TruFranco

Perhaps I should rephrase a bit. The cost of a program isn't incredibly important to me because the program I choose will, in all likelihood, be completed online. Because it's online I will be able to continue earning a salary here in China and thus be able to pay for it all up front. A six figure masters degree isn't worth it to me. I'm aware of far too many countries with free tuition for international students to be able to justify something as egregious as that (no offense intended for those who are paying for a degree on that level, it's just not for me.) Unfortunately though, the online programs I've seen don't offer funding. For the universities I mentioned (Webster and U of York), are they really that low on the totem pole? I wouldn't really be that surprised if Webster were, as their admission requirement for all grad programs is only a 3.0 undergrad GPA. But from what rankings I've been able to find, University of York does pretty well inside the UK. I've been seeing top 10, top 15 rankings. Most of the world's top name schools obviously are in the USA, but I would think a bit of a melange in academic culture may carry some weight as well. What do you think? For ajak568 - Comparing the course requirements, they're definitely quite different. I'd be lying if I said the MPA courses (outside of the ID emphasis) sound more interesting than IR, but being able to provide some administrative skills would go a long way towards employment. The MPA program I'm looking has an emphasis in International development, which should help distinguish me from the MPAs seeking work domestically.This may come across poorly to some of you, but I'm not looking to become an expert on IR issues or study under the most brilliant of professors. Being knowledgeable is a requirement, absolutely, but self study can go a long way. What I'm really looking to become an effective and reliable tool for an organization.

I guess it is possible I could be overestimating the elitism of some universities. The reason for my lack of academic confidence is a 3.15 GPA due to a couple Fs my freshman and sophomore year, ironically in Chinese 1 and French phonology (went back and took the courses again as a senior and aced them.) Beyond these two, I was a really average student in everything outside of French (3.92). Knowing that, would you still recommend me applying to those big name universities? Does name really make that big of a difference when trying to get into this kind of work? I always kind of assumed the names helped get into those high level DoS or FS positions. As for ambition, if I could to be convinced that I had a shot for those schools then there'd be an abundance of it. I pale in comparison to my wife's 3.98 GPA and our unIversity 4.0 friends, so it's been beaten down a bit. Test scores are currently nonexistent. A GRE in China, while not impossible, is a pain in the ass, so the programs I mentioned don't require them. Are any of your recommended programs online? I'm getting close to C1 level proficiency for mandarin and am hoping that by staying here I could get C2 in a couple years while pursuing the MA (hopefully not losing my C1 French in the process.) Also, mildly unrelated to my original question, but you said French and Mandarin are a good language combo. What kind of position would be able to use this particular language combination. Thanks for all the help.

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster. So I hope this is the right place for this. First some background, My undergraduate degree is in French with International Studies/Linguistics minors. I've been teaching English in China for a couple years now and have become quite proficient with the language. While I would love to get into top level programs around the country and work on Chinese/American relations, I'm a realist and know that I don't have the undergraduate grades/connections/proper background for such things and I'm perfectly alright with that. However, during my undergraduate senior year I had a pretty life changing 7 month experience helping Congolese refugees coming into my town. We helped them with everything they needed: applying for services, interpretation, how to recognize and properly handle blatant racism from coworkers, etc. You name it, we were there. Teaching abroad is great, but it's really not the career that's for me and based off my aforementioned experience I would like to get into NGO/INGO work. It's really the only thing I've done that left me with a feeling like I was really making a difference. Money isn't incredibly important to me. As long as I have an apartment and decent air conditioning, I'm content. I've got a comfortable gig working for a uni in China. My undergrad debt will be finished before Christmas and I'm now looking to start grad school in the Spring. I'm hoping to be able to do the degree from here in China to avoid further loans and so am largely looking at online/distance programs to help me break into the field. Looking at my background, NGOs that bring education to those in need are pretty high on my list (UNESCO would be a dream.) Working at home (USA) or abroad would both work for me (though I'm hoping the languages I speak could define my career geographically speaking.) Program wise, there are two universities I'm looking at, Webster University for IR vs University of York for an MPA with an emphasis on International Development. An MA in IR sounds incredibly interesting, but looking at the course requirements I feel like I'd graduate and have no actual skills to provide a company/NGO. Because of this, the MPA seems like the smartest route, but would it being from the UK hurt or help me? I'm aware of how difficult it is to break into a field like this and I'm alright with sending off job apps for some long months. For someone who is trilingual, has administrative skills, isn't primarily concerned with money, and just wants to help people, it shouldn't be impossible to get a job, right? Let me know if this post would be more appropriate in a different forum. I'm just looking for some advice. I'm a first gen student, so my family isn't able to offer much in the way of advice. tt;dr - MPA-ID vs MA IR for a guy who wants to break into the NGO field and help educate those in need?

First off, thanks for the response! I had the impression the no one was paying any attention to my post. Anne Arbor is actually a university that's been on my radar for awhile as it's highly talked up at my UG university for French and I have family who have attended. Since you're already in I should be able to ask you, what exactly does one say when contacting a professor about their program? I just feel like I wouldn't know where to start. I also did some research on the professor you mentioned and the closest thing I can find relevant to Franco-Asiatic studies is his interest in culture studies. Does that specifically span into things asian? Lots of questions, feel free to respond to some and not all. Thanks

Hey everyone, this is my first post on the website so hopefully it's in the right section, if not just point me to the right place. I've got a few questions on Ph.D programs, some related, some not. I'm currently a senior French major at my university with minors in linguistics and international study. I'll just get right into my questions though. First off, I've seen a few people mention that, when applying to/looking for a Ph.D program, you need to have research interests pretty clear in mind. I'm currently working on my capstone which has to do with Franco-Asiatic writers. Pretty much anything France/Asia is fascinating to me. 19th & 20th century lit. are two topics that get me going through a nerdfest as well. Are there any grad schools in you guys would suggest I look at? For the asian topic in particular? I've tried finding specific concentrations in that area but haven't had any luck, the closest thing I can find to Asia is post-colonial studies. I guess the next biggest thing is, what're my prospects on actually getting into a Ph.D program with funding (full?) I have yet to take the GRE, but I'm about as involved with the French department as is possible at my university. I have experience with education clinicals, years of university sponsored tutoring, a few terms in France. I'm asking for future planning (one more semester of classes to plan out) because I'm actually planning on being an English language assistant in China for a year (to work on my Mandarin) then in France through the T.A.P.I.F. I could be wrong, but I figure the numbers are more important... 3.2 cumulative GPA 3.92 Major GPA Basically, I've always had the idea that Ph.D applicants are the 4.0 cumulative people and now I'm trying to find out if that's actually true or if I would actually have a chance.