JPYSD

Congratulations on your great offers! I agree with everything that has been already said by "cheetah", but want to add a few thoughts and insights that I received from several alumni that worked at both Fletcher and SAIS before (students and non-tenured faculty/postdocs) - Fletcher is generally known for having more "research-focused" professors. Their close connection to Tufts allows Fletcher to have quite a few research projects that are also being recognized outside the policy world. The Fletcher-PhD also seems to be relatively academically renowned and the connection to some Harvard grad schools is still close. I know a couple of people that focused on more of a research path at Fletcher and wrote books together with faculty to then pursue a PhD in a top IR-Grad-Program. However, on the student level, the same applies to SAIS - you will find some alumni that got into top-20 PhD programs after a master at SAIS and some work experience. Just the faculty at SAIS does not seem "as" academic. - Fletcher is in policy circles more known for their close ties to the State Department. SAIS however is more known within the DC establishment, especially in think tanks. You have to know what you prefer. I also feel like that Fletcher attracts just slightly more international students with the goal of getting into international organizations, like the UN etc. If you want to establish yourself in DC circles, however, SAIS is definitely the better choice by far! For everything "more international", I would pick Fletcher. - For some reasons, some Fletcher-insiders I know are reporting that the department would be on a slight downfall at the moment. I don't know any specifics, but received that information from several alumni that claimed that the change of administration within Fletcher in the last years did not do the school well. SAIS is also changing quite a lot currently - I just cannot see a clear direction there at the moment. If and when SAIS moves to the old Newseum in DC, this might be a big change to the general environment of the school. --> I believe in the end it should come down to the location (and finances). SAIS gives off very professional vibes, so you have to be "ready" for it. Fletcher still has some college campus feeling to it and is situated within a quieter environment, which I would honestly prefer. At the same time, SAIS is in DC, which is a big plus, but only if you aim for DC only jobs and the respective networking in the future. Fletcher won't close any doors related to DC, SAIS just might open a few more. The community at Fletcher must be incredibly nice though - I hear that quite often! and honestly more than in relation to SAIS. (I would not go to GW to be honest. Fletcher and SAIS are just in a different league) Most success to you and good luck for your decision!

Thank you so much for your invaluable help, I really appreciate it! Thank you! It would only be a partial funding and I am still waiting for a few other scholarships/fellowships to finance Columbia completely. In the end, Columbia would be on a level financially with most of the other options (since I will likely have financial aid at the other programs as well), but the brand "Fulbright" seems to be quite a big one in the US. Another question to both of you: Quant background and methods seem to play a big role for US PhD (applications). I did a few courses in my Bachelor, but definitely need to focus more on it in my Master. LSE has no quant and not even methods courses at all. Same goes for Cambridge. Columbia would allow me to pick whatever I want. IHEID Geneva´s program actually is very quant based and would give ma a strong methods and research training since I selected the research track. Also, it is two years with a 30k+ thesis to write and has a semester abroad option to go to the US for example (Yale, Fletcher, Boston, Northwestern, GW etc.). Does anyone of you know the reputation of IHEID Geneva compared to Columbia for example? Or is it really that important to get a first step into the US system, which is why Columbia would just make more sense? Thank you again!

Thank you so much for your quick response. Yes, I would have a Fulbright scholarship for Columbia and sadly only for Columbia. It would lift off a big financial burden but not everything, although I am still waiting on some national scholarships to fund the master completely. The only fear I have with Columbia is the interdisciplinarity of the degree, which combines political science and South Asia, but is not a typical terminal US program in political science, but something weirdly else. I really like the idea and would love to go there, but am just wondering how useful it might be for PhD admissions committees. Also, I would have (likely) funding for most of the other options - it really comes down to the university and the program itself...

Hello dear forum, I have been reading here quietly for a while now, since there are two questions in particular driving me around that I haven't been able to answer properly yet: 1) Should I apply for PhDs this year (for a start in fall 2022) with my current profile and thus have only studied a few months in my Master? and 2) Which of the Master's programs best fits my focus and could still best "push" my PhD applications? Goal: I would prefer to do a PhD in Comparative Politics or IR theory, keeping a focus on South Asia. Most of the exciting programs I am having an eye on are in the US and unfortunately at the usual, very competitive universities... Background: - Bachelor's degree from top-10 European university in International Relations. Our different grading system would just confuse the GPA, but unfortunately I was "only" top 20-30% of my class. Semester abroad at well known US university for IR/PoliSci - took classic IR courses with unfortunately less quantitative focus - I only took a one year course in quantitative and statistical models for Political Science (but did very well there) and learned R, SPSS and Stata (partly introductory). - RA at a prestigious US political research institute and internships at embassies. - Publications: 10+ op-eds, 3 short academic articles in niche publications ---> currently working on publishing my bachelor's thesis as well as 1-2 other "larger" paper projects before applying - Other: 8 languages (5 of them fluent); contact to many professors for LOR, but all European and all from the Bachelor-level - GRE: currently studying for it to write it in the summer Current: I finished my Bachelor in 2020 and am currently taking a gap year to work / do internships. I am also taking a one year Economics program at the same university, but it is "basically" not graded. Master's: I will be starting a Master's in Fall 2021 and am very undecided about the program. I have the following options: - LSE MSc in IR -> 1 year - Columbia M.A. (interdisciplinary program with slight regional focus -> notPolitical Science per se, but possible focus; very renowned profs in my field)-> 1 year (Fulbright scholarship secured). - Cambridge MPhil (similar orientation as Columbia, but research related and with a clear focus on South Asia) -> 1 year - IHEID Geneva Master in Political Science / IR -> 2 years My questions: 1) I would like (for personal reasons) to continue with a PhD in the US right after my Master, but I also know that my profile is definitely not the strongest. Since most programs only go for one year, I would have to apply already this year and thus would not be able to benefit from the professors for LOR nor from the final grade or from my Master´s thesis for the PhD applications. --> How much would the fact that I am doing these masters but that I am applying with mostly the material from the Bachelor count? --> Should I wait a year to focus more on my Master´s degree in my application? 2) I would like to apply for a PhD in Political Science, but maintain a South Asia focus in my research. Therefore, I also have two masters in the list that are more interdisciplinary and exactly at the interface in which I am interested in. However, I would not do traditional Political Science there and will only come into contact with a few Political Scientists. --> So does it make more sense to choose the LSE / IHEID Master to work clearly towards a PhD in Political Science? --> Would an interdisciplinary Master in South Asian Studies be more of a hindrance for a Political Science PhD? --> Does the reputation of the university play a role for PhD applications in the US? If so, how do these universities compare? I thank you all so much for your help and already apologize for this way too long question... All the best