Jump to content

brownpride

Members
  • Posts

    9
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Location
    Calgary, Canada
  • Program
    Masters

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

brownpride's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

1

Reputation

  1. Current student in the first cohort of students. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Last year, there were about 500 applications for about 35 spots - the admission rate was about 7%.
  2. I applied to law school straight out of undergrad and was accepted into Harvard, but deferred for a year to complete a masters degree in public policy (which I'll begin this fall at Oxford's new school of government). My reason for doing so what that my career goal is to work in internationally-oriented policy, and thus I wanted a strong international relations/policy background as well as the legal skills I hope to develop in law school. However, due to a lack of international relations opportunities in my city and a lack of funds to travel/work abroad, I don't really have any experience in any facet of international relations (though that's what my undergrad degree is in). As this is definitely the field in which I want to work, I'm contemplating looking for a job after my masters degree and working for a year, thus deferring law school for a second year. I'd only defer if I could find work with a top-rate institution (i.e. I'd be searching at top IR think tanks, UN positions, and at top management consulting firms). But I'm not sure if it's worth working in IR for a year to help kick-start my career after law school considering that I'll have one IR-related internship in my masters program and another in law school. Thoughts/suggestions? TL;DR - Deferred law school for a year to complete a masters but have no experience in field I want to work in; wondering if I should defer for a second year to get some experience.
  3. I'm worrying about the same thing too. Fellow Canadian here, and I turned down a fully funded MPP to enrol in Oxford's inaugural MPP this fall. Fees are 50k Canadian just for tuition, and I'm really wondering whether the experience and education are going to be worth the cost :/
  4. Thanks for the responses guys. I want to go to law school in the states, and a top one at that. Tuition plus living costs there will run me over 200k, which is precisely why I don't know about the extra money for the masters. So a masters from a good school in international relations wont really offer much benefit relative to the cost i guess, right?
  5. I've posted a similar topic a few months ago, but I'm still confused as hell. PLEASE HELP. I'm applying for law schools and masters programs this fall. My ideal result is that I'll get into both and defer law school for a year, while doing a one-year masters, but another reason for applying is to give me two chances - if I don't get into a law school I'm happy with this year I'll know I need to rewrite and improve my app for the following year. But because I'm applying to law in the US and the masters institutions I'm debating between are in the UK and Canada, I need to decide really soon and only apply to one of those two countries, cause I simply don't have the time/money/professors willing to write me a ton of references to apply to school in three different countries and also apply for scholarships and such. I want to earn a masters because I want to develop a lot better understanding of the field of international affairs, as following law school I want to work in international policy/diplomacy/government/NGO work/journalism/something of the sort, and I don't really feel I'd have a deep enough understanding coming out of my BA. I'm currently finishing up my BA in International Relations at a mediocre Canadian university. My two options are to: 1. Do the MA in Political Science at my university, where it would essentially be an extension of my BA program as I'm already familiar with the department, profs, university etc. The program is a also a 1-2 year program (that's what they say), but everyone takes 2 years to complete it. I don't want to spend 2 years doing a masters program, as with law school as well I don't want to spend forever in school, but while they said I could complete the program in a year if I was really diligent, it's not a certainty as a thesis committee can always reject one's thesis and delay completion of the program. But I have a 10k scholarship carrying over from my undergrad and there are some awesome funding opportunities plus really affordable tuition (and I'd still be living at home), which could leave me with up to 25k in surplus money (which would be really helpful for law school). Cons, however, are that I wouldn't be able to travel, meet a lot of new people, or study in an environment conducive to international affairs (my city is a very business-focused city and quite ignorant when it comes to world affairs). Having lived in the same city my entire life and not having travelled outside of North America due to lack of resources, I feel that I'd go to law school really lacking an international perspective despite being an IR student, and thus I'd be pretty useless. 2. Go to the London School of Economics and Political Science in London for its one-year MSc in International Relations. The school is world-renowned for the social sciences, has a strong IR program, and attracts students from around the world. I'd definitely finish it in one year as that's the program length. The school is also in central London, and attracts heads of state, government ministers, and prominent leaders from around the world to speak at the school. It'd be a fantastic experience, and living in Europe would also mean I'd travel a lot and see many places which I know I wouldn't if staying in Canada, as there I'd be struggling to do a 2 year program in a year. The catch is that the program is about 25 grand, and adding living expenses in the middle of London plus some travelling I'd probably be paying a total of around 40 grand. Were I planning on just going for a masters program I'd choose the latter, but the immense loans law school will require will already be a huge burden (and I'm hoping to get into Harvard law, so I'd have to pay the full thing through loans as I wouldn't qualify for financial aid). I don't know if 40k more is worth it for the experience, travelling, excellent institution, etc., but at the same time having NO international experience as an IR student sucks and I don't want to just be one of those who studies global affairs but has never set foot outside his/her own continent. I'm trying to justify it in my head by saying that the name of a top school will help me in the future, but I really have no clue what to do. Help!
  6. I'm currently finishing up my BA in International Relations and Political Science at the University of Calgary, a public university in Canada. It's a great institution for some subjects, like engineering and commerce, but definitely not in the arts or social sciences. Following graduation I'm planning on studying law in the US, but I'd like to spend a year prior to law school completing a Masters program in International Relations. I chose this institution because I wanted to stay at home for cheap, but after realizing the severe dearth of choice in the area I wanted to study in, I promised myself I would go to the best school I could get into for my next degree. However, law school is going to put an immense financial burden on me (200k+), as I am certainly planning on going to the best institution I can get into for that. Thus I'm confused about where to go for the Masters program. I want the law degree to be my primary degree, but I also want to earn a Masters to give me a stronger academic grounding in international relations as well as to give me more credibility in the world of law and policymaking. As well, I want to earn a PhD down the road (after 10+ years), so the Masters program is a serious consideration for me as well. Here are my options (assuming I'll get into all of them, but I'm operating on the assumption that I will after extensive research and consideration of my qualifications): 1. Stay at my undergrad institution to do an MA in Political Science, where the resources are limited but the cheaper tuition, drastically lower living expenses for staying at home, and ability to earn more funding as the students are mediocre will likely leave me with $25k+ in surplus funding. 2. Go to the program I want to at either the University of Cambridge or the London School of Economics in the UK to do a Masters degree in International Relations, where the resources, professors, opportunities, and reputations of the universities are all outstanding, but pay through my nose (somewhere in the neighborhood of $45-55k). I really, really want to attend one of the latter schools in the UK, as I'm extremely passionate about what I'm studying (international relations, human rights, the Middle East) and these schools are renowned for the opportunities they present in these fields. The courses I could take there would be amazing and I can work with some excellent professors as well. I also want to work internationally, which is a big reason I want to have some more recognized credentials as well. Any thoughts, tips, or important considerations?
  7. I'm graduating this coming year from a Canadian public university with a BA in International Relations & Political Science. I'd like to study for a Masters in the field of human rights, as ultimately I'd like to work in that area. I'm currently looking at 3 schools: 1. Columbia - MA in Human Rights Studies 2. London School of Economics - MSc in Human Rights 3. Cambridge - MPhil in International Relations (where I would focus my study in human rights) As some background, I'm applying to law schools this coming year as well and my goal is to complete a Masters program for one year to give me some strong background in the field before entering law, as I'd ultimately like to work in human rights law. Down the road I'd like to earn a PhD, so I do want a program that's helpful in that regard as well. I have few questions that I'm really confused about though: 1. Does the degree designation (MA, MSc, MPhil) matter in the long run (both when applying for PhD programs and for employment in this field)? 2.. Is there a difference/advantage/disadvantage between earning a Masters in International Relations and just taking courses/doing my thesis on human rights within that program and doing a program specifically focused on human rights? 3. Columbia's program about $36,000; LSE's is about $25,000, Cambridge's is about $16,000. Is the extra money I'd pay for Columbia worth it, for the excellent reputation it has in human rights? 4. Is it even worth going to one of these top schools for my Masters degree? After my bachelors I promised myself that the next time I would choose a program that's top in my field as my current school was quite deficient, but the money is a huge thing, especially as law school will put an immense debt burden on me. As an alternative I'm looking at an MA (Political Science) at my undergrad institution or a Masters of Strategic Studies (focusing on human rights), both of which are two year programs which I'd work hard to finish in a year but would leave me with no debt. I want to work internationally, and have high ambitions, so I do want to get the best education in the field that I can. My GPA is 4.0, so I'm not worries about admissions for any of these programs. But alas, money.... Thoughts?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use