arbitist

Hi, Have you checked our admissions blog? http://blogs.cornell.edu/cipa/This might have some info you can use. Let me know if there's any more questions! Best, A

Hello, I'm a current student at CIPA, and i'm happy to talk about the program. Like kt221 mentioned, the flexibility of CIPA is a big draw. You have to do three core courses in three main areas : Econ, Quant and Public Administration but beyond these 3, it's really all upto you to design your degree. I'm focussing on Economic Policy and International Development, and although it's not really a formal concentration, I have been able to take courses that fall into these two categories. All CIPA asks is for your course-choice to be justified and i've been able to do that. (For eg., I am taking a few poverty related classes that are not really 'CIPA') There is a lot of exposure to the field of international development here: you get to travel to developing countries through the SMART program, the international capstones have great clients and you can choose to do your summer internship in the field as well. CIPA places a lot of weight on alumni relations so you'll build a lot of contacts while you're here. Ithaca is small and sort of remote, but it is a town that is totally made up of students. I have really enjoyed my stay here (the winter was horrible though). Hope this was useful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Best, A

Hey @dudeinspace, I think many people just go for the rankings, and CIPA doesn't do too well on those because of some technical issues: it's a not a seperate 'school' like Sanford, SIPA etc, and because it's not involved in much research (CIPA core faculty who do reaserch are attched with other schools in Cornell) And yes, i was accepted at Duke too. I chose Cornell because it's better known in India and i would like to go back after a few years. CIPA also gave me a better deal eventually. I was able to find an on-campus job before coming here, and that really sealed the deal for me. Apart from the UN, I know that other fellows also work with the World Bank, various NYC city government offices, a range of international NGOs and quite a few private sector companies. I hope this helps! Cheers, A

Hello dudeinspace, 1) quant skills: Besides the quant requirements, you can take classes to suit your quant capacities and skills. There's classes for people who are at various levels of quant proficiencxy across the campus that you can take to suit your MPA degree. For eg, i took public systems modelling, stats for social sciences last semester and this semester, I am taking econometrics which is helps me in the kind of quant analysis I want to get into. There is also an evaluation class you can take, as well as a mixed methods class. 2) We are all in the process of looking and finalizing our internships right now. I'm choosing between working in impact evaluation for a large non-profit in DC and looking at communications impact for an organization in india. There's quite a few in NYC. Some of my peers are going to be working for the UN. So things are looking good 3) Networking in CIPA has really helped me so far to understand how what we do translates into the job market. Some of my peers found internships from the people they met at the DC and NYC networking events. I have found CIPA alumni to be open and happy to help! 4) Being mentored/ advised is an important part of your life as a CIPA fellow. That said, you have the freedom to evaluate if the Prof assigned to you suits your needs. I have been really lucky in this regard. My advisor is Gary Fields, who is really well known in his filed of labor economics. He is very invested in his role as an advisor, and has given me critical feedback about my courses and other professional choices that I have had to make here. It's been a great relationship. and i have benefited largely from it! Hope this helps, let me know if you have any extra questions. Best, A

Hello everyone, I am current student at CIPA, and I also work for admissions. The funding decisions will start going out by the second week of March for those of you who haven't heard about fellowships yet. I hope this helps, and we hope to see you guys at the Open House on March 20th: http://www.cipa.cornell.edu/admissions/openhouse.cfm Let me know if you have any more questions! Cheers, A

Hey, What PolicyGrad92 says is true. At CIPA, it also means that they have limited funding which is given on a first come basis. So the sooner you apply, the higher your chances are of getting (and bargaining for more) funding. I am a current CIPA fellow, let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Hey, I would say yes. Like i've mentioned in the earlier posts, CIPA relies heavily on its alumni base in NYC and DC and that is quite an advantage. Almost 60 percent of the MPA class is international, so it's a great mix (a majority are from China). The experience level of the cohort is quite diverse too, so its good to have that dialogue between people who have worked for a few years and those who are just out of under grad. Although, the program itself is super flexible so like me, you will find yourself taking classes with a variety of people. Also an Indian student, I had the same questions as you last year. I'm happy to talk about it more if you wish

Hi Kaneisha, The people ARE great! Haha. But besides that, i would say the flexibility of the program makes it stand out. You are allowed to take classes from all across Cornell, as long as they are relevant to public policy, and personally, i have been able to make good use of this. So you can choose classes at the Business school, law school or in development sociology etc and use that to add value to your specific concentration. Secondly,there's also a lot of personal attention given to each Fellow (as MPA candidates are called here). Each one us has a personal advisor who is a core faculty member to help in each stage of the course: choosing courses, deciding internships etc. My advisor is a really well known economist who is from Cornell's labor econ school, and this has really made a difference to what i thought i would be doing at grad school and what i am doing now. The third thing i would say is the alumni network. CIPA reaches out to its alumni base a LOT for internships and jobs, and i have heard a lot of people saying how beneficial that is. I will start looking for summer internships soon, and i'll find out for myself. But i know for a fact that CIPA's connections at the World Bank and UN are great, and its similar with the private sector. So i would say there are a lot of resources that CIPA has, but you have to be super pro-active in seeking what you really want. Hope this helps Cheers, A

Hello MJA87, CIPA reduced its tuition this year, and that coupled with the funding i got from them meant that it would cost me almost the same as Duke. I got no funding from Columbia SIPA, and the tuition is much higher and its extremely expensive to live in NYC. I also got an on campus job, and that sealed my decision. I know from friends who are in Columbia that it's almost impossible to get an on campus job in the first year. Finances were at the top of my concerns ( knowing that all 3 schools were great), and i felt like CIPA gave me a really good deal! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Hello everyone, I am currently a first year Masters in Public Administration fellow at the Cornell Institute of Public Affairs. I was in the exact same position as you guys this time last year and would be happy to answer any questions about the application process and the program to help you get rid of some of those dilemmas (I know, there are soo many). Hit me up! Cheers!

Hi guys, I'm trying to choose between the Sanford MPP and CIPA's MPA, and I've been hearing mixed reviews. In terms of ranking, i know Sanford is better than CIPA, but Cornell does have more of an international reputation than Duke. Also, strangely, a Duke international development prof asked me to pick Cornell over Duke. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Thanks! I don't know yet. I'm still trying to figure out additional sources of funding. Have you decided? It's going to be tough choosing between US and Switzerland.

Accepted with a partial scholarship! NOW i'm confused.

Oh ok. What are your options?

Yes, my letter says I have to respond by 1 May.