hailmary

This is not true. I split my PhD applications between public policy and business schools and none of the programs require an M.A. All of them take about 5 years. And the goal for both is academic careers, though there are people in both that go into industry. Also, all of the programs I applied to are highly interdisciplinary and allow you to take courses in other schools and departments.

No good news here either. I only applied to 2 public policy programs - just got the rejection from Duke today and also haven't heard from UNC. Historically, UNC should have started making decisions some time ago, so definitely not a good sign! But I suppose we'll find out soon enough.

Congrats!

Has anyone heard from UNC Chapel Hill? They usually let people know end of January/early February, but I haven't seen anything on the results page. So I thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone has heard anything...

Congratulations! UNC has a couple of books listed that are supposed to be good refreshers for their program: I need to brush up on my calculus and intermediate microeconomic theory. What books do you recommend that I review? Even students with considerable background in calculus and microeconomic theory may benefit from reviewing these topics prior to their matriculation. We recommend that students purchase and review the following two books: Chiang, A. and Wainwright, K. (2005). Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics, 4th Edition. Nicholson, W. (2005) Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, 9th Edition. All matriculating PhD students will be required to take our Math Review Class during the two weeks prior to the initiation of Fall semester classes. For many applicants who have had Algebra II and Calculus some time ago, this course will be a sufficient review to prepare you for the program. (http://publicpolicy.unc.edu/academics/graduate-program/faq/) Maybe take a look at those?

historically, UNC should have let applicants know if they have been accepted by now, which is making me really nervous. But, oh well, what can you do...

Anyone hear any news yet?

I'm not familiar with Yale's mba program specifically - but any program that has a center devoted to social innovation or social entrepreneurship, specifically has it as a focus or talking point in their curriculum, and/or has at least a handful of classes devoted to the space would be a good bet. And, in my experience, it looks like most of the top programs have that.

I am the co-founder of a job board for social enterprise jobs, so I know a fair amount about the space. MBAs are popular in the field, especially since it's a really popular topic at the moment and more and more MBA programs are building social entrepreneurship into their curriculums. That being said, jobs in social enterprise are similar to jobs in any other sector because they exist across sectors. While an MSW might not be as transferable as an MBA, it doesn't mean you wouldn't be able to find a job. It really just depends on the position, the company, and your experience. All the top programs would be a good place to get an MBA if you want to focus on social entrepreneurship: Stanford, Harvard, NYU, Northwestern, UMichigan, Duke, MIT, Wharton, etc.

I haven't heard anything yet... besides not hearing from Duke, which I assume is a rejection.

I ended up emailing them just to make sure everything was submitted successfully. The program coordinator let me know that they were in fact being reviewed and they were hoping to make a decision by the end of the month. Historically speaking, it looks like they tend to start letting people know this upcoming week. Eek! Keeping my fingers crossed! And I agree, waiting is the worst part.

For those of you that applied to UNC - I noticed that on the website it says reviews start on Jan. 5 and most decisions made by Jan. 20. But my application still just says Submitted and does not say Under Review. What is everyone else seeing?

I am interested in international development + business policy. I applied to a mix of policy (UNC + Duke) and business programs (the only schools progressive enough to do social impact and business research are the top schools - so these 3 schools I basically have zero chance of getting into but had to just go for it). I keep obsessively checking my applications and re-reading them. I can't wait until this process is over!

Got it. So, basically, at most schools if the adcomm can get past your GRE scores, the graduate school should have no problem granting funding. Thanks!

First and foremost - thank you so much for your insight and advice! I ready through all of the pages and last night and it was really really helpful. Jumping back to a previous conversation, I had one question about waivers and the GRE. Is that typical - do most schools have waivers they can use for funding purposes to offset a section of the application? I ask because my GRE scores are really low - at the cut off for my top choice (public policy) program. The rest of my application I believe is really strong. But I have a feeling I would need a waiver to bounce back from my GRE scores. Is that pretty common?