SMR9

See you at Uottawa in September!

Hi everyone - wanted to give an update on my prev post and mention that even though NPSIA was originally my top, I actually decided GSPIA would be a better fit for me right now, and accepted my offer there. I spoke with some current students at NPSIA (first year, second year, and recently graduated) and was told that even since the fall, they have seen a distinct reduction in elective course offerings at Carleton. I know that all post-sec institutions are struggling financially right now, but it seems like UOttawa has handled it better that Carleton, and has not cut as many courses. Carleton is also no longer teaching arabic at all. Thought that folks here may want to know that as well... both are great programs, wishing everyone here a successful and fulfilling masters experience!

Hi everyone. I am in a similar boat, but swapped. I received a good offer to NPSIA with funding in January, which I accepted at that time. However, in February, I received an offer from GSPIA with strong funding & surprisingly a named scholarship based on my proposed area of study. This prompted me to take a stronger look at GSPIA. While NPSIA had been my top choice before and i was pretty much mentally set on going there, GSPIA is starting to look more appealing. They are very similar, both have strong coops and focus on training students in similar ways. I’ve noticed GSPIA has a larger faculty base, and you can access other scholars at UOttawa such as in SIDGS for other folks interested in development. They also have a strong bilingual focus, and I need to improve my French. I know NPSIA has higher prestige and name recognition, and the strong sub field model is appealing to me, but both are great programs, and I’m starting to think I may have a better student experience at GSPIA. Anyone else considering similar factors?

I have not yet done so as I feel like I do not have enough information yet to choose desired courses etc. Any advice? Also, for folks who need to redo an econ (for me it is micro), how are you going to go about that?

Hi Everyone. I've been lurking here for the past few months but did not post until now.. as now I have received an offer I submitted in early-mid November. My references submitted their letters around a week later. By December 10th or so it had moved from preliminary review to review in progress by department. This is when I started checked the portal almost every day.... As is the experience of many other folks here around Tuesday January 20th I noticed it had changed to review in progress by the faculty of graduate and postdoctoral affairs, and 2 days later on Thursday afternoon I got a great offer! It included a great funding package (one of the reasons I was prioritizing early application to npsia) with scholarship + TA. Congratulations to everyone who has gotten offers, and good luck to everyone still waiting! Hoping to meet some of you in ottawa in the fall. :)