NeroDavola

I did my BA and MA at western. You do not want to live any significant distance from campus. Public transit is a nightmare, and cycling lanes are non-existent. It took me the same time to bike to school as it did to bus, and I had to avoid busy streets for fear of losing my life. Also, the drivers seem to have been trained by the Japanese imperial navy circa 1943 -- and being in the snow belt only makes that worse from nov-apr. Try to live north of dundas st. And west of Adelaide if you don't have a car or gun, respectively. Good bar/club scene, but generally lacking in pubs/cafés where you can hear the person next to you. Actually, the grad club (on campus) was one of the better pubs. The school is really good, and the campus is gorgeous. The gym is fantastic and the librarians are awesome. Take full advantage of these things! If you have any questions, feel free to pm -- I lived there for 22 years.

To the OP, there's some great resources on U Vic's reddit page! http://www.reddit.com/r/uvic

PMd

I got an admit for 2014 MPA at UVic! I speak only from second-hand hearsay, but the smallish school and co-op intense programs are said to make for a really collegial environment. Cheers!

UofT MPP and UVic MPA first round acceptances went out last week.

Thanks for the quick replies! Jenste: Yeah, the international reputation of UofT is a definite draw, and so is their exchange program with two of Europe's top policy schools. I hope to pursue employment in Europe after graduation, which is why I'm focusing my research pretty narrowly. Nerd4Life: Thanks so much for your input, this is precisely the kind of stuff that isn't in any brochure, and you wont get in correspondence with staff/faculty. I've already done one MA at UWO, and had a similar (though not quite so extreme) experience. So I really appreciate the insight! I am not wishing to progress immediately to a phd, as I want to get some practical experience first, but I would like to keep that option open for a few years down the road. I've planned out my research direction to be in an emerging field of public administration partially for that reason.

I've been accepted to both and am looking for input! I'm aiming to pursue a career in European public administration or global governance/intl NGO work. Both schools have European Centres of Excellence. Here's the pros as I see them: UVic MPA - I've secured a supervisor who's on the leading edge of borderlands and urban policy research. - Elective courses offered in precisely my field of research. - 2-3 semesters of paid internship. - Management orientation, with emphasis on technical competencies. - Living in BC. UofT - A school with excellent international recognition. - Small cohort (40 students/intake) - Opportunity to participate in exchange program with Sciences Po - Paris or the Hertie School of Management (Berlin) - Huge school resources, but is also the more expensive of the two. Thoughts?