Hi Cate Y and Caroline! I am an admitted student to IPS this year, and would love to hear more about the program. Did you finally accept the offer? It's been hard to find any information about the program apart from their website, so I'd really appreciate having some advice.
I am currently trying to decide between Stanford IPS and SAIS/Georgetown in DC. I would like to specialize in economic development and specifically to take quantitatively heavy courses, which is what makes me lean towards SAIS instead of Georgetown out of those two in DC. I would like to work in an international organization (WB/IDB/OECD/UN) or in a think tank/NGO with an international perspective. So I believe that SAIS could be ideal for this professional career. However, as an international student, I do not think I will live in the US in the long term, so it is also important for me the reputation of the university out of the US. SAIS is quite unknown e.g. in Europe, whereas Stanford is definitely considered one of the top universities all over the world.
In general terms, both programs seem to be great! I like that both offer strong quantitative courses, and they both have an interesting curriculum. One of my concerns regarding IPS is whether it offers a strong focus on development. I do know SAIS specialization in IDEV is well known, and offers plenty of opportunities as well as a Practicum project that looks awesome. Instead, the IPS names the specialization "International Political Economy", and even if it offers several courses on development, it doesn't seem to offer so many opportunities in this field.
I would love to hear more about the IPS... It could be really helpful in order to make my decision! Thanks