University of Illinois at Chicago MPA with Policy major

[purpleatheart1994]

Hi, folks. I'm in a bit of a conundrum. I've applied to a few programs in Chicago, and want to contribute to the social sector by contributing in policy-making. 

I recently got accepted into UIC's MPA program where I chose a concentration in Public Policy. I have a few questions:

1. How good (or bad?) is UIC's Public Administration department?

2. Is it bad for someone who wants to work in policy to get an MPA with specialization in public policy? MPP's at nearby non-state colleges are much more expensive. 

I'm super confused. I'm regretting not having applied to Harris but the 80K investment was not something I was keen on signing up for. I assumed that as a recent graduate from abroad and little relevant work experience, I barely had funding chances. 

Any thoughts about UIC and its MPA would be highly appreciated! Without funding, its accelerated path in 25K. The department said I might get some funding.

 

[thewagman]

Hey, I just got admitted to the UIC MPP program. Did you end up attending? If you did and could tell me about your experience, that would be incredibly helpful.

[GradSchoolGrad]

1 hour ago, thewagman said:

Hey, I just got admitted to the UIC MPP program. Did you end up attending? If you did and could tell me about your experience, that would be incredibly helpful.

Anytime a school, especially lets be honest, not one the is either highly ranked or has high brand cache doesn't make the career stats easy to find, I would be very concerned why:

a. they aren't tracking *(or don't have the resources to track)

or

b. what the stats might hide

Generally speaking, accelerated/part time programs are cash cows for Universities (especially state schools) to make up for budget short falls elsewhere. Unless you are being sponsored or this is check the box for promotion, I would skip it. For lower branded schools, employers have questions if they see you went to grad school without clear career pivot afterwards on your resume. 

[thewagman]

The MPP program at UIC is like one year old, so I could understand that being a reason why they wouldn't have an abundance of data because no one has graduated from the traditional 2 year tract yet. I don't plan on doing anything accelerated. 

UIC isn't the greatest school, but it is a legitimate state school to my knowledge. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

45 minutes ago, thewagman said:

The MPP program at UIC is like one year old, so I could understand that being a reason why they wouldn't have an abundance of data because no one has graduated from the traditional 2 year tract yet. I don't plan on doing anything accelerated. 

UIC isn't the greatest school, but it is a legitimate state school to my knowledge. 

For grad schools the program matters more than the school. For example, I would discourage anyone from going to Cornell MPA or Stanford MPP because those programs are not highly regarded despite a well known University. The reverse is true for Georgia State whereby the program is amazing though the University is not that highly ranked.

Programs matters because that is how you get jobs. New programs with no major funding or structural boost means job hunting will be challenging for you (at least for a post grad school level job).

[thewagman]

Right. I appreciate the advice! Unfortunately both cost and location are restricting factors for me which is why UIC seems to be the most ideal option for me.  

[GradSchoolGrad]

5 minutes ago, thewagman said:

Right. I appreciate the advice! Unfortunately both cost and location are restricting factors for me which is why UIC seems to be the most ideal option for me.  

My point is that UIC MPA would be net negative for you (at least, I don’t have enough information from you to assess otherwise), so I recommend you either apply next year when it is less competitive (to better schools) and hope you get good funding. Many do not pay sticker price and get some level of funding. It would be terrible for you to get a degree not worth your time and effort given limited career gain.