CakeTea

I had a look at Oxford MPP yearbook a few years ago. Most students tend to have a few years work experience in full time jobs. Public sector, non profits and sometimes private sector. Some high flying civil servants are sponsored by their government. Oxford MPP clearly values seasoning and plans to set it apart from other UK MPP programmes. Applicants straight out of undergrad will face an uphill battle.

UT Austin LBJ, USC Price, UMN Humphrey, UVA, Syracuse, GWU accept some students straight out of undergrad. But they tend to have high GPA/GRE.

Second SOAS and Oxford. I may also add Edinburgh. Each programme has some graduate scholarships. St Andrews has Middle Eastern Studies with even Iranian Focus. I think it is good at security studies. Durham is a smaller school with a MA with Int. Relations focus (Middle East). There are 3rd party funding such as Fulbright and Marshall for US citizens. Lund Uni, Sweden. has some scholarships for non EU students

The only reason schools do it to widen the pool of applicants. The same reasons B and law schools accept the GRE for GMAT/LSAT.

You have a good profile, your GPA may be mitigated by a strong GRE (mid to high 150s). Your work and international experience will be conducive. I think apart from SAIS and SIPA, you may consider Tufts Fletcher and maybe another DC school (Georgetown, GWU, AU). Good luck.

Great academic profile and you would be a a strong applicant. Most programs take on applicants straight from undergrad. But I would suggest to work 2-3 years before doing MPP as it is a professional program. You would be even a stronger candidate, bring more to the class room in terms of work experience, relate better when it comes to putting theory into practice. Just food for thought as most of your class mates have some prior employment (see class profile).

My School has some vacancies as Residential Advisor with free housing perks. But the workload is estimated at 20 hours a week. There seems to be a high staff turnover. People say that most MA students would be better off to work the same hours as research or admin assistant and pay rent in a share.

https://www.daad.de/deutschland/nach-deutschland/bewerbung/de/9199-visum-beantragen/ Proof of sufficient funding confirms that one can cover your studies financially. At least the cost of living in the first year in Germany should be covered. Generally 720 euros a month, hence 8640 euros is required for first year. Following forms are possible Sufficient income of parents of assets and income (income tax statement plus declaration) A German sponsor guarantees to cover your cost and issues a statement A security amount must be paid to a blocked bank account You are awarded a scholarship by a recognized foundation (DAAD, Fulbright) For student visa, you need valid passport written acceptance to a German uni Proof of sufficient funding (see above) Additionally, you need to proof that you have a student health insurance cover when you apply for residence permit. You can bring your own international insurance if it is recognised in Germany. Otherwise, you join a German insurer and pay standard student rate of 80 euros a month. Q: Can you get a federal education loan for MA studies in Germany? DAAD (German Fulbright equivalent) is the best choice for internationals. Deutschlandstipendium is good.

Your GPA is solid as Chicago Econ is considered as rigorous and grading is tough. Your GPA is mitigated by an excellent GRE, so adcoms know you can handle course work. Don't worry too much about volunteering, your private sector job was time consuming. There are other folks with private sector profiles. Normally at least one academic LoR plus another from work supervisor Yes, reach out to adcom and some schools have dedicated student ambassadors. I found them helpful and discussed about course work, grading, campus student jobs and career office's support for internship. It helped me to find the right fit with some schools and drop others. Your choice depends on your academic interests and goals. There are more options than SIPA. Good luck

When it comes to security studies, LSE, St Andrews, King's College London and Cambridge have the best MSc courses. Either way, you get a good education with high calibre class mates. There are some issues you correctly highlighted such as academic mentoring, access to profs and shared resources. St Andrews is a smaller grad school and the class is more cohesive. I heard from some LSE alumni about the factory & impersonal vibe, busy profs and more competitive culture. Within IR and Security Studies circles in the UK and Europe (academics, professionals, media), St Andrews is known.

Congratulations on admissions to two excellent IR programs. Generally speaking, LSE MSc IR is considered a center of international excellence and attracts plenty international students. I think strong areas include governance, theory, IPE, security and development. Def stronger on theoretical training and less on practical (project and crisis management, aid delivery, NGO grant application). LSE MSc IR is also a good feeder to PhD programs in Europe and US. The London location and LSE enables more interesting opps for guest speakers from politics and media. You can attend think tank events such as Chatham House IISS or Royal United Services Inst. St. Andrews Security Studies MA is well regarded and one of their strongest area. Very established in terrorism, Middle East, Russian Studies and defence studies.

Is it a MPP or PhD program? If PhD Attrition vs completion rate within 5 year period Placement of job candidates Publication and impact factor of supervisor Teaching load

There are 3 LSHTM alumni chapters in Canada. I strongly suggest to reach out and enquire about their experience and employment after LSHTM. I think there are even alumni ambassadors for the distance learning program and they can be more helpful to you. LSHTM has a mission in its history of field work and public engagement of health policy. It was founded in 19th Century to train health professionals for the British Empire. You see it in resume of alumni and profs who worked in senior capacity for health and NGO organisations. To name a few recruiters of LSHTM grads: MSF, Save the Children, UNICEF, WHO Child Health unit Southeast Asia, national department of health, Aid against Hunger and pharma companies. Most full time students tend to have prior work experience.

I am not familiar with MSc Global Health Policy Distance learning. But I have been to LSHTM on Keppel St and know people who did MSc Public Health Full time, MSc Health Policy, Planning, Financing, MSc Control of Infectious Diseases part time LSHTM is specialised in public health and diseases, has one of UK's premier bio labs, excellent track record in field work and scholarship. Profs publish in peer reviewed journals such as The Lancet or Epidemiology journals. The MPH programe is one of the best in Europe and very established. In the UK, LSHTM MPH full time program is certainly top 3 along with Oxford, ICL and maybe UCL. The course also offers some advanced quantitative modules of statistical modelling. LSHTM is dialed in the international research community with joint research projects with international partners and grants from gov, EU and industry. Excellent guest speaker series: EcoLab seminar on Ebola. LSHTM has been actively involved in responding to ebola epidemic with research and field work. I know a nurse who did MSc Control of Infectious Diseases part time. The course is academically challenging and requires some time management along with understanding employer as her work is located 200 miles away. She reckons that she can transfer the theory of class room into her work and use a work project as basis of her MSc dissertation. The student body is international with many Europeans, Asians and Africans. They are smart and driven with healthcare goals. Some have scholarships from school or their governments. Cohesive culture and you can see small study groups in the Common Room. The library is well stocked with subscription to leading journals. LSHTM is a specialised institution with graduate degrees and maybe little known to the general public. But among health professionals, it has a formidable reputation. Good luck

What is your GPA and do you have a grade classification with 180 ECTS?