wms9768

That's really interesting Acrimonia! I often find myself thinking the same about some of the DC programs haha. I think you are definitely right about DC internships and the "Holy Trinity". GPS does place some students in these agencies, but not on the level of the DC schools. The flip side is GPS places much better than most schools in the private sector (something that attracted me when I began to see how impacted most policy programs are, and the difficult reality of securing a position in high end state agencies even in the top schools in DC)

Hey folks, Looks like this thread might be dead, but I wanted to drop a line about preparing for PhD post GPS as I just graduated from GPS and accepted a spot in Pardee RAND's 2020 cohort. Mapiau is correct that GPS is very professionally oriented. However, GPS actually looks great on a PhD application if you are strategic and willing to hustle some. GPS put three students including me into PhDs this year. It's especially a great way to segeue into UCSD's Political Science program (Do not apply to GPS's PhD program, you will have the same access to classes and professors in the Poli Sci program, and GPS only accepts 1-2 PhD students a year, whereas Poli Sci has much larger cohorts). My one caveat to my advice is that Pardee RAND is a bit unique in that it is a professionally focused PhD (if you dig the research and skill building of a PhD but want to be a practitioner check it out). However GPS has put students into strong academic-oriented programs too and I'm quite familiar with that process as well. In terms of academics, the program is extremely well known for its quantitative methods, economics, security studies, and it's China/Asia scholars. There are some rock star professors teaching in these subjects, and an LOR from one or more of them will turn heads in adcoms. Here is my list of professors you should try to create a relationship with as soon as possible Tai Ming Cheung (Chinese Security and Tech) Emilie Hafner-Burton (International Law and Regulation, also she is the head of the UCSD Poli Sci adcom, you absolutely want to get to know her) Barbara Walter (International Security/Civil Wars) Stephen Haggard (North Korea) David Victor (International Law and Regulation and Energy Studies) Barry Naughton (Chinese Economics) Victor Shih (Chinese Politics) Craig Mcintosh (Quantitative Methods) I can't shine much light on the Latin America professors as I was a China focus, but it's my understanding that while we have some great professors, there's just not as much name recognition there yet. Gordon McCord is someone who stands out as a rising star (Economics and Latin America) You want to secure LOR's from as many of these professors as you can, and ideally you want to do GSR work with them as well. This can be difficult to achieve. Competition for GSR positions is stiff and many times these positions aren't even made public (i.e. you won't even know about it unless you're already talking with that professor). Doing an Independent Research Project is a great lead-in to these positions (most professors, even the 'big dogs' will be willing do this with the understanding that you put in a lot of work with somewhat limited help on their end). I couldn't get any GSR positions my first year, but secured a GSR with a newer professor over the summer and did an IRP with one of the above-mentioned professors. I segued those into GSR positions with two of the professors on this list and ultimately got LORs from them that boosted my application big time. This took a lot of hustling and being in constant communication with them (You also need to get A's in their classes or already have a background working in their field). Due to the programs professional focus, there is no one to connect these dots for you, but you can do it. You also need to understand that you will have to approach internships and work opportunities differently than your classmates. Unless you land an internship with a major international org or a name brand think tank (extremely rare), you should be trying to do GSR work and an IRP over the summer and throughout the year. TA positions are okay, but adcoms want to see you doing research. Also, I would recommend taking as many quantitative methods and economics classes as you can (GPS is running circles around most programs in this area). Your capstone should be one of the QM focused ones (This year I had QM 4 and as well as a China/QM capstone to choose from, there were some other QM focused options for energy I think, but that's not my field so I can't make any recommendation there). The great thing about GPS is that the program is so flexible. If you're getting an MIA or an MPP you can come out with a skill set equivalent to that of an MBA's, security specialist, international development specialist, or energy specialists. If you're willing to put in the work to take the extra QM/Econ/Programming classes offered and chase down some GSR positions, you can be highly competitive for a lot of PhD programs. I will say that I had to take the full sequence of Chinese language classes, and that on top of the QM classes was brutal as I didn't have much background in either area (kind of like learning 2 languages at once), so again, think about your strengths and be strategic. I narrowly got out of the first year (I didn't get my first A until the spring quarter), but made some big gains over the summer and walked into the second year as a much stronger student and PhD candidate than when I arrived. Anyways, hope this helps someone. If you have any other questions about GPS or PhD applications, feel free to reach out through PM and we can exchange email addresses. Very excited for all of you, GPS is a special program. It will likely be tough, but you will come out of it so much stronger as a policy analyst.

Hey! I'm taking QM and Math, and also opted into the Econ. The MPP and MIA session was at the same time correct? I ended up getting a spot pretty much in the middle of downtown. I'm about a 20-45 minute drive from campus depending on traffic, and also have the option of taking the bus on weekdays (~60 minutes including a short walk). Everything is extremely walkable and surprisingly affordable (compared to LA).

Hey folks, I'll be starting the MIA program this fall, and will also be attending summer prep. I would love to start linking with people. Also, I just recently made the move from LA to SD, and if anybody has any questions about off campus housing I might be able to help! Out of curiosity did any of you folks attend the admitted students day? I'm wondering if we might have bumped into one another Also, I wanted to add my 2 cents on the PhD side of GPS. I originally applied to the PhD program, and was subsequently denied and offered a spot in the MIA program. I talked with career services and they assured me that although they don't put out a ton of PhD students there are definitely resources for those who are considering that route. I also believe one of the capstone courses is geared towards creating a research paper for academically/PhD minded folks. I also second that UCSD's Political Science PhD program is phenomenal. I've heard it referred to as one of the best routes in the US to a full time professorship. Also, regarding the private sector statistics, Career Services really seems to take pride in that number. For me, it was one of the reasons I chose GPS. I see it as a broadening of options particularly for those who, like me, are worried about debt/job prospects post masters.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions! I would love to hear any of your opinions or thoughts on the program, good and bad. Also, I'm wondering how likely it is for students who are admitted with no aid to secure funding in later semesters. I'm anxiously awaiting news on financial aid, but considering biting the bullet if I receive no funding at first. (I'm a CA resident already)

I'm interested in quantitative analysis and statistics, it seems like adding calculus in would be useful as well. I'm especially interested in statistical programming as I think big data is going to be an area of of focus going forward. For me the Rosetta Stone language courses would be a negative. I do much better with language aquisition in a classroom setting and have struggled with Rosetta stone. I know that's not true for everyone though. I passed on Korbel because I feel like UCSD offers some unique quant skills, language classes, and is great at placing students in Asia and San Francisco, as well as PhD programs. I could expand on that, but I'm not sure it's helpful?

Gotcha, my mistake! I was surprised when I found out RAND had a program as well, but it seems very attractive. Particularly as the campus is integrated with RAND and students essentially work for RAND while attending the program. https://www.prgs.edu/ Korbel seems strong for security studies. My main reservation would be the program's distance from international cities, but I believe they supplement that by facilitating internships in DC. It also seems like I've also heard that Denver does have a few international opportunities (although this was in reference to me applying for an MIA rather than the MAIS). I think Elliot and Korbel are comparable, with a nod to Elliot for being in DC, but I haven't dug deep on either (I wasn't even looking at Korbel at first due to geographics but they offered me an app fee waiver so I figured I'd go for it). One thing that has helped me a lot with these decisions is looking at specific course offerings in the areas I want to grow. For example, I'm personally leaning towards UCSD and a big reason is that it better aligns with my desire to increase quant and language abilities, and allows me to do that within the curriculum rather than adding extra classes.

Congrats to both of you @taftumas and @2018Hopeful ! Does anyone know if McCourt notifies you if you don't receive aid? My acceptance made no mention either way, so I figured it was a no-go, but I'm going to follow up with them tomorrow. @taftumasIf I was in your shoes I would lean strongly towards Georgetown though it would give me some pause. For me, I know the money would make a huge difference (according to GT's COA estimates receiving 30k in funding would leave me 90k in debt). One thing that could be a deal breaker would be if I had any significant debt from undergrad. However, in this case I think the name brand and network of Georgetown will do a lot for you, particularly if you want to work internationally. Even more so it appears to me that a huge part of landing a job in International Development is based on who you know. The number one way to develop these relationships is through internships, and DC will provide a lot more opportunities than Indiana. It does like like Notre Dame does some cool things to offset the distance from DC, might be worth looking at their statistics on employment placement and seeing if it aligns with your goals.

I applied to Pardee RAND and Korbel, accepted at Korbel denied at RAND. RAND was my top choice program and their track record for placing people in security is phenomenal. I assume you applied for PhD's at all 3? I would take the RAND offer in a heartbeat, especially given their OJT program leaves you with a debt-free Ph.D. and the equivalent of 2 years working experience at a very prominent think tank focused mostly on security studies.

I received an acceptance from McCourt this afternoon for the MIDP program. Very excited and anxious to hear back regarding financial aid. Also, I've been nervously waiting for weeks and just heard today, so don't give up hope!