Applying to Munk 2019, NPSIA, GSPIA, BSIA etc.

[snowflake96]

Not sure if this is important to post but my status has moved to 'under review' for Munk

Edited January 28, 2019 by snowflake96

[I'mnotanxious]

Mine too.  

 

[1567r4]

has anyone else been accepted to the Munk/SciencesPo dual degree?

[snowflake96]

Hey,  does someone mind clarifying what GSPIA means by this for our statement of intents:

 

"A sentence to identify your field of concentration (in the domains of international affairs, public policy, international development as well as in conflict studies and human rights); as an indication of your research interest (this will not restrain you in the choice of your courses, and your interests may also change during your program, the question is for informational purposes only)"

Are there field of concentration on the website?

[v_vexed]

On 1/28/2019 at 12:28 PM, snowflake96 said:

Hey,  does someone mind clarifying what GSPIA means by this for our statement of intents:

 

"A sentence to identify your field of concentration (in the domains of international affairs, public policy, international development as well as in conflict studies and human rights); as an indication of your research interest (this will not restrain you in the choice of your courses, and your interests may also change during your program, the question is for informational purposes only)"

Are there field of concentration on the website?

I looked into it and I couldn't really find anything in depth about those fields of concentrations I am guessing it just identifies what kind of classes you'd be taking. So if you chose public policy then you'd be taking some public policy classes. Found this on the website: 

Elective seminars - The elective seminars are grouped under three fields of concentration: public policy, international affairs, and development studies. 

[bessyk1993]

Hey guys,

So I applied to the GSPIA program at uOttawa and MPPA program at Carleton. My focus is on health policy. I come from a health care provider background with two undergraduate degrees, graduating my second degree with around a 3.85GPA. I have some pretty strong references and definitely unique background, but no actual experience working in policy or PIA. The Carleton program does give the opportunity to work for health care federal offices, as does the GSPIA and also GSPIA has Patrick Fafard who I spoke to and can hopefully if I am lucky to be admitted will supervise my MRP. I was just wondering if anyone could give me any insight on the likelihood of my chances and also any info on either of these programs, pros and cons etc. that would be much appreciated! and obviously good luck to everyone else applying this year! 

[snowflake96]

On 1/29/2019 at 2:57 PM, v_vexed said:

I looked into it and I couldn't really find anything in depth about those fields of concentrations I am guessing it just identifies what kind of classes you'd be taking. So if you chose public policy then you'd be taking some public policy classes. Found this on the website: 

Elective seminars - The elective seminars are grouped under three fields of concentration: public policy, international affairs, and development studies. 

Ah, that makes a lot more sense. Good luck to everyone submitting their final statements for NPSIA and GSPIA tonight!

[takeuaec]

for NPSIA, does anyone know if references get a couple extra days to get their letters in or everything was due on the 31st? i submitted all my documents before the deadline but Carleton Central says that one of my references are still not in so I'm getting a little worried

[diplomaniac]

Good luck to everyone that applied! ??

[diplomaniac]

1 hour ago, moon-girl said:

for NPSIA, does anyone know if references get a couple extra days to get their letters in or everything was due on the 31st? i submitted all my documents before the deadline but Carleton Central says that one of my references are still not in so I'm getting a little worried

I believe as long as you have on reference letter on file, it should be fine. However, it takes up to two days to process the reference letter. It took Carleton one day to process the LOR, and for some reason, time-stamped at 2:00 am. 

Carleton is aware that their admission process is antiquated... and inconsistent. I had a much more pleasant experience uploading my docs to UOttawa. 

[flip]

14 hours ago, diplomaniac said:

I believe as long as you have on reference letter on file, it should be fine. However, it takes up to two days to process the reference letter. It took Carleton one day to process the LOR, and for some reason, time-stamped at 2:00 am. 

Carleton is aware that their admission process is antiquated... and inconsistent. I had a much more pleasant experience uploading my docs to UOttawa. 

I had the same issue. My reference is time-stamped at approximately 2:00am on Feb 1 even though it was sent in on Jan 31. I am sure they are aware of this issue and count it as of the actual date it was sent in?

[takeuaec]

1 hour ago, flip said:

I had the same issue. My reference is time-stamped at approximately 2:00am on Feb 1 even though it was sent in on Jan 31. I am sure they are aware of this issue and count it as of the actual date it was sent in?

i emailed the graduate information coordinate (for Carleton generally, not NPSIA) and she said that even though processing times may take a bit to show up, they are able to see what time that referees submitted the form. so hopefully, even though the "received" date shows up as later than the Jan 31st deadline, it should be fine! 

good luck to everyone! 

[twin1]

Received my offer from GSPIA on the 29th! Wondering if anyone else received there’s? I got admission scholarship details and it says I also got a merit scholarship but there weren’t any details regarding that one... 

 

anyone in the same position? 

 

Btw I applied end of Nov and my last ref was received on Jan 4 :) 

[Sasa7777]

I uploaded my letter of intent for GSPIA on the morning on feb 1st and my application status hasnt changed to show it was submitted. Anyone else?

[snowflake96]

2 hours ago, twin1 said:

Received my offer from GSPIA on the 29th! Wondering if anyone else received there’s? I got admission scholarship details and it says I also got a merit scholarship but there weren’t any details regarding that one... 

 

anyone in the same position? 

 

Btw I applied end of Nov and my last ref was received on Jan 4

Congrats! Are you an international student by any chance? 

[Timbit]

5 hours ago, twin1 said:

Received my offer from GSPIA on the 29th! Wondering if anyone else received there’s? I got admission scholarship details and it says I also got a merit scholarship but there weren’t any details regarding that one... 

 

anyone in the same position? 

 

Btw I applied end of Nov and my last ref was received on Jan 4

@twin1 which program did you apply to? Also, did you apply as an intl student? 

Congrats!  

[twin1]

8 hours ago, snowflake96 said:

Congrats! Are you an international student by any chance? 

@Timbit @snowflake96 Thank you! No I am not an intl student. Born and raised in Ottawa and I also just completed my B.Comm there as well! 

Edited February 3, 2019 by twin1

[revalith]

On 2/1/2019 at 6:04 PM, moon-girl said:

i emailed the graduate information coordinate (for Carleton generally, not NPSIA) and she said that even though processing times may take a bit to show up, they are able to see what time that referees submitted the form. so hopefully, even though the "received" date shows up as later than the Jan 31st deadline, it should be fine! 

good luck to everyone! 

That's definitely reassuring, I'll have to pass that on to friends of mine whose references submitted late enough that by the time Carleton Central registered it the date had rolled over. They were really worried about this exact issue. One of my references submitted on the day before the 31st as well - seems like it's a trend!

Now to wait (who knows how long?) for the offers to start rolling out for NPSIA. I only applied to NPSIA, so at least I minimize the waiting stress, but I definitely am ready for all of this to be over. I submitted my actual application in November so I've been nervous about this for a lot longer than it's worth honestly.

[snowflake96]

35 minutes ago, revalith said:

That's definitely reassuring, I'll have to pass that on to friends of mine whose references submitted late enough that by the time Carleton Central registered it the date had rolled over. They were really worried about this exact issue. One of my references submitted on the day before the 31st as well - seems like it's a trend!

Now to wait (who knows how long?) for the offers to start rolling out for NPSIA. I only applied to NPSIA, so at least I minimize the waiting stress, but I definitely am ready for all of this to be over. I submitted my actual application in November so I've been nervous about this for a lot longer than it's worth honestly.

I applied to GSPIA, NPSIA, Munk and an additional program at Ottawa and I too want the wait to all be over but it's just part of the process I guess. Good luck!

[revalith]

23 minutes ago, snowflake96 said:

I applied to GSPIA, NPSIA, Munk and an additional program at Ottawa and I too want the wait to all be over but it's just part of the process I guess. Good luck!

Good luck to you too! I was debating applying to multiple schools but I didn't want to leave Ottawa and GSPIA didn't have the same draw for me, so I settled on just applying to NPSIA in the end. At the risk of sounding overconfident I feel pretty good about my chances so I think I'll be okay! Hopefully it all works out.

[diplomaniac]

4 hours ago, revalith said:

That's definitely reassuring, I'll have to pass that on to friends of mine whose references submitted late enough that by the time Carleton Central registered it the date had rolled over. They were really worried about this exact issue. One of my references submitted on the day before the 31st as well - seems like it's a trend!

Now to wait (who knows how long?) for the offers to start rolling out for NPSIA. I only applied to NPSIA, so at least I minimize the waiting stress, but I definitely am ready for all of this to be over. I submitted my actual application in November so I've been nervous about this for a lot longer than it's worth honestly.

 

Admission assessment starts on Feb 15th and the trend in last years form is near the end of Feb to early March are first rounds of admissions. People admitted in the first round are usually exemplary applicants (applicants who have had previous international development experience, stellar grades, etc) and get the best funding packages ... then it trickles from there. 

Also so there’s the whole Doug Ford issue where he’s cutting down tuition funding to Ontario universities for I suspect funding packages to be absolute crap this year, and fewer will be given out. 

[revalith]

On 2/4/2019 at 5:32 PM, diplomaniac said:

 

Admission assessment starts on Feb 15th and the trend in last years form is near the end of Feb to early March are first rounds of admissions. People admitted in the first round are usually exemplary applicants (applicants who have had previous international development experience, stellar grades, etc) and get the best funding packages ... then it trickles from there. 

Also so there’s the whole Doug Ford issue where he’s cutting down tuition funding to Ontario universities for I suspect funding packages to be absolute crap this year, and fewer will be given out. 

Thanks for the info! I'm confident in my application, but at least now there's a timeline to put on it. You make a good point about Ford, though, I hadn't thought about the effect on graduate funding packages. NPSIA's tuition isn't that much so it could really be worse even if funding is reduced. My undergraduate tuition was 700 more than NPSIA's this year, and I managed to work enough hours to pay for it. I know some people who are planning on going abroad for their degrees in similar fields and it blows my mind how much they're willing to spend on it - I can't imagine what they're thinking.

[snowflake96]

5 hours ago, revalith said:

Thanks for the info! I'm confident in my application, but at least now there's a timeline to put on it. You make a good point about Ford, though, I hadn't thought about the effect on graduate funding packages. NPSIA's tuition isn't that much so it could really be worse even if funding is reduced. My undergraduate tuition was 700 more than NPSIA's this year, and I managed to work enough hours to pay for it. I know some people who are planning on going abroad for their degrees in similar fields and it blows my mind how much they're willing to spend on it - I can't imagine what they're thinking.

I know a couple of people that went abroad to do their masters - particularly in the UK and I was looking into doing something similar but the costs were way too high. But all power to the people that have the money to do so, it would be an incredible opportunity

Edited February 6, 2019 by snowflake96

[diplomaniac]

16 hours ago, revalith said:

Thanks for the info! I'm confident in my application, but at least now there's a timeline to put on it. You make a good point about Ford, though, I hadn't thought about the effect on graduate funding packages. NPSIA's tuition isn't that much so it could really be worse even if funding is reduced. My undergraduate tuition was 700 more than NPSIA's this year, and I managed to work enough hours to pay for it. I know some people who are planning on going abroad for their degrees in similar fields and it blows my mind how much they're willing to spend on it - I can't imagine what they're thinking.

NPSIA has a great co-op program and if you land a co-op job with the Feds they pay grad students ~$21 an hour. That will surely subsidize costs. Personally, I would prefer to gain experience in research fellowships/TA-ship, in addition to co-op, to really pad my resume and make connections... should I get into the program. 

[revalith]

On 2/7/2019 at 12:50 AM, diplomaniac said:

NPSIA has a great co-op program and if you land a co-op job with the Feds they pay grad students ~$21 an hour. That will surely subsidize costs. Personally, I would prefer to gain experience in research fellowships/TA-ship, in addition to co-op, to really pad my resume and make connections... should I get into the program. 

Yes, the opportunities are much better with the federal government staying in Ottawa, which is part of the reason I don't want to leave this city! If you want to work for the federal government leaving Ottawa is very counterintuitive. I actually started working on FSWEP/co-op contracts right from the beginning of my undergraduate degree (the undergrad pay scale tops out at 21$) and I'm on a temp contract now until I figure out where I'm off to. That's how I paid for my undergrad and cost of living. I was lucky and got in on my first contract and from there it gets much easier to get rehired.

For me personally the more professional focus NPSIA allows you to have is more important than the research one - I fully intend on completing the degree with coursework and not an MRP/thesis. NPSIA's setup is better for people who don't want to do as much research and are more focused on the professional applications of the degree, which is definitely where I'm at right now.