Harvard EPA vs. Stanford POLS

[GSEGal123]

I am trying to decide between Harvard EPA and Stanford POLS. Is there anyone who can talk about their experience in either one of these programs? Obviously this is a great problem to have, but no clue which to choose!

[xxbb]

Same here. I am choosing between Stanford Education Data Science and HGSE EPA. Those two are every different programs leading to quite different career paths. Also the financial aspect (EDS is two year). Would like to talk more ; ) 

Edited March 9, 2022 by xxbb

[shadow_hunter]

Harvard is always the better choice 

[McPerson]

Congrats on your acceptances! I didn't end up applying to Stanford this year, but I seriously considered it. I did apply and get accepted into HGSE, though. HGSE and Stanford are very different programs, and when you make your decision, focus on what you actually want out of your time in school.

 

Cohort size

Stanford is significantly smaller than HGSE. I think POLS is ~25 students? At HGSE, you'll have an EPA cohort of 100+ people. This can affect everything from class size and how much attention you get from professors to future networking ability.  

 

Who teaches classes?

This is actually why I didn't apply to Stanford. All the classes I wanted to take in the POLS program were taught by adjuncts or were outside the ed school. HGSE is really good about their core faculty teaching classes. That being said, I was really interested in education and the future of work type stuff and HGSE just seemed better at that. The classes you want to take could be taught by core faculty. It may be worth looking at Stanford's course catalog and HGSE's course catalog and seeing which one is more interesting to you and who teaches those classes. 

 

Thesis/capstone vs. practitioner degree

HGSE students graduate with an Ed.M and the degree is practitioner-focused. There is no thesis or capstone project. POLS is an MA and has the POLS project, so you'll get to work with a stakeholder and design a real-world solution for them. I'm not so sure how EDS works, but I'm assuming it's similarly structured. It's an MS as well, which is essentially a STEM degree and has different implications than an Ed.M when looking for a job.

 

Outcomes

Your school's location will be where you build your network, so think about industries you'd be interested in working in/what companies and/or resources are on a particular coast. Also think of how much you'll make after you get your degree. For the person considering the EDS degree, consider the cost of attendance vs. salary after you graduate. Data scientists easily make over 100k and EPA may not lead to as lucrative a career. Policy isn't my field, however, so I'm not too familiar with it. It may be worth comparing graduate outcomes for Stanford and HGSE. 

 

Other factors to consider

1. Your financial aid package
2. Cost of living - Cambridge and Palo Alto are both brutal, CA may be a little worse
3. Course format (Stanford is on the quarter, not semester, system)
4. Climate preferences (Boston can be COLD)
5. Extracurricular/co-curricular activities
6. Cross registration (HGSE lets you take courses at MIT)
7. Family/friends' proximity to each school and if you'd be doing a lot of expensive flights to visit them or have a support network nearby

 

Here are some other GradCafe threads talking about similar things:

 

 

 

Always remember: The best choice is the one that gives you the most tools to be successful. Both are excellent choices; it boils down to what you're looking for. Congratulations again, and good luck!

[shadow_hunter]

Btw, I forgot to add.  You can go to najaf. They does have some pretty informative articles that should be able to help you weigh out the advantages and the disavantages of both sides. However, from my point of view, Harvard EPA is better then Standford POLS. The graduation rate of Harvard has always been higher. If you graduate Harvard then you're sure to find a job anywehre all over the world, ot only in the US. Don't get me wrong, Standford is just as good, it's just that Harvard's reputation is better

Edited March 14, 2022 by shadow_hunter

[xxbb]

Finally, decided on Stanford. Huge thanks to everyone's input!