UC San Diego GPS vs. University of Denver Korbel School

[aguynamedtom]

Hey everyone! Trying to gather some opinions to help inform my decision. 

I got accepted into both UC San Diego's MIA program and DU's International Studies program. They're both great schools in great locations but I feel I'm at an impasse. 

San Diego's more quantitative is spooking me a little bit. That's always been one of my weak points, and I know that's a huge focus of that school. Also, I've heard that the social life isn't that fantastic. I know campus life isn't as much of a factor for grad students, but it's a consideration. However, I absolutely love the city of San Diego (weather, beach, culture, etc.) and I have family and friends there. 

On the other side, DU has the prestige and name recognition that would be helpful in the professional world. It's also an excellent program, with well-known alumni and not as much of a heavy quant focus. Denver, again, is a great city in a great location.

What does everyone think? Would love to have some feedback to help inform my decision! 

[Paulcg87]

7 hours ago, aguynamedtom said:

Hey everyone! Trying to gather some opinions to help inform my decision. 

I got accepted into both UC San Diego's MIA program and DU's International Studies program. They're both great schools in great locations but I feel I'm at an impasse. 

San Diego's more quantitative is spooking me a little bit. That's always been one of my weak points, and I know that's a huge focus of that school. Also, I've heard that the social life isn't that fantastic. I know campus life isn't as much of a factor for grad students, but it's a consideration. However, I absolutely love the city of San Diego (weather, beach, culture, etc.) and I have family and friends there. 

On the other side, DU has the prestige and name recognition that would be helpful in the professional world. It's also an excellent program, with well-known alumni and not as much of a heavy quant focus. Denver, again, is a great city in a great location.

What does everyone think? Would love to have some feedback to help inform my decision! 

A friend of mine from an old job is currently getting a polisci PhD at UCSD, in the same program/department (SGPS). His stories of the quality of life there over the last two years have actually made my girlfriend and I visit twice so far, with plans to visit again this October. I'm not an expert on UCSD and I don't know anything about Denver, but I can tell you a few things from what I've seen:

1) I was struck by the fact that La Jolla is NOT San Diego. It's called UCSD, but it's in La Jolla, 20 minutes north of San Diego, and La Jolla is very different from downtown San Diego. With that said, La Jolla is maybe the coolest city I've seen in California. Swimming/snorkeling/diving at the nearby La Jolla cove, the great shops and nightlife, the proximity to the picture perfect beaches in Ocean Beach/Pacific Beach, the weather (literally the best, most consistently perfect weather in the continental USA). I can promise you, having met my friend's classmates, that there is a social life at SGPS. I'm not sure if you heard otherwise from another student, but the people we've gone out for drinks with there seemed very close/tight knit. 

2) In terms of quality of life, La Jolla is still just a 3 hour drive from Bear Mountain and several other ski resorts. Denver is 16 hours from the closest beach. La Jolla has snow nearby when you want it, but no blizzards when you don't want it, and Denver can't say the same thing. La Jolla is expensive but last I heard, Denver isn't cheap.

3) UCSD polisci/SGPS is very quant intensive, similar to UC Berkeley and the program I was in (MIT). If you're more interested in qualitative policy research, maybe Denver is the better bet. With that said, I want to emphasize that quantitative data methods are at the forefront of policy analysis and IR research right now in the USA, Canada and a lot of other places. If you truly dislike stats and don't want to do it, I understand. But if you want a solid foundation in something that is in demand right now (quant policy analysis), go to UCSD. 

4) You mention DU's prestige. I've spent the last few years working in policy/IR research since finishing my master's and I'm starting an IR PhD this fall. I can tell you that UCSD SGPS is also very highly regarded in the USA, having worked with several of their grads in the past. I don't mean this in any way as disparaging DU; great school. I'm also not trying to conflate the SGPS PhD (which is a joint venture with the polisci department) with the SGPS MIA, but overall, UCSD is first rate with regards to both polisci/IR and SGPS and I'm not sure DU is as prestigious let along more so when it comes to the job market. Unless DU offers you significantly more money or you really don't want to do math, if I were you, I'd go to UCSD in a heartbeat. 

 

[Dwar]

Who gave you the most financial aid? Honestly that is the most important factor when looking at an MA degree, especially in policy where the earning potential of an MD or JD generally aren’t there.