JV-K

For those considering attending NPSIA MA Int Affairs, here's some information that I received from Tabbatha today (my questions in black, her responses in red):
1. Could you give me a rough estimate of the size of the cohort being admitted to Fall 2017? The cohort will be 100-115 students. 2. How do the TA-ships and RA-ships work? Do students have a say regarding for which classes they TA? What do TA-ships for master's students entail (leading seminars, marking...)? Do students have a say regarding for which professor they act as RA? RA positions have been decided based on your statement. TA positions will be decided by the faculty after you submit the TA profile. You will be paired up with a department or a position that uses the skills you have developed in your undergrad. This can be leading tutorials, marking, working in our resource room, working in one of the service areas that Carleton has (writing tutorial services as an example). 3. I saw in Carleton's terms and conditions of funding that "If you modify your admission program e.g. add a co-op designation (carleton.ca/cc/co-operative-education), then, your funding offer and how it is paid, may be affected.". Does this apply to my funding? I would like to be in co-op; I suppose that sign-up for that is in the Fall? This means that when you go on co-op,  your funding is limited. You can retain scholarships, but not TA or RA positions if you maintain FT status and pay FT fees. Most students will go to PT and move their funding to the next available term.  You will apply for co-op in Fall 2017 even though your first opportunity is Summer 2018.

This is a tough decision, especially since it seems that either program would be awesome. I'm heavily leaning towards NPSIA at this point in time, although I've flipflopped a lot between the two. My plan is to accept NPSIA unless I receive a much bigger funding package from GSPIA (at which point I would reconsider). NPSIA gave me a generous funding offer, though, so my guess is that NPSIA it will be! There are so many courses at NPSIA so it's no surprise that I find more that interest me there than at GSPIA. I am planning to take one or two courses at UOttawa, though - there are some that look amazing and don't have an equivalent at NPSIA (e.g. I'm really interested in immigration and diversity. UOttawa has a perfect course for that, whereas I don't see anything similar at NPSIA). I have been told by a current NPSIA student that this is possible (and the two universities websites confirm this - they have some sort of agreement that makes it relatively painless to take courses at the other institution). I like this possibility, as the profs at GSPIA are frankly more impressive to me in terms of where my interests lie. The course-based option at NPSIA is very attractive for someone like me who did an undergrad thesis and is pursuing a master's mostly to learn a lot from experienced profs and gain a wide knowledge base that will serve me in future careers.
From talking to a few GSPIA and NPSIA students (so this is just anecdotal) I have heard:
1. Both programs are awesome for preparing for a career in government/international policy and are well-connected, although NPSIA a bit more so through its alumni network. Co-ops for both are great.
2. Ones doesn't have to specialize at NPSIA and can take courses across specializations, which means that there are TONNES of courses to pick from. GSPIA has more required courses that everyone takes together.
3. There are plenty of funding opps in both programs (either through entrance funding or funding that one can apply to in first year).
4. Class size is much smaller at GSPIA than NPSIA. NPSIA let in 120 students for Fall 2016, which is more than its usual 90 or so. Not clear if this was a one-off, or is part of a trend of increasing the size of the program.
5. Students from both programs do a good job of complaining about their program and believing the other is better, but there doesn't appear to be a clear forerunner.
As a side note for those having trouble making decisions between options that are different but attractive in their own way (including myself!), this might be helpful: http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/519264798/decisions-decisions-decisions. I'd already watched all these TED talks, but the show brings up some new points that are relevant, I feel.
 

This is a tough decision, especially since it seems that either program would be awesome. I'm heavily leaning towards NPSIA at this point in time, although I've flipflopped a lot between the two. My plan is to accept NPSIA unless I receive a much bigger funding package from GSPIA (at which point I would reconsider). NPSIA gave me a generous funding offer, though, so my guess is that NPSIA it will be! There are so many courses at NPSIA so it's no surprise that I find more that interest me there than at GSPIA. I am planning to take one or two courses at UOttawa, though - there are some that look amazing and don't have an equivalent at NPSIA (e.g. I'm really interested in immigration and diversity. UOttawa has a perfect course for that, whereas I don't see anything similar at NPSIA). I have been told by a current NPSIA student that this is possible (and the two universities websites confirm this - they have some sort of agreement that makes it relatively painless to take courses at the other institution). I like this possibility, as the profs at GSPIA are frankly more impressive to me in terms of where my interests lie. The course-based option at NPSIA is very attractive for someone like me who did an undergrad thesis and is pursuing a master's mostly to learn a lot from experienced profs and gain a wide knowledge base that will serve me in future careers.
From talking to a few GSPIA and NPSIA students (so this is just anecdotal) I have heard:
1. Both programs are awesome for preparing for a career in government/international policy and are well-connected, although NPSIA a bit more so through its alumni network. Co-ops for both are great.
2. Ones doesn't have to specialize at NPSIA and can take courses across specializations, which means that there are TONNES of courses to pick from. GSPIA has more required courses that everyone takes together.
3. There are plenty of funding opps in both programs (either through entrance funding or funding that one can apply to in first year).
4. Class size is much smaller at GSPIA than NPSIA. NPSIA let in 120 students for Fall 2016, which is more than its usual 90 or so. Not clear if this was a one-off, or is part of a trend of increasing the size of the program.
5. Students from both programs do a good job of complaining about their program and believing the other is better, but there doesn't appear to be a clear forerunner.
As a side note for those having trouble making decisions between options that are different but attractive in their own way (including myself!), this might be helpful: http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/519264798/decisions-decisions-decisions. I'd already watched all these TED talks, but the show brings up some new points that are relevant, I feel.
 

Was this an email response to you asking about the status of your application, or an email they sent out to all candidates?

Someone on last year's forum got accepted to GSPIA on Feb 11 and someone else on Feb 28. The first person sent their docs in early December, so maybe that made a difference. NPSIA: March 12th/13th in 2015, March 21 in 2016. BSIA: around end of March/early April in 2016, at least some offers in early March in 2016.