Yale Jackson vs Princeton WWS

[HopefulMPA]

Hi, everyone! I'm really fortunate to have gotten full funding and a stipend from both Yale Jackson (MA of Global Affairs) and Princeton WWS (MPA). I'm interested in international policy/management, looking to work in the public sector. I have my own impressions on the advantages and disadvantages of each program, but I am curious: what are your thoughts/what have you heard about the programs?

[Coffeetea]

Hi! First, congrats on two awesome offers!

I posted something similar on someone choosing between HKS and WWS. Basically you want to answer one question: What school will help me get the job I want and not just any job? We are likely going to be in a recession after graduating and the connections, reputation, and skills/courses you take will help determine what job you get - again, not just any job, but the job you want after graduating.

I was an undergrad at Princeton and majored in WWS. I also studied abroad, and I've always been struck with how few people internationally know about Princeton or WWS (blank stares). HKS/Harvard is a different story, and everyone outside of the US recognizes their name and prestige. I think Yale falls somewhere in-between Harvard and Princeton on the international recognition level, but certainly fares much better than Princeton. If you want to go into international policy, international recognition of a school I think is super important for job search purposes. The low name recognition for WWS is expected since Princeton doesn't have a business/law/professional school and the grad school consists of a bunch of sad PhD students, which is a running joke - and also sort of true - among the student body. As a side note, I can also talk more about grad school life if you are curious. I had some WWS grad student friends and we graduated just a few years ago.

WWS is specifically for domestic policy wonks looking to go into government, and does better in terms of domestic-focused speakers/alumni vs. international. I can't speak about the management/leadership classes, but check-out the course offerings and ratings to compare/contrast the two schools. Hopefully this helps!

Edited March 29, 2020 by Coffeetea

[Bubba94]

So I'm deciding between Yale Jackson and a few other programs, but I can answer as to why I did not apply to Princeton. They have a really massive core curriculum and my friends who are in other schools with super large core curricula say that they end up regretting the fact that they're spending half of their Masters degree taking classes that they don't feel is relevant to what they want to do with their lives/aren't interesting. This is especially true for Princeton and HKS because neither of these schools are solely IR programs. It's a bit different at Georgetown which also has essentially of full first-year core curriculum, but at least it's all geared towards international relations. I think we only have 2 years to do this master and I really wanted to spend as much time as possible taking classes that really interest me and being surrounded by students to share my passion for going into international relations. It's interesting because I for some reason ended up applying to HKS anyways, probably because my sister is at Harvard so that would be fun, and now that I'm in the admitted students slack channel it's crazy to see how many people are so different from me with their interests and career paths, and it solidified my decision to go to an IR school and made me not regret doing Princeton. So pretty much after talking to some of my friends I decided that since I want to work in international relations in my life I'm only going to apply to IR specific programs. Hope that helps!

[EspressoDoble]

1 minute ago, Bubba94 said:

spending half of their Masters degree taking classes that they don't feel is relevant to what they want to do with their lives/aren't interesting. This is especially true for Princeton and HKS

At HKS, this is true of the MPP and the MPA-ID, but definitely not for the MPA2, which is 100% flexible (or perhaps, 90% flexible). Right? Gosh, I hope I'm right here ? 

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/29/2020 at 12:16 PM, HopefulMPA said:

Hi, everyone! I'm really fortunate to have gotten full funding and a stipend from both Yale Jackson (MA of Global Affairs) and Princeton WWS (MPA). I'm interested in international policy/management, looking to work in the public sector. I have my own impressions on the advantages and disadvantages of each program, but I am curious: what are your thoughts/what have you heard about the programs?

1. I think it would be helpful if you defined international policy/management better, because that potentially encompasses a lot of things.

2. Pure career based thinking - I would do WWS by virtue of alumni network strength and size. Yes, WWS is more domestic focused, but they have so many historical connections + alumni strength that Yale Jackson does not have. Oh btw... Yale Jackson just became a "school" last year. Yes, it has the Yale name, but its still a newer program trying to figure itself out and hasn't gotten its act together yet. Oh and each class is about 30-40 people. That is super small... You will have to go to employers. Employers don't come to you (at least not in bulk).

[went_away]

11 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

1. I think it would be helpful if you defined international policy/management better, because that potentially encompasses a lot of things.

2. Pure career based thinking - I would do WWS by virtue of alumni network strength and size. Yes, WWS is more domestic focused, but they have so many historical connections + alumni strength that Yale Jackson does not have. Oh btw... Yale Jackson just became a "school" last year. Yes, it has the Yale name, but its still a newer program trying to figure itself out and hasn't gotten its act together yet. Oh and each class is about 30-40 people. That is super small... You will have to go to employers. Employers don't come to you (at least not in bulk).

They're somewhat comparable but I would definitely give the edge to Wilson for career prospects and overall strength. If you *really* personally like Jackson, though I would go for it as they seem to be doing a great job, moving up fast, more internationally focused (if that's your thing) and well-resourced - as evidenced by your full funding.

 

*Though with COVID all bets are off on academic satisfaction and jobs. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by went_away

[HopefulMPA]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I ended up committing to Jackson. Their community from current students to admin to senior fellows was more welcoming, and in the end, it felt like a better fit for me. Good luck with your decisions!