3.99 GPA and won a good handful of distinctions, but didn't write a thesis or do any research during my time in undergrad. And I have a good bit of international experience, having studied abroad for a year and learned French to the C1 level. However, my professional profile is weak. I spent a summer in a developing country teaching English last year, and the year before that worked at a summer program for high school students.

 

The conventional wisdom on this forum is that work/internship experience really does matter, but I'm in a position in which I don't know how possible it would be for me to pursue relevant work experience over the coming year. I need to support myself, basically, and though a lot of internships are open at international organizations it looks like the vast majority are either unpaid or do not pay enough to cover basic living and travel expenses. I am also geographically restricted: for personal reasons I have to stay in my hometown next year, which, though a major city, doesn't really boast many international institutions. So I think that the likeliest scenario would be taking a job in an industry completely unrelated to international relations.

 

Would this be a problem for admissions/funding? How important would it be to have more work experience in an internationally-related field, or would any kind of professional experience be enough to satisfy admissions/funding/scholarship committees? Do the European schools not care as much about this kind of stuff as the American schools?

 

Thank you in advance!

[unagi]

Generally what I have heard is that you need more work experience for US schools. But European schools look more into your academic background, which you really have going for you. As long as you have a clear vision as to why you want to go to grad school and write a stellar personal statement, I would say that you're probably good and you will most likely get in. But maybe volunteering locally right now won't hurt your chances? Since you have some time from now until applying?

[vanatrick]

Thank you! I figured as much, and will definitely try to involve myself in some local nonprofits in the upcoming year. Hopefully I'll even get a job in the nonprofit sector. I'd hope that a commitment to advancing the public good would help the application!

[Figgamonda]

I think that European Schools are increasingly wanting applicants with work experience. Remember that youre competing against students who have BOTH excellent grades and a lot of work experience. Its common for students who study in Europe to do there masters directly after undergrad, so if you take a year out, they might have slightly higher expectations in terms of work experience or how youve spent your year. Dont rely too much on excellent grades, although that is of course important as well.