NYU Wagner MSPP vs Georgetown McCourt MPP?

[policyatusa]

Hi! I was recently admitted to the MSPP (M.S. in Public Policy) at NYU Wagner and MPP (Master of Public Policy) at McCourt School of Public Policy. I am wondering if anyone had to previously choose between these two and which one they chose. Or, if anyone studied either of these two programs and have any feedback. FYR, I am currently an undergrad in HK and will be commencing my masters in Fall 2022. I hope to eventually work for the World Bank or United Nations.

[GradSchoolGrad]

44 minutes ago, policyatusa said:

Hi! I was recently admitted to the MSPP (M.S. in Public Policy) at NYU Wagner and MPP (Master of Public Policy) at McCourt School of Public Policy. I am wondering if anyone had to previously choose between these two and which one they chose. Or, if anyone studied either of these two programs and have any feedback. FYR, I am currently an undergrad in HK and will be commencing my masters in Fall 2022. I hope to eventually work for the World Bank or United Nations.

Both schools have major cons. For NYU MSPP, every student I known has told me it is a rather lonely experience because there isn’t a real university community and everyone lives their NYC life. McCourt might have a okay to good student community, but the jobs are really geared to US students who want to stay in DC. World Bank and UN are very difficult to break into and networking can mean more than skills.

If you are trying to stay in the US, your best way is to focus on the data side and get a job that way. However neither program is a STEM degree, so it makes immigration harder.

You might want to consider if either degree really helps you achieve your career goals. Also, UN and World Bank aren’t exactly the best places to work. It’s low pay and not the best working conditions.

[MSFall22]

I'm not sure about Georgetown McCourt but Georgetown Walsh SFS is supposed to be the pipeline to UN and World Bank. Maybe you can leverage the overall Georgetown brand perhaps?

Edited March 20, 2022 by MSFall22

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/20/2022 at 12:28 PM, MSFall22 said:

I'm not sure about Georgetown McCourt but Georgetown Walsh SFS is supposed to be the pipeline to UN and World Bank. Maybe you can leverage the overall Georgetown brand perhaps?

Georgetown Walsh SFS is a pipeline to the most prestigious IR jobs. It is true, people often get McCourt confused with Walsh MSFS in in spaces that don't know the difference. However, in places that do know (like the UN and World Bank), they know the difference and you can't get away with tricking people for too long.

That being said, McCourt does have a pipeline into World Bank (as a consultant hoping for a contract conversion). I will however tell you that everyone I know who got that had a Professor sponsor them, so that means being in lock step in supporting a Professor's research. I have yet to know a contract conversion among my network - but it may be out there. That being said, I have not heard a positive professional development or work culture  on the research side of World Bank (business and management is a different story, but policy/IR people don't exactly go there). I do not know a single person from McCourt that went to the UN from a US location (I know a few who work for the UN outside of the US, but they were all very politically connected prior to starting). 

[Boolakanaka]

15 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

Georgetown Walsh SFS is a pipeline to the most prestigious IR jobs. It is true, people often get McCourt confused with Walsh MSFS in in spaces that don't know the difference. However, in places that do know (like the UN and World Bank), they know the difference and you can't get away with tricking people for too long.

That being said, McCourt does have a pipeline into World Bank (as a consultant hoping for a contract conversion). I will however tell you that everyone I know who got that had a Professor sponsor them, so that means being in lock step in supporting a Professor's research. I have yet to know a contract conversion among my network - but it may be out there. That being said, I have not heard a positive professional development or work culture  on the research side of World Bank (business and management is a different story, but policy/IR people don't exactly go there). I do not know a single person from McCourt that went to the UN from a US location (I know a few who work for the UN outside of the US, but they were all very politically connected prior to starting). 

You hit it on the head with very politically connected--the US folks that I know went to the UN had a direct voice and hand from major hitters, eg Bill Richardson (former UN Ambassador, Energy Secretary and two-time Governor--ok, now I realized I have dated myself and the kids are saying who the eff is Bill Richardson??) to obtain their positions. Well known secret, the UN does not really like US citizens working for them....