LawAndMordor

Hey no problem, my pleasure. Transportation Policy is by far the most practical course I've taken. I am not into transport policy, but the instructor is a straight shooter and has many guest lecturers come in who worked in Transport Canada (one former ADM spoke to us last week and attended our case study presentations). Most of the first year core courses are generally theoretical, though my instructor for PADM 5122 (Principles and Approaches) is a managing director in government, and generally keeps assignments very practical and applied, which is good practice for working and writing in the government. Some other courses however can be academic (as expected in any master's program). My suggestion for those who want as much practical experience as possible and avoid getting into the "academia weeds" is to look up the instructors and see which one's have extensively worked in government. You're not going to get an entirely practical experience, but for some courses (especially electives), the ones taught by current or former government workers should hopefully lead to a more practical experience. Hope this helps.

In general, I have had good experiences with the faculty. Some are better at gaining research and academic advice, and some of the instructors for specific electives are better for gaining practical career/job skills and advice (i.e. some specific electives are instructed by former high-up government officials, and are entirely practical in nature with mostly briefing notes, case studies, and policy presentations). Most faculty members however have been willing to serve as co-op job references, and the SPPA usually has weekly workshops with some relating to how to do interviews, how to write resumes, how to get your foot in the door in government, ect. Regarding co-ops, most people in my year already had theirs locked up by mid February. The co-op job board is loaded with federal opportunities (and others if that interests you), and I know a ton of my colleagues entered with no professional experience, yet locked up a federal co-op well before many who had government or other professional experience. I for one didn't have any professional experience, yet I was able to lock up a temporary FSWEP in the government that was originally supposed to run till the end of March, but my employer allowed me to keep it as a co-op for the summer. I even had a couple of co-op offers I had to turn down before choosing to keep my current job. My suggestion therefore is to network with as many folks as possible (professors, instructors who used to work in government, alumni, current students working, ect.) as well as take advantage of the resources at the co-op office. If you are choosing Carleton to jumpstart your career, especially in the federal government, you picked the perfect program.

They are manageable. I haven't done math since high school (long time), but find there are ways for you to do well. They are probably the most challenging courses, but you will be fine. Something that really helped me was peer support as I learned a lot from my peers working together. As stated, profs mostly understand that majority of students haven't touched math in the longest time. Plus, there is a little math refresher module put up on Brightspace (it's not graded at all) that reviews the math you may not be familiar with since high school, but will need at the graduate level. As I said, don't stress, you will be fine.

Hello, happy to answer your questions! 1. In general, it is recommended because it can ease your load/stress when coming into the program, and you can ideally finish by the May 2025 target date for when your funding runs out. That being said, my issue with the SPPA was that they seemed to advertise that as something that "had" to be done. It is ideal to have them completed, but it is NOT mandatory to have them done prior to the Fall start date. For context, MAJORITY of my cohort had at least a pre-req if not all 3 that needed to be completed when we began the program in the Fall. The second part of your question about starting the program in Winter 2024, I don't think you can do that, but I am not sure. Best to talk to the Graduate Supervisor and the Graduate coordinator. That being said, don't let the pre-reqs discourage you as there are loads of people who have to do them, and I believe the hard deadline to have all three pre reqs done is by the end of the summer of your first year (so summer 2024 for your cohort). I THINK that is the case, but I could be wrong. 2. I know both econs are offered at Carleton during the summer. Think they take just over a month to finish, so if you take them through Carleton, you can get them done in time prior to starting (that being said, it will be very condensed and somewhat rushed, so if you aren't great at econ and have trouble handling a lot of material, it might be challenging. Yet, lot's of people have been successful in doing it through Carleton). Most people who need the POLI SCI pre req do it at Carleton in the fall, however that course is generally a pain in the ass. It's doable, but tedious. I know many others have done their pre reqs through Athabasca U (I did both econs through them). The material is not too hard, but Athabasca U is all asynchronous, thus very time consuming (at least I found it to be). Athabasca also has very expensive tuition. If you wanted to do all 3 pre reqs prior to the Fall, Athabasca U would probably be your best bet, however be mindful that you will literally be teaching the material yourself, despite having the autonomy to complete things at your own pace. 3. With the econs/stats, I was referring to the master's level courses. I wouldn't take master level micro econ and master level stats in the first year during the same term. Doing 2 pre req econs at the same time in the summer prior to the program starting shouldn't be an issue. Hope that clarifies things. 4. It depends. Extending your term outside of your May 2024 end date will likely increase your costs as your funding is only covered for 5 terms (if I'm not mistaken). If you are given Advance Completion Credits (ACCs) for courses, it will allow students to take a lesser load while still being on track to finish on time. Lot's of students take 4 courses and manage just fine. It will have stressful moments as it's grad school, but it's not impossible. Lastly, students in my year who had pre reqs to finish did a schedule of 3 master's (PADM) courses and 1 pre req. Point being, doing 5 courses will most likely be way too much. Hope that answers your questions, and if you have more, feel free to reach out. L&M

Good question. Definitely start off with completing as many first year "core courses" as possible as you need to be in the process of completing 6 core courses (5 courses if you have pre-reqs that weren't completed in the summer) by the end of April of your first year to be eligible for co-op. For reference, a full course load is 4 courses per term, so I absolutely would not recommend doing more than that. Regarding what are "core courses" they are outlined on the MPPA website, or in the spring/summer prior to your arrival, you will get a package emailed to you that will explain them, and give you a rough roadmap on how you can attack your first year. The MPPA also has 3 courses that require quantitative/math elements. They are quantitative methods (stats), micro econ for policy analysis, and macro econ for policy analysis. Quant and micro are considered first year core courses, and macro is a second year core. In your first year if possible, I would STRONGLY suggest not taking micro and stats in the same term, especially if math isn't your strongest skill. Math isn't my best skill, and even taking one "mathy" course per term was hard enough. I will say, even if math isn't your best skill, don't panic, they are manageable, and the profs understand that most students are not comfortable with the material in each course. The math doesn't get too complex, and there is a fair amount of logic and intuition involved with the courses that help balanced the practical math side of things. Those courses also have optional tutorials once per week, and the profs office hours are generally very helpful. Honestly, my math skills are tragic, so if I can get through these courses, then everyone else can, don't panic. Hope that answers your question!

Hey all! Congratulations on getting into Carleton's MPPA program! I posted in the other thread but I thought I would make a similar post here. I am finishing my first year in the MPPA program at Carleton and will start my first co-op in the federal government in May. I would be delighted to answer any questions about the program, such as how courses have been, what it's like living in Ottawa, co-ops, what it's like having to do pre-reqs (I had to take both econs), what it's like working and taking courses at the same time, job opportunities, and just about anything that you would like to know before entering the program! Many others on the forum have posted excellent advice, but if you want a recent perspective from a first-year, I am happy to provide insight!

Hello! I am nearing the end of my first year as a Carleton MPPA student. As many of you are considering/accepting MPPA offers, I am also happy to provide insight on what you can expect in your first year, how classes have been, what it is like coming in needing pre reqs (I had to do the two econs), co-op process, or just about anything! Many others have given excellent advice, but if you want a recent perspective from a current first year, I am happy to help out!

It is! My first Waterloo email was verbatim, so just keep an eye on Quest during these next few days ?.

I was wondering the same thing. I haven't seen one yet, but would absolutely join to connect with future cohort members!

My pleasure, I'm glad you found it useful. I truly hope it all works out and you get that opportunity you deserve. Apologies for a misleading typo: I meant to say it was "not hard to get a good grade", NOT "it was hard not to get a poor grade." Don't want to mislead anyone.

I am far from an expert, but I have a really close friend who in finishing up her first year/co-op term at UVic's on campus MPA. She was the main source of inspiration for applying there as I heard really good things about the program. I can relay a few notes I learned from her as I was evaluating my decisions. Hope it can be useful for you and others considering UVic: The co-op program seems very good. Sounds like they take a great interest in helping students throughout the process and ensuring they are successful in getting a placement/being successful in it. Probably not on the level of Waterloo, but from her testimony, it sounded good. My friend actually works for the Feds atm, so it's not mutually exclusive to the BC Government (though there is loads of co-ops provincially if that's the preference). She said the instructors there were overall very accommodating and good. Sounded like they wanted students to succeed. According to her, it was hard not to get a poor grade (in grad school terms) as long as you put in the effort and have good work to show for it. Obviously, like all grad schools it's challenging, but it didn't sound like it was unreasonable/awful. Sounds like there is a good portion of group projects, alongside a few individual assignments, but I think most MPA/MPP/MPS programs are like that. The cohort seems quite small. I know it's about 25 at most (I think my friend's is around 20), so you will get to know your classmates really well. You already know this, but a downside is the cost of living, especially if you're from out of province/not from the island. My friend said the tuition didn't seem unreasonable, but I'm not sure exactly what she had to pay. She also got 5k in funding. The main factor that drew my decision between Waterloo and Carleton was the Thesis aspect. Maybe to some it sounds like a highlight, but I would've rather done the big group capstones, as offered in the other programs. That's just me, so definitely don't need to take that at face value! As for X University, I don't have any idea, as I didn't apply/don't know anyone there. Hopefully these notes can provide some clarity? These were the main highlights I worked off of when considering my decision. If you'd like, I can probably find a way to connect you to my friend and get a better understanding of UVic's program compared to what I wrote. If you're interested, just send me a DM and I can connect you to her GradCafe account.

I applied to the on campus MPA. It was a difficult decision to say no to that opportunity, so I hope it opens up a spot for another deserving student. Moreover, I hope you hear good news from the online program!

I got $5k from UVIC. Congrats on your offer/decision to accept Carleton! Let's keep in touch throughout these next few months?!

For those awaiting a UVIC decision, I just got an offer right now! However, I am going to accept my Carleton offer after doing much due diligence. If anyone is going to Carleton in the Fall, please keep in touch, as I would love to establish a connection with some members in the upcoming cohort?!

I didn't and I don't think they do. My letter states that it's a "professional graduate program," so they can't offer funding. Obviously a downside, but otherwise the program looks amazing.