Asia-focused IR/policy programs

[Ravine55]

As I'm rounding out my list of schools, I'm curious if I've missed any IR/MPP/MPA programs that have a good track record with Asia-focused policy. Other than SIPA, the usual suspects in DC, and UCSD, are there any other schools that have a strong focus on China and Southeast Asian policy in particular? As background, I'm looking for programs that would lead to federal government roles, but I'm also interested in employment with intergovernmental organizations like ADB or even in the private sector.  Thanks in advance for your suggestions. 

Edited November 19, 2020 by Ravine55
Word choice

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, Ravine55 said:

As I'm rounding out my list of schools, I'm curious if I've missed any IR/MPP/MPA programs that have a good track record with Asia-focused policy. Other than SIPA, the usual suspects in DC, and UCSD, are there any other schools that have a strong focus on China and Southeast Asian policy in particular? As background, I'm looking for programs that would lead to federal government roles, but I'm also interested in employment with intergovernmental organizations like ADB or even in the private sector.  Thanks in advance for your suggestions. 

Your post basically says that you are open to any and all job opportunities that a leverage an education focused on China and Southeast Asia, which no offense isn't really helpful.

I recommend you think about things in a different way.

What about China and Southeast Asia are you most interested about functionally speaking?

1. Trade -->JHU SAIS and Georgetown MSFS would be great for that

2. Defense --> GW Elliot School and Georgetown MSFS would probably take the cake for that

3. Human Rights --> Not sure what school would be great for that

4. International Business --> you might want to think about dual degree. 

I could go on.

One thing I want to highlight is that with the exception of Harvard Kennedy School's MPP/MPA (and Princeton to a certain extent), you don't really directly do international relations with the degree (don't get me wrong, many people do, but it isn't directly structured for that). 

If you really want to do Asia focused domestic policy, then you need to go to policy school in Singapore to get topical. 

[Ravine55]

Apologies for the lack of detail, as these forums tend to encourage brevity. More specifically, I'm focused on trade, with a secondary interest in defense and the political FSO track. Since I already have the critical language fluency (Chinese) needed to get a decent score on the State Department FSO register (after the written test and OA), I feel good about my chances there. I'm pursuing a graduate degree more to increase my quant/econ/analytical capabilities and to improve my area studies knowledge, so SAIS/MSFS are my top choices. If State doesn't work out (which is a very distinct possibility), I'd be open to opportunities through the PMF program with other agencies (DIA, DOD, etc). What I've gathered from people doing these jobs is that this is basically the only place where regional knowledge/language capability makes a difference. 

As for HKS, I'm not applying since, frankly, I really dislike Boston as a city and don't want to move back there. Princeton is out of reach, IMO. Singapore is an interesting option, as I spent a significant amount of time at NUS as an undergraduate, but what I've seen from the LKY School in webinars has been disappointing, to say the least. I'll probably still apply but it's not close to the top of my list. Anyways, thanks for the advice!

[GradSchoolGrad]

7 hours ago, Ravine55 said:

Apologies for the lack of detail, as these forums tend to encourage brevity. More specifically, I'm focused on trade, with a secondary interest in defense and the political FSO track. Since I already have the critical language fluency (Chinese) needed to get a decent score on the State Department FSO register (after the written test and OA), I feel good about my chances there. I'm pursuing a graduate degree more to increase my quant/econ/analytical capabilities and to improve my area studies knowledge, so SAIS/MSFS are my top choices. If State doesn't work out (which is a very distinct possibility), I'd be open to opportunities through the PMF program with other agencies (DIA, DOD, etc). What I've gathered from people doing these jobs is that this is basically the only place where regional knowledge/language capability makes a difference. 

As for HKS, I'm not applying since, frankly, I really dislike Boston as a city and don't want to move back there. Princeton is out of reach, IMO. Singapore is an interesting option, as I spent a significant amount of time at NUS as an undergraduate, but what I've seen from the LKY School in webinars has been disappointing, to say the least. I'll probably still apply but it's not close to the top of my list. Anyways, thanks for the advice!

Okay now that you have given more clarity, I think we should reframe this.

1. If you top priority is about picking up data analytics skills, in addition to SAIS/MSFS, I think another great option for you would be U. Chicago Harris (they also have a decent extent of China related subject matter experts in at U. Chicago that you can cross-register with).

2. In terms of FSO --> Doing so without a Pickering and Rangel Fellowship means no guarantees. HOWEVER!!! --> It does help to go to a school where they have strong alumni histories SAIS/MSFS/SIPA/Elloit/Fletcher (although I think Fletcher is a terrible option going in the future

I will warn that though American has been lumped with MSFS and Elliot previously, I recommend you avoid it. In my opinion, despite the massive infrastructure spend in American, programatically been losing the academic arms races in IR.  

3. PMF is interesting... you can honestly do that from ANY grad program. No idea what it will be like next cycle, but during the Trump administration, competitiveness for PMF fell off a cliff compared to what it used to be. I know tons of people non- brand schools get PMF. Also, please keep in mind that with PMF, area specialty can be very helpful, but it doesn't 100% mean you will be working in your area of interest. It is a rotational program after all. 

If you need to add some safety schools, I recommend you think about UK --> Area studies in Oxford or MPP at Oxford. There are other opportunities with LSE. I personally don't like Cambridge because their program is simply not as developed. They all have opportunities to connect on Asia/China policy in various ways. 

Also,