Poppet

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

So that it be clear, I never said that people who are not funded are lazy! I don't think that's true at all. I have known many hard-working, wonderful people who did not receive funding and I know that receiving funding or not is not a reflection of a person's ability or their character. I didn't receive funding at all the schools I applied to either. But where I did receive funding, I feel that I deserve to keep it.

A lot of people who don't get the very top marks might not get them because they are busy working full-time while also being students full-time, are taking care of dependents (sometimes ill dependents), and/or are ill themselves etc. There are all kinds of things that happen in life which can negatively affect a person's ability to achieve the very top marks, and yes, I do think they should be rewarded for going through all those things and still getting marks good enough for grad school. But I am also one of those people, so I honestly feel bitter that people who made the (very wise) decision to live a well-rounded existence with equal parts hard work and play, who were blessed with good health for themselves and their family and who actually lived life the way they should be living it (enjoying it! living it!) should be rewarded funding that was originally given to me because I received too many rewards. I didn't receive them because other people are lazy, I received them because I worked abnormally, miserably hard for three years, in a life situation that just happened to be wrought with a lot of draining and difficult circumstances. It's not that I am in any way superior, it's that my particular path for the last few years wasn't an easy one and I accomplished a lot of things despite it. I received a lot of funding for being able to push through difficulties with good marks and good work experience, and I think I deserved it.



I can see why this would be very valuable for students who want to pursue doctoral studies afterwards, or who just want to reduce their workload... But if you are not one of those people, then this is not a positive thing. If we were to assume that I won the SSHRC, the higher award, not only would the TAship that I would enjoy doing be reduced, but my overall funding would be cut by almost 40%. I just don't see how it can be fair to tell someone, "We are going to reduce your work hours to 25% of what we promised and we are going to lower your overall funding to 40% of what you've been promised because we think that you've won too many accolades for your hard work so we are going to give that money to someone else." If funding was given arbitrarily or through a lottery system I would agree with the need for equal distribution, but that's not where these funding awards are coming from.



Yes, the poor get poorer, in this case..


Again, I really need to stress that I am not making a judgment about people who didn't receive funding or who need more. It would obviously be ideal if everyone could get some (or lots!) and if there were more needs-based awards provided, or if schooling was simply less expensive in the first place. But I just don't think it is equitable to allot merit-based awards and then revoke them on the premise that "we didn't know other people would also think you merited awards, so we're taking them back, sorry."

Just the name "master's in human rights" raises an eyebrow for me. Even if it comes from a prestigious university, it's not clear who would view this as a qualification-- I can only hope a law school would look favorably on it. A degree in international relations with a focus on human rights will be a lot more flexible and earn respect from a much wider community.

But please, if other forum-goer's have first-hand knowledge of such a degree, do correct me.

Ok so to tackle the substantive questions here:

(1) The degree designation *might* matter, depending on what you want to get your PhD in and how you sell your master's. If you want to do a PhD in public policy, for example, you would be significantly better off pursuing an MIA or MPA at SIPA than you would getting the Master's in Human Rights Studies in the general studies program at Columbia. One reason is that some PhD programs in policy fields (e.g. SAIS) want you to have the equivalent of their professional master's in order to apply. A second reason, which applies to really any PhD program you might want to apply for, is the possibility to make contacts that would be great recommenders to catapult you into a great program. I'm not familiar with your undergrad situation so I can't comment on how it would be viewed, but let's just say that your situation could only be improved by getting a stellar letter of rec from a well-known prof at a great school like Columbia or possibly even at LSE, in a reputable field. The last part is the kicker as the above posters noted--"human rights" is not generally considered reputable as a field academically (although if you want to work for UNDP or in a professional/policy setting you should be a-ok), but political science or sociology or history professors who teach on human rights related topics are another matter. Another point, though smaller, is that you degree should be something that you can market in a variety of contexts. For example, what would happen if you didn't get into law school or decided you didn't want to go? Would the MA in Human Rights Studies propel you down a path you want to go regardless? If not, I would say don't do it. As someone with a professional master's, I promise that you'll only feel it's worth it if there's added value to the degree above and beyond what you could be doing by getting a year of work experience or getting a certificate.

(2) Largely, see #1. A couple other points on this matter specifically though:
--It depends, like I said, on what you want to do. If you want to work for a think tank instead of Big Law, there's value to having a degree from a known entity (SAIS, Gtown, HKS, SIPA) beyond just your academics--employers will recognize the degree, recruit at the school, etc etc. And you can always market your specialty in human rights and concrete interests, and parlay those into a career you're happy with.
--Related to the other point I was making about your degree needing to apply in a variety of contexts: think about your long game in addition to the short one. What might you want to be doing when you're 50 years old? Is it absolutely human rights? Or could it be something a little more nuanced that intersects with human rights, but for which there would be value in knowing other things and having concrete skills? Not to beat up on the MPhil or MA options, but a professional master's at least certifies that you have any understanding of metrics and evaluation techniques, etc., that are really indispensable in a human rights career and go above and beyond knowing what the UDHR says and how to interpret it legally.

(3) This depends on your endgame. If you want to be doing a PhD/working in the nonprofit field/doing other things that aren't well known for their compensation packages, you should really think hard about your strategy for affording this and strongly consider the cost/benefit. Not just because debt is scary but because it can very literally limit your options and ability to do what you want in the immediate term (a friend of mine finished an MPP and a JD with aspirations of pursuing a nonprofit work but was so heavily in debt she had to take a big law job to pay the bills--it's not uncommon). I assume it's this concern that leads you to the 1-year programs in some part. Another option you should strongly consider if you want to go the law route for sure is targeting law schools with strong human rights programs and clinics (some even offer certificates and designated emphases that fulfill the kind of professional role I think you want the MA to). Law school is expensive anyway, but 3 years is plenty of time to invest in some great complementary education in human rights.

I respect your desire to get the best education you can with the best name you can--and it's definitely not a bad idea, particularly if you're setting your sights on working in an international context where name recognition can be particularly helpful. But the most helpful thing I think would be to lay out exactly what your ideal game plan is: if everything went your way, what kind of career would you want? Where do you want to be 10, 20, 30, 50 years down the road? Once you think through these in vague terms, I'd suggest going through to google the kinds of organizations you want to work for, find the people you want to be, and see what they did. Do they have a law degree or a master's? Check out the hiring guidelines at the organization--is a PhD necessary? Do they recruit at particular schools? Are 99% of their employees alums of the University of Kansas? LinkedIn is super helpful with this actually. The point is, when you have a lay of the land you'll be able to better evaluate how worth it $40k for a one-year master's is vs. 3 years in law school vs. a PhD for your career.

I hope someone will answer the substantive questions. But as I see it you narrowed down your choices to 3 or 4 , why not apply to all and see how it goes? While getting into a master's program is easier than a PhD partly because it is expensive, you may want to apply more than one place. You could evaluate your options when you get your offers.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

I think what depresses me most is that last semester I was also taking a very heavy course load while trying to complete my applications. I ran myself into the ground so hard that I had a mono relapse, so I vowed that this semester I was going to give myself a break and take it easy. I was going to let myself coast for once and relax and actually read for pleasure, paint, exercise, have a social life... And instead, I'm just so nervous about grad apps and sick of school that I spend all my days being a sloth and checking grad forums. I'm completely wasting the first opportunity I've had in a long time to actually enjoy my life. But I just don't even feel like putting the effort into THAT anymore.

It sounds worse than it is. But I think I'm going to go for a jog now...

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

It is very legitimate for every applicant in every program to ask if they are applying to a legitimate program.


But it's rather unusual to ask this if one has already got a generous funding from another world-class institution - and more unusual to not even know that this program they applied to was reorganised to be included in another centre with all info and the course work on public display on the website.


I would think one would research the websites of the programs one sends one's applications to and go back to these websites a few times.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist.

Hahaha sucka

I received the OGS but I will not be accepting it. I don't remember the numeral that goes along with my studies, but it was in the field of Law/Legal Studies/Criminal Justice, so if anyone in those fields were waitlisted, I just want you to know that there is still hope.

Good luck to everyone still waiting.

Seeking, on 06 May 2011 - 10:52 PM, said:



Excuse me? What an arrogant thing to respond. Do not presume that because someone asks questions about the reputation of a program this means that they haven't had the sense to so much as look at the program's website. Your previous response was reassuring but offered no new information because, as a perfectly reasonable applicant yes, of course - I looked at the school's webpage! But the fact that a program has its own institute doesn't necessarily make that program a good one, and it doesn't provide me with an answer to my question at all. I also studied the course list, the available professors and the optional courses intently, and had done considerable review of the program prior to applying to the program. This is precisely why I knew that debates on the legitimacy of the program even existed in the first place! I should think that questioning whether those arguments had substance or not was the sign of someone who had clearly DONE some research instead of blindly applying to programs without conducting even minimal examination of their content. With the existence of a human rights concentration in the very competitive SIPA program, I don't see why it could be considered remotely unreasonable (or "unusual") to question whether this degree would be viewed as a poor substitute for the more competitive program.

On top of everything, in my admission letter from the school itself, I was informed that I have "been admitted to the Liberal Studies Master of Arts degree program in Liberal Studies - Human Rights Studies." This simply justifies for me even further the legitimacy of my concerns. So do not suggest to me that my concerns about what this meant were the product of laziness.

And for the record, my other admissions or scholarships are only relevant to the discussion in the respect that I would be turning down funding to attend Columbia. It is not appropriate for you to bring them into the discussion as a means of gauging whether I am an intelligent (or at least mildly diligent) applicant. Your original posts were respectful and reassuring despite being unhelpful. Try and keep the condescending presumptions to a minimum in the future, thank you.

I received the OGS but I will not be accepting it. I don't remember the numeral that goes along with my studies, but it was in the field of Law/Legal Studies/Criminal Justice, so if anyone in those fields were waitlisted, I just want you to know that there is still hope.

Good luck to everyone still waiting.

I'm also an MA applicant, and have been obsessively checking SSHRC's twitter account, as they tweeted when they mailed out doctoral results. Good luck to my fellow anxious MA applicants!