Oxford MPP straight out of undergrad?

[gvx630]

Is it worthy to apply to the Oxford MPP (Blavatnik School of Government) straight out of undegrad? 

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, gvx630 said:

Is it worthy to apply to the Oxford MPP (Blavatnik School of Government) straight out of undegrad? 

What is your story?

As in.

1. General academic background in undergrad (internships, major academic experiences, and etc.)

2. Do you know what you want to do after graduation? If the answer is yes... tell me what areas you are thinking and how sure you are. If the answer is no... tell me why you think Oxford is helpful.

General background - historically Oxford has been a good destination for US students thinking of doing a 1 years Master's straight from undergrad. They USED to target high achieving students from undergrad (my sister was one of them). HOWEVER... they have been making a huge effort to really professionalize their MPP program to be competitive with US schools. So the main student body is aged 25 to 35.

For those from undergrad, an Oxford MPP could be a great resume booster, to give you credential validation while only spending 1 year in grad school. HOWEVER... its a 2 year US program where you fully get the full range of professional networking + experiential learning + figuring out what policy/functional areas that you care about. 

Edited August 26, 2020 by GradSchoolGrad

[gvx630]

34 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

What is your story?

As in.

1. General academic background in undergrad (internships, major academic experiences, and etc.)

2. Do you know what you want to do after graduation? If the answer is yes... tell me what areas you are thinking and how sure you are. If the answer is no... tell me why you think Oxford is helpful.

General background - historically Oxford has been a good destination for US students thinking of doing a 1 years Master's straight from undergrad. They USED to target high achieving students from undergrad (my sister was one of them). HOWEVER... they have been making a huge effort to really professionalize their MPP program to be competitive with US schools. So the main student body is aged 25 to 35.

For those from undergrad, an Oxford MPP could be a great resume booster, to give you credential validation while only spending 1 year in grad school. HOWEVER... its a 2 year US program where you fully get the full range of professional networking + experiential learning + figuring out what policy/functional areas that you care about. 

1) I am a second-generation immigrant, born and raised in Greece. I graduated with honours in IR from a top local university, albeit unknown internationally. I have completed internships at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and at the top national think-tank. Most important achievments come from experiences abroad. In 2018, I won a scholarship from a major internet company, to research digital policy in Estonia. In 2019, I completed research at a top Hungarian university on Cold War. I have been invited by the Council of Europe to a consultation on artificial intelligence, and I have been invited to a leadership seminar in Malta, where I worked with other prominent young policymakers to create a peace initiative and present it in front of Heads of States and Members of the European Parliament. I have written extensively on issues of digital policy and have been published on the local edition of the Foreign Affairs magazine. Last but not least, I have held leadership positions in three student clubs.

2) I want to focus on the intersection of digital policy/transformation and human rights. In the long-term, I want to be involved with national politics (I am also involved with a local party). I am mostly attracted to Oxford due to its brand name of course, but also due to the length of the progam. I agree with you, that a 2 year US program is ideal, however a) Considering I want to work in local politics and/or the EU, I don't think a US university network is very useful b) The debt from a 2 year US program seems like a really heavy burden
 

[GradSchoolGrad]

5 minutes ago, gvx630 said:

1) I am a second-generation immigrant, born and raised in Greece. I graduated with honours in IR from a top local university, albeit unknown internationally. I have completed internships at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and at the top national think-tank. Most important achievments come from experiences abroad. In 2018, I won a scholarship from a major internet company, to research digital policy in Estonia. In 2019, I completed research at a top Hungarian university on Cold War. I have been invited by the Council of Europe to a consultation on artificial intelligence, and I have been invited to a leadership seminar in Malta, where I worked with other prominent young policymakers to create a peace initiative and present it in front of Heads of States and Members of the European Parliament. I have written extensively on issues of digital policy and have been published on the local edition of the Foreign Affairs magazine. Last but not least, I have held leadership positions in three student clubs.

2) I want to focus on the intersection of digital policy/transformation and human rights. In the long-term, I want to be involved with national politics (I am also involved with a local party). I am mostly attracted to Oxford due to its brand name of course, but also due to the length of the progam. I agree with you, that a 2 year US program is ideal, however a) Considering I want to work in local politics and/or the EU, I don't think a US university network is very useful b) The debt from a 2 year US program seems like a really heavy burden
 

So I'm a little bit split what to recommend to you.

My initial thought is that Oxford sounds great because you know really well what you want to do and you can really focus on that. Oxford is an amazing environment for smart and involved people to openly discuss and share ideas and thoughts for each other.

As for tech (and I am active in the tech space), its also one of those things whereby its really helpful if you are connected to a tech hub (or tech policy space) and granted Oxford is getting better about connecting to tech, it is still somewhat behind other MPP schools in terms of connections in the tech space. 

The more I think about it, it might help if you have at least 1-2 years of work experience before you go to Oxford. That will honestly put you in a much stronger position to discuss matters with your peers + have access to post graduation opportunities. Additionally, you will have a better idea how to target your tech policy interests. Probably most important for you, you would also be in a better position to get scholarship money from Oxford. 

I think what might help make your decision is where you see your career opportunities going forward. If you think you can have an awesome career boosting job after graduation, I would not apply to Oxford for the next cycle. If you think there wouldn't be any good opportunitie, 1 year at Oxford might be a good option. 

Edited August 26, 2020 by GradSchoolGrad

[CakeTea]

I had a look at Oxford MPP yearbook a few years ago. Most students tend to have a few years work experience in full time jobs. Public sector, non profits and sometimes private sector. Some high flying civil servants are sponsored by their government. Oxford MPP clearly values seasoning and plans to set it apart from other UK MPP programmes. Applicants straight out of undergrad will face an uphill battle.