Hello all, I am new to GradCafe (although I have updated the results page at least 3947202749358 times for my two rounds of grad school admissions over the years). My decision is between two fairly different schools/programs: 1) Analysis and Policy in Economics (APE) Masters at the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and 2) Master of Science in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MS-CAPP) at the University of Chicago (UChicago) Harris School of Public Policy. Both seem to have a good reputation in their own realm, but some pros and cons for both (as I see them):
PSE Pros:
- Thesis degree (I already have a non-thesis MS in Biomedical Engineering, and it doesn't really mean much because of the lack of research.)
- Economics degree (Ultimately I am interested in sound policy, but more from the public and developmental economics perspective.)
- Combining the first two, it opens doors to an econ PhD if I discover I really like academia
- PSE has decent name recognition (6th in RePEc), especially with Thomas Piketty
PSE Cons:
- Paris (Definitely a pro in many ways, especially since I love Paris, but I am from the US, so people back home may harbor less-than-fair feelings.)
- I am afraid the econ theory is going to overwhelm the inner engineer in me, who cares more about empiricism than assumptions that don't hold in real life
UChicago Pros:
- Data science, machine learning focused, compared to traditional MPPs (I have interests/a background in machine learning and pattern recognition from my first masters.)
- Interdisciplinary with computer science (I've used Matlab, Python, and R for school, but I am definitely lacking, and could use more theory in data structures, algorithms, etc.)
- Practice over theory (Internship required between the two years)
- UChicago name (Although it's not their econ department, I feel like the university is generally more known than PSE... Economists feel free to chime in!)
UChicago Cons:
- Non-thesis degree (I don't know if it's worth getting another masters without research, especially if I end up wanting to apply to econ PhD programs.)
- I have heard policy jobs can be held by econ grads while the other way is not always true (CBO, World Bank, UNDP, etc.)
Please assume money is not a problem; I have ways to fund both programs. Please help!