policywonk12

That's great to hear. Congrats on Harris!

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@nadine! @Mr. Jameson I finalized Berkeley MDP! Sent my SIR. What about you guys?

Hi Manvika, the good thing about both programs is that they're STEM. Job opportunities from both are more or less the same - Yale's smaller class size makes interactions with career services team easier but Columbia trumps in terms of its location and networking events (GSAS doesn't have its own placement committee, btw). Columbia Econ also has a marginally better reputation among employers - mainly because of its proximity to DevConsulting firms like NERA, FTI, Analysis Group, Abt Associates etc. and the UN. The duration of the program should also be considered - Yale is hardly a year whereas Columbia's a full 2 years. If you're someone who's keen on graduating sooner to not lose even a year in the job market, the IDE is ideal. As you mentioned, Yale tuition is cheaper and New Haven being a college city will also have a lower cost of living. I'd personally recommend attending Yale - even if your aim is to work in NYC, students (especially with 2+ years of work ex) generally don't find it too hard to seek employment there. All the best!

Hi all, thought of posting my dilemma as per Karam's format: Coming from: New Delhi, India. Been working as an RA across different field research studies for 2.75 years. Deciding between: MA in International Economics and International Development (I-DEV) - SAIS JHU - 30% tuition waiver. MA in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (QMSS) - Columbia GSAS - no aid. Master's in Development Practice (MDP) - UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources - 10% waiver with possibly more fee remissions by working as RA/TA. Other factors: I-DEV at SAIS: Pros - Economics-intensive coursework; being in Washington DC = proximity to a multilateral and other research organizations + networking opportunities Con - Might be better suited to domestic students or those interested in security studies/IR/foreign policy, as opposed to I-DEV jobs QMSS at Columbia: Pros - Coursework is applied statistics and data science with a thesis component along with a practicum in data analysis; sector-agnostic transferable skills; supposedly a stepping stone to PhDs; Location; 3-year STEM OPT Cons - Only 9 months long so too hectic to accommodate learning new skills and maintaining a high GPA (while also job hunting and writing a thesis); works out to be unreasonably expensive; probably not very well-known to employers; high cost of living MDP at Cal: Pros - Many research centers for those interested in Development Economics, access to stellar faculty, flexibility of cross-registering in other grad schools at the university; flexibility of choosing between a capstone and a thesis in the second year; 3-year STEM OPT Cons - Not as many I-DEV jobs as on the east coast, not as well-known as the GSPP MPP since the program started only in 2012-13; living costs almost as high as NYC, possibly How I'm leaning: Probably ruling out Columbia since it's nearly impossible to graduate without taking on a high amount of debt. Would ideally like to attend Berkeley for the pros mentioned above but unsure if it's worth staying away from the east coast where the jobs availability is unquestionably higher for those in I-DEV. Would love to know your opinions, thank you!

Same! Are you heading to Goldman MPP or for the MDP?

I diidd! Mad respect for TS for taking on the men who tried to bring her down, and now also kind of like her songs...

I'm interested in a PhD at some point later, too, but the Berkeley MDP seemed strictly a professional master's program to me. How does an MDP fulfill the requirements for a PhD in Econ/Poli Sci if one hasn't majored in either of them during undergrad?

Yes, I'd like to know, too! I've also got into the Columbia QMSS so I've the option to pursue a dual degree but with no funding from SIPA, that would be hard. Not sure if the ROI on the dual degree would be THAT high with zero aid when I could easily complete the QMSS in a year and cross-register for SIPA coursework, too

Got the rejection email 20 minutes back, but also relieved to hear from them, at last.

Hi guys, I received my admit from the Columbia MA QMSS (Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences) yesterday, and had already received my SIPA MPA-DP early decision in December. As I understand, dual degrees can be super hectic and very expensive. Going for a MA QMSS/MPA-DP dual degree will mean completing both within 5 semesters (Starting with 3 with SIPA, followed by 2 with QMSS). What are the pros and cons of dual degrees, especially at a place like Columbia?

That's what I thought, too! And hopefully, that could've been in the blog post (which still hasn't been published).

Does anyone have an idea about the time slot when these decisions are released? Morning, afternoon or evening EST?

That makes sense, thank you! What schools have you applied to?

NYU’s A3SR (Applied Social Sciences Research), Georgetown’s MS-DSPP (data science in public policy), CMU’s MS-PPM DA and UPenn’s MS Social Policy Data Analytics are few other examples. And it is mentioned on their websites whether or not they’re STEM