Ok All,
This is going back to basics I'm afraid, back to the original question. I have been admitted to both IHEID (MDEV) and LSE (Development Management) courses. I am at a loss as to what I should choose. My situation is complicated since I'm a mature student (late 20s) with relevant work experience already. LSE, from what I know, has bigger reputation globally, whilst Geneva seems to be limited to core European state (i'm from the UK so perhaps there is a bias there). Additionally, if it is just a tick box excerise (i.e. you need a masters for some of the UNDP, etc jobs) then LSE is only one year so won't take up too much time. Then again, Geneva has a host of benefits: the course content is wider, and manages to combine both theory and practice. It allows you to explore IR, politics, Economics, International Law, etc. It also has an array of workshops. You have the chance to learn French (which allows you to win bids beyond the anglofone world) and obviously, given it's proximity to IOs, there's a good chance to suplement studies with internships with various IOs. From what I gather, LSE's Development Management is quite narrow, focused primarily on things such as accounting and finance for development programmes, and lacks content for in the theoretical department. Currently I'm still not sure the path I want to go down, so I'd like to be exposed to the various dimensions of Development. In reality I will most likely opt for either private sector consultance work in private sector development or go down the IOs route. Nevertheless in the not so distant future I've still got ideas on Political Risk.
Reading over this thread it seems like I really am confused. However, I guess I'm leaning towards Geneva, however, my main concern is it's reputation, or lack of it....
