green_tea09

I have a good friend (he is a top student at a very highly ranked university) and he has changed PhD programs twice now and almost did it a third time. He is in the sciences and has received full funding at the two PhD programs he has been in (and was offered even better funding at the third, but decided to stay in his current program). I don't know of anyone else who has done this though and I am sure it is not common. If the university wants you, then it seems like it is possible to switch -- you just need to have a very solid reason.

I applied for and was awarded the Monbukagakusho a couple years ago (to study at Tsukuba University) but turned it down to pursue a PhD at a top ranked university. You don't need to have Japanese language skills in order to be awarded the grant. In fact, my grant came with several months of language courses before the research portion of the grant. Anyway...if there are any questions I could answer please feel free to PM me.

I can't figure out how to delete my post -- but please ignore it. I was looking at the scholar grant application, not the student grant application. Ooops.

I did my MA at GWU and most of the classes in my program were offered in the evening. Most of my classmates worked -- many of them worked full time and were enrolled as full time students. I think this is one of the advantages of doing an MA in DC. There are so many good work opportunities if you are in IR or a related field. Personally, I worked part time the first year and then was offered a full time position in my second year and took it. I was busy, but it was definitely worth it! I also managed to somehow stay involved socially with my cohort. It is possible to work and do an MA, you just have to prioritise.

Thanks BKid for starting this thread. I have always wanted to apply for a Fulbright and think this might be the year to do it -- I think I have a sound research topic stemming from my dissertation study and also some good contacts that should be able to provide letters of affiliation. I was just looking at the online application and I am wondering if it is different from previous years? Did Fulbright change the format? It looks like a personal statement isn't required, just the proposal? Is that right, or am I missing something in the online application?

Thanks for the advice! That does make sense to ask for letters from my current professors. I guess I just feel more comfortable pestering old profs who I know better. But, I can see that it will make my applications stronger to get letters from people who can comment on my current research plans.

I am in a PhD program and am getting ready to apply for a few research grants for next year. I have only been in my current program for a few months, so I only know one, maybe two, professors well enough to ask them to write letters of reference for me. My referees who wrote my phd LOR's are all people I know really well. I want to ask one or two of them to write LOR's for my grant apps, but also wonder how many letters are too many to request from referees? They all wrote about 8 letters for me last year, and I don't want to be annoying. Do you think most professors are used to writing a bunch of LOR's for their former students?

I am doing a PhD at a school in the UK and echo peanut's comments -- in my program, you have about a year of research methods courses and spend the remaining two years writing your dissertation. You can take courses in or outside of your department if you want and can also attend lectures. If you want to get into a phd program in the UK, its really helpful to make contact with a professor who has similar research interests -- usually you have to have a professor who will agree to be your supervisor. If your research interests don't match up with any of the faculty, it would probably be hard to gain entry. In my proposal, I just mentioned two areas of interest and also noted profs I was interested in studying with. As for funding..you could look into the Rotary scholarship. I know the deadline passed for the coming school year...but something to keep in mind for next year.

Catwoman -- As backup, I would suggest GWU, they have a good Ed Leadership department and excellent faculty. Also, the University of Maryland has a good ed leadership/policy program. I love the DC area, so I'm a little biased. I've heard Michigan and UCLA both have good programs.

I agree! You must keep the faith! I applied to a bunch of schools last year -- got into some really good programs unexpectedly and rejected by some good programs. I also got into some lower ranked programs and also rejected by lower ranked programs. A lot of it seems random and you never know what the admissions committee is looking for. You still have time to send in a few more applications -- some programs have later deadlines and rolling admissions. Look into Maryland -- I am pretty sure the ed. dept takes apps pretty late. Good luck!!!

I wouldn't worry about having a secretarial job. I would just think about ways that you could make the job sound relevant to your grad program. Anything that even remotely involved research I would emphasize. You also don't have to say you were a secretary. You could also look into different ways to describe your job title, or just leave the job title off. Look at different resume layouts and get creative. In the end though, I don't think its an issue. I have friends in Phd programs who waited tables for a year before starting grad school..at top schools. Most schools look at the whole overall package anyway...they aren't going to focus only on your work experience -- so make sure the rest of your application is excellent. Also..you seem concerned about picking the right degree. Try not to worry about it. Just pick what fits your interests, and will lead to a job that matches your strengths and just do it. One thing usually leads to another...and there are plenty of people with multiple masters degrees, phd's in topics different from their MA, and there are also those who end up doing something entirely different from anything they studied. I suggest taking the GRE (most schools require it), apply to the best programs you can, see where you get in and what kind of financial aid you get, and then make the decision...

Catwoman - Have you looked into UC Berkeley? I know they have a strong emphasis on Urban Education. Just an idea. I agree with Tut too...focus on preparing a really strong statement of purpose and also make sure you have excellent letters of reference. When I was going through the application process -- I contacted profs at programs with similar interests. A few suggested I come in for an interview. This was before I submitted my applications. I would recommend doing this if possible..it gave me a good idea of which programs might accept me. I didn't interview at all the schools though..but Columbia states on their website that they recommend this. You could probably arrange a phone interview if you don't have the resources to fly out to various schools. Another note about Columbia -- I went to the admitted students day and they made a big point about TC not giving full rides to grad students. There are ways to piece together funding..but they don't have the comprehensive packages offered by HGSE or Stanford...

Justaplaneaway -- my focus is on international education and I also have a work and academic background in that field. My supervisor here has experience directly related to my interests, which is great. I also know a few people in the program who have supervisors with related, but slightly different research interests and backgrounds. I think the program at Oxford is worth applying to if you can find someone you might be interested in working with.

Have you checked the websites for these programs to see what the average GRE scores and GPA's are? You can probably get a good sense of the typical profiles of admitted students by checking out the websites. I know Columbia posts the bios of many of the PhD and EDd students. Also, I don't think Penn's dept of Education charges an application fee. So,definitely apply there. I know Columbia, and maybe Harvard, will let you check a box if you would like to be considered for the MA if you don't make it into the PhD. Based on the info you mentioned, I would think you have a chance. Is there anything else that might add to your application? Volunteer work? Research work?

I think you should definitely apply to schools you think are out of your league. It sounds like you could write a compelling personal statement and it sounds like you would be a competitive applicant based on the info you provided. Note that UPenn's education department does not charge an application fee. They do require the GRE though...so why not take it? It wold give you more options when applying to programs. Also, when you have a list of schools that you want to apply to, I would recommend talking to someone in admissions about your financial situation and see if they might be able to waive the application fee. I am pretty sure some schools do that if you can prove that you don't have the financial resources to pay.

I don't know how important big name schools are in engineering, but the combination of more courses and a more prestigious name could make Columbia a good choice. Is financial aid a factor in your decision? If so, you could wait and see which might offer more scholarship money and make the decision that way.

I got into programs at two ivy league schools with average/low GRE scores. My overall application must have offset my low scores. I had recent work experience in research as well as several years of work directly related to the programs I applied for. I also had pretty good grades, so that helped. I do think that my low scores kept me out of two programs that I suspect "filtered" out applicants by GRE scores. Good luck! I think you have a shot if you have an outstanding SOP, strong letters of reference, and interesting work and/or research experience.

I am in a graduate program right now and one of my classmates is working on this third MA, another classmate has his MA and PhD and is doing an MS. Now that I think about it, I know quite a few people with multiple MA's. Depending on the University, you will sometimes have courses waived if you already hold an MA, and will be able to complete a second MA in a year or so. It seems valuable to get a second MA if you are changing career/academic directions OR if you want to become more specialized in a certain field but don't want to get a PhD for whatever reason.

If you took any courses in undergrad that related to what you will be studying in grad school, you might want to get in touch with the professor and ask him/her if they might be able to write a letter of rec for you. You could send the prof one or two papers you wrote for their class so and ask that they comment on your research/writing skills. If you could meet with the prof in person during their office hours and discuss your situation, I think that might help you get a more personal letter of reference from a prof who you might not have had a close connection to during undergrad.

I did my MA in an international studies program and have a lot of friends who did MA degrees in IR. Also, I did my MA at a school in Washington, DC and was able to work in my field while in school. From my experience working and going to school in DC, I found that most of my colleagues had backgrounds similar to yours. You really have to go into the field because you are committed to it, because it will take commitment to either work your way up the ranks or pursue further education to boost your credentials. The field is very competitive and it is not unusual for MA candidates to have peace corps, foreign language, and several years of related work experience. It is also not unusual for highly qualified candidates with good experience and MA's to find themselves in administrative assistant type positions(making photo copies and countless hours with spreadsheets) with gov. or international organizations. If your goal is to work in academia or move up to a director level position, a PhD will give you an advantage when you apply for jobs. Sure, you can work your way up (one of my colleagues worked for 7 years in my position before advancing), but it just seems like a PhD can really open doors, especially if you are interested in UN or World Bank positions. However, if your goal is to go into the foreign service, then you will probably be fine with an MA (though I worked with ex-foreign service folks who had PhD's too). At the organization that I worked at, nearly everyone in top level, high paying positions had PhD's. If you do decide to pursue an MA, my advice would be to do your degree in DC or NY and get internship or work experience while you are in school so that you can more easily move into a decent position by the time you graduate. I found a big advantage of doing a degree in DC is that some of the professors work for international organizations and teach part-time, so they have excellent connections which can really help with your job search. To answer your original question -- Are MA's in IR worthwhile -- I would say yes. I would also advise figuring out as much as possible what your personal and professional goals are and then it will be easier to determine which degree will get you there.

Justaplaneaway-- I am in a MSc and PhD in Education at Oxford. I was able to fund the year long MSc, but am currently looking at funding opportunities for the PhD portion of my program. The department does offer some scholarships and the colleges also offer their own scholarships to students. So, there may be some money through the department, the university, or the college that accepts you. I don't know anything about Cambridge, but the ed. dept. at Oxford is great. Excellent professors. Interesting research. And I have a lot of very interesting classmates. I also really like the learning environment here as well -- its very supportive. In addition to my academic supervisor, I also have an adviser and a mentor through my college. Socially, its great too because the college system allows you to meet people from outside your discipline. The funding issue is definitely a problem though.

I applied for a PhD program in Education at the University of Oxford. Now I'm trying to figure out, if accepted, if I will possibly be able to afford it. It seems like many of the grants I've looked at won't support a US student attending a graduate school outside the US. I have found one or two grants I might apply for, but I am just wondering if anyone here has any suggestions. Are there any funding search engines I don't know about (right now, I'm using fastweb and Oxford's search engine)? I don't qualify for Fulbright or Rotary because I will already hold a Masters degree from Oxford when I apply for the Phd. I'll probably apply for PhD programs at home as well. I just feel like I've been spending hours on the computer and feel there must be more grants out there somewhere...