Applying to slightly different degrees

[blingblang]

Okay, brief background: I have a BFA in Theatre Management. I did 4 internships in arts/cultural organizations in college and then worked in fundraising for two years at a museum. I just started a new fundraising position at a human service agency, and I'm loving it. In undergrad, I did a philosophy minor and was a course away from a public policy minor; my senior year I developed a very strong interest in social and educational policy. By the time I will start school in fall 2011, I will have 3 years of work experience (though with my internships I've been told it's more like 4 or 5).

So, now I'm looking at graduate programs on the public policy side of things. My ultimate goal would be to work more on the programmatic side of a nonprofit or advocacy organization, or even in government, but not necessarily doing direct service. I'm thinking more policy analysis and evaluation. My interests are educational and social policy.

Here are the programs I'm looking at now:

- DePaul Master's of Public Service Management

- Loyola Chicago MA in Urban Affairs

- UIC MPA

- Northwestern MA in Public Policy & Management

Here are the questions:

1) As you can see, I'm in Chicago and I'd prefer to be doing part-time so I can stick around at this job for awhile. But I'd also take recommendations for great full-time and/or out-of-state programs. Anyone?

2) Anyone have a similar career goal, and if so, what degree did you go for?

3) Are these degrees too different from each other, i.e. will my recommenders have no clue what to be recommending me for?

[narius]

Okay, brief background: I have a BFA in Theatre Management. I did 4 internships in arts/cultural organizations in college and then worked in fundraising for two years at a museum. I just started a new fundraising position at a human service agency, and I'm loving it. In undergrad, I did a philosophy minor and was a course away from a public policy minor; my senior year I developed a very strong interest in social and educational policy. By the time I will start school in fall 2011, I will have 3 years of work experience (though with my internships I've been told it's more like 4 or 5).

So, now I'm looking at graduate programs on the public policy side of things. My ultimate goal would be to work more on the programmatic side of a nonprofit or advocacy organization, or even in government, but not necessarily doing direct service. I'm thinking more policy analysis and evaluation. My interests are educational and social policy.

Here are the programs I'm looking at now:

- DePaul Master's of Public Service Management

- Loyola Chicago MA in Urban Affairs

- UIC MPA

- Northwestern MA in Public Policy & Management

Here are the questions:

1) As you can see, I'm in Chicago and I'd prefer to be doing part-time so I can stick around at this job for awhile. But I'd also take recommendations for great full-time and/or out-of-state programs. Anyone?

2) Anyone have a similar career goal, and if so, what degree did you go for?

3) Are these degrees too different from each other, i.e. will my recommenders have no clue what to be recommending me for?

Let me ask you a question: you want a great public policy program? You should really look into UChicago's Harris School, which some might argue is the best in the country. Now, that's by no means a consensus, but no one will dispute that it's a top-notch program in a terrific academic environment. And if you want policy analysis, well, you probably can't find anyplace better.

If policy analysis is your goal, I would jettison the urban affairs stuff. It's cool, but it tends to be a much narrower brand of policy analysis (if at all) and injects a lot more humanities-type of stuff. Not to pooh-pooh it, because there are some very find programs, but it doesn't seem to match well with what you're aiming for.

Another thought - if you're looking at part time, you should really consider Notre Dame's Master of Nonprofit Management at their biz school. Their business school is quite highly regarded at an elite, beautiful campus and is designed specifically for part timers. If I recall, their program is distance-based during the academic schoolyear with on-campus classes during the summers. It's not pure policy analysis - and is more organizational management - but I could see it opening a lot of doors.

Hope this helps!