SAIS vs. SIPA for International Energy Policy

[lomsaku]

I am interested in studying international energy policy at a foreign affairs school next year, and am weighing my options between the SAIS M.A. in IR with a functional concentration in Energy, Resource and the Environment, -or- the SIPA MIA with the International Energy Management and Policy track within the Energy and the Environment policy concentration.

Can anyone comment on the strengths and weaknesses of these two programs?

[globalsun]

I was deciding on studying energy policy at SIPA and SAIS last year, but ultimately concluded that both are relative weak in terms of energy. SAIS lacks credibility in this area because its totally disconnected from the hard sciences departments at JHU. Any school that does not have an integrated science program cannot be serious about energy policy today. Meanwhile SIPA's energy curriculum focuses mainly on traditional energy sources instead of the burgeoning clean tech sector. For these reason, I decided to attend Stanford's International Policy Studies program concentrating on Energy. Having world class science/engineering faculty here along the vibrant venture capital industry really makes a difference if you want to figure out the future of energy.

I am interested in studying international energy policy at a foreign affairs school next year, and am weighing my options between the SAIS M.A. in IR with a functional concentration in Energy, Resource and the Environment, -or- the SIPA MIA with the International Energy Management and Policy track within the Energy and the Environment policy concentration.

Can anyone comment on the strengths and weaknesses of these two programs?