Applying to NPSIA - MUNK - Fall 2020

[nerwen]

Hi!

Is there anyone here who got into GSPIA or applied there with a non humanities/non social sciences background? I've been reading this thread and it seems like a really interesting program especially in terms of cost and career. But the admission requirements mention a bachelor's in a relevant field.

[pbomu]

Hello! This will be my first time applying to the MA program of International Affairs at NPSIA (fall 2021). I have a few concerns regarding the admission process, I would really appreciate if someone could help me out. I am a spanish student who recently graduated with two BA, specifically Sociology (grade average of 8,7/10) and International Relations (8,4/10). Initially I wanted to study a masters degree abroad, as soon as I finished my bachelors, but because of COVID I decided to postpone it and pursue a MA in Security and Defense in my hometown, that way I also had more time to explore all the options. Finally I think NPSIA and Munk are great programs and I would really want to enroll either of them, but I am worried they won´t consider my application because my grades I don´t hace work experience in the field. Here in Spain options are quite limited and I also worked at retail during my college studies so that today I could actually afford studying abroad. During high school I spent a year in the US, and I also participated in a summer campus in France (Science Po Lille, EU-International Affairs program). What are your thoughts considering mi background? Do you think I stand a chance? Also, considering the co-op, is there a preference for national students compared to international ones? Thank you!

[NPSIA grad]

8 minutes ago, pbomu said:

Hello! This will be my first time applying to the MA program of International Affairs at NPSIA (fall 2021). I have a few concerns regarding the admission process, I would really appreciate if someone could help me out. I am a spanish student who recently graduated with two BA, specifically Sociology (grade average of 8,7/10) and International Relations (8,4/10). Initially I wanted to study a masters degree abroad, as soon as I finished my bachelors, but because of COVID I decided to postpone it and pursue a MA in Security and Defense in my hometown, that way I also had more time to explore all the options. Finally I think NPSIA and Munk are great programs and I would really want to enroll either of them, but I am worried they won´t consider my application because my grades I don´t hace work experience in the field. Here in Spain options are quite limited and I also worked at retail during my college studies so that today I could actually afford studying abroad. During high school I spent a year in the US, and I also participated in a summer campus in France (Science Po Lille, EU-International Affairs program). What are your thoughts considering mi background? Do you think I stand a chance? Also, considering the co-op, is there a preference for national students compared to international ones? Thank you!

It seemed to me that the majority of students at NPSIA didn't have any relevant work experience or volunteer experience, at least that's my understanding based on all the people I met in the program. Regarding co-op, the co-op positions within the Government of Canada require security clearances (secret level for most, top secret level for some). For that reason international students might have a hard time securing co-op positions in government departments. I think the process to obtain a security clearance as an international student takes longer which makes obtaining it before the co-op start date difficult. The hiring managers for the co-ops might take this into consideration. Security clearance processing is a very frustrating thing for hiring managers already. Note that this is based only on a couple conversations I had with a couple international students so I could be mistaken and it could vary based on country. Also this only applies to co-op positions within Government of Canada departments. There were several other non-governmental options. There were research institutes, defense contracting companies, NGOs, etc. For those, security clearances are not required.