Ken Shen

I'm currently attending University of Toronto, majoring in political science and international relations, with a cGPA of 3.72. I am interested in comparative politics and IR, with a focus on China-Japan relations and China politics. I've been accepted by Columbia (no funding) and SAIS (with 10k fellowship) and rejected by Columbia's PhD program. I'm quite concerned that Columbia's MA program only lasts one year. And I want to apply for PhD program after finishing MA. The thing is I don't know whether I can get three references in my first semester at Columbia. And I've browsed other posts on Columbia's MA. Most mention this is just a cash cow program. For SAIS, the program consists of both economics and political science courses, and it lasts two years. I think I may attend a thesis course at SAIS if I can find a supervisor. Essentially, I want to boost up my chances of getting in a PhD program after finishing my MA. Anyone can comment which program might fit me better?