margrett

I have at least 20 graduate credits (from two different schools) and am looking to apply these to a master's program. I found one Master of Liberal Arts program that will take up to 12 credits. Anyone know of schools/programs that allow transfers of more than 6 or 12 credits? These classes are international policy with titles like "Globalization" and "Current Issues in the Middle East".

I spent one semester there a few years ago. Beautiful location. The school doesn't have a lot of space, so you could drive right by and not know it. It's basically a few small buildings within a two block area. MIIS' focus on getting real experience is admirable and I believe their connections to NGOs/government agencies/think tanks are substantial. There are plenty of international students. Downside: the price tag/lack of name recognition. Also, I only got to know maybe three students. It wasn't like being in a co-hort where you see all the same people. But I guess it depends on the program. I was in International Policy Studies.

To emphasize, if you're an international student, buy a good coat, snow shovel and enough bags of salt early on to last for a few months (because local stores may run out of it). This past winter, NJ experienced a lot of snowfall and who knows what next winter will bring.

Unless you can approach the U.S. security/intelligence community with some unbelievably rare skill as a non-citizen (like you're fluent in a critical foreign language--Tamil, Pashto, Urdu, Dari, etc. or your background is in the hard sciences a.k.a you're a nuclear engineer or something along those lines), then you're not likely to get much interest from the U.S. But, if you eventually do go to work for the British government, whether you get to work with U.S. government employees really depends on the particular agency you work for. Read up on the different types of intelligence specializations out there (HUMNT, SIGINT, MASINT, OSINT, etc.) and figure out whether you'd be interested in doing something other than HUMINT (which is what CIA does). If so, I think your chances to work in the U.S./for the U.S. would be better. Read up on the Cambridge Five and you'll see that there's a history of tension between the U.S. and U.K. HUMINT communities regarding espionage. But other U.K. agencies may have better working relationships with the U.S. Bottom line: If you want to do it, it would take several years and you'd have to acquire the right skills and experience. There are intelligence community employees who come from all over. They've renounced dual citizenship or become naturalized citizens in order to be U.S. citizens and get their intel jobs. But you can't just walk in the door.

That was my only application. My options were pretty limited, since most school web sites I looked at mentioned one year of language study as a prerequisite for applying, with the exceptions of Stanford, Michigan and Harvard. Maybe I'll look into American University's regional studies degree, since I live in the D.C. area. My stats were probably comparatively low, but I have 3+ years of work experience at an internationally-focused organization. Any ideas for next year?

Also rejected at Stanford. With no language background, I knew I was a long shot. Congratulations to those who've been accepted. I am curious about the number of applicants, though. It's unfortunate for late bloomers that most EA master's programs normally require some beginning level classes.