compulsionlife

At least half of the IPS admits each year take one or more prerequisite courses after admittance to the program. One shouldn't worry too much about not having completed all prerequisite courses, and IPS is fairly flexible regarding prerequisite courses even if the Stanford equivalents are a bit restrictive in nature (i.e. calculus-based statistics). Similar to what GlobalSun mentioned, the practicum is a two-quarter project (which is done concurrently with regular coursework) done in teams. It is a real-world project where small groups are actually working with clients on a real project. The last two years have provided impressive dividends as at least three projects have received significant attention beyond the sight line of the client. The practicum can, at times, seem burdensome and challenging, but it requires students to work in teams to produce deliverables for a real-world client. This is practical and pertinent, while providing an end-product that is marketable. Some programs provide a theoretical experience but the MPP and IPS programs at Stanford believe the real-world client and experience are irreplaceable. Employment is split evenly amongst private and public sector realms (http://ips.stanford.edu/node/93) and employment is split between international, west, and east coast opportunities. The majority of students have an internship during the summer, and of those approximately 90% receive supplemental funding (up to $4000; for public sector internships). More than 2/3 of students have an assistantship for one or more quarters. Of those who want an assitantship this percentage is closer to 80%. The program is defined as a professional program at Stanford but it is housed within the School of Humanities and Sciences, which means it has a balance of academic/theoretical and professional coursework. If you were admitted to the program (or if you're considering applying), here are a few things to know: -The incoming class size is generally small, which is planful. This allows the Freeman Spogli Institute's faculty and researchers a better ability to work with IPS students. Additionally, it means that class sizes are generally smaller, and lends towards a very collaborative group of students. This may sound ridiculous but students in the IPS program are high achievers who work hard to ensure that their classmates also succeed. -IPS provides stipends for summer internships and the annual study trip, which is a spring break trip designed by students that takes 20 students abroad for a week of policy meetings -Career direction is one-on-one and most IPS students meet with the associate director many times during the year in order to develop internship (or job) opportunities; this includes resume and cover letter revision, personal attention for attaining opportunities, and general guidance. -IPS students have a faculty advisor and an IPS advisor, both of whom work to help students manage their courses and degree requirements -Stanford is on the West Coast but there are a signficant number of events each day (or week) that pertain to IPS students. -Program customization is a core facet of the IPS program. There are six areas of concentration and within that there are various ways in which to construct the course of study. Some of the things to consider are whether or not you want to study at a true residential campus, whether you value a small class and program size, whether you want (or need) personal attention by the program staff and faculty, and whether you truly want (or need) to be within proximity of NYC/DC on a daily basis. Just some things to consider.

The IPS program at Stanford is simply different from the other programs, most of which are on the East Coast. The West Coast offers UCSD, Monterey Institute, UC-Berkeley (but Goldman is public policy and not international in any reasonable manner), and Stanford IPS. The East Coast obviously has a plethora of options. The defining components of IPS are: small incoming/graduating class size (20-25 students), west coast location (not a prominent policy location, obviously, but stellar research centers and academics who are also practicioners), personal attention (very collaborative approach with administration), access to faculty and researchers (FSI's researchers and faculty often provide assistantship opportunities), access to the whole of the Stanford Alumni (utilization of all graduates, not just IPS graduates; many internships and career positions are found through non-IPS Stanford alums), innovative approach to courses (customization to each student's goals/needs), and funding for various initiatives (annual study trip, summer internships). Stanford IPS is designed for those who want to customize their educational experience, as well as for those who want to achieve in a highly collaborative environment.

Stanford's MPP is just now in the midst of their three-year review and I doubt they'll open it to external candidates for at least a year (although I'd guess it's significantly longer than that considering they acknowledged in their recent committee hearing that their alignment with the MA program in international policy studies is still necessary, both in terms of topic overlap and student numbers). I certainly could be wrong, however. In terms of quality it's a very strong program and most of their current students are from the School of Law or GSB, both of which are top 10 programs nationally. The MPP-MA IPS combined practicum yielded impressive results for the project that analyzed the California pension program; the practicum student group's research was quite valuable and led to them holding a press conference, being interviewed on NPR, and having their data as the central point of news articles in something like 40 newspapers nationally. It's a solid program that's multidisciplinary, small in student numbers, and connected to all of the schools at Stanford. Anyway...for what it's worth