This thread is super helpful!
Coming from: 2.5 years out of undergrad, working in both the nonprofit and local government sectors. I’m broadly interested in social policy and civic engagement.
Deciding between:
UC Berkeley Goldman MPP: Offered full-tuition scholarship plus yearly stipend that would help offset some housing costs (although definitely not all of it)
Columbia SIPA MPA: Offered 45k/year. This would leave me with about 30k to cover over two years
UTAustin LBJ MPAff: Oferred full-tuition scholarship plus yearly stipend that would fully cover housing potentially
Duke Sanford MPP: Between the scholarship and graduate assistantship, I would pay about 10k over both years (not including housing)
How I’m Leaning: I’m leaning towards Columbia SIPA or UC Berkeley.
Based on a very basic search, it seems like Columbia offers a greater diversity of courses and I’m somewhat interested in their dual degree options (in which students could complete their second year in a different country and graduate with a second degree). Columbia also has great name recognition of course, although I’m not sure if more so than UC Berkeley?Finally, I’m from NYC and would live with my parents, which means I would avoid moving and housing expenses.
UC Berkeley seems like they have a tighter-knit community and a stronger emphasis on quantitative training (which I like). However, that comes along with less elective options. In grad school I’m hoping to take advantage of taking courses in other professional departments (including MBA programs), so electives are important to me. It has also always been the dream to move to the west coast for a bit, having lived on the east coast all my life. That said, I do plan (at least as of now) to return to NYC after graduation, and I know Goldman alumni mostly work in the Bay Area.
I also want to leave the door open to pursue consulting for social good work after graduation (like Bridgespan) and am not sure which school is better recognized in that regard.
As for the other two options, I love how close-knit the Duke community seems, and how engaged the faculty seem with the students. It’s also a strong program in terms of their quantitative training. UT Austin is also doing some great work in the realm of social policy and Austin seems like a great place to live (and it’s hard to turn down a completely free ride to grad school).
Any advice/insights would be greatly appreciated!
@pubpolgal it seems like we’re debating between the same top two schools, so interested in knowing which way you end up leaning! Are you planning to visit either?