Possible to enter international studies with background in history, philology and religious studies?

[Philologus]

As an undergraduate (UNC - Chapel Hill) I put myself on track to become a career academic because at the time it seemed like the best way for me to utilize my interest in languages. I double majored in Classics (Greek and Latin) and Germanic Languages. The second major included work in Middle High German (a medieval literary dialect) and Dutch. Now I'm in the middle of a master's degree in Ancient Christianity (Notre Dame), in which I've continued with Greek and Latin as my primary research languages and German as a vehicle for reading scholarly research. I've also picked up Syriac, an ancient semitic language (dialect of Aramaic) related to Hebrew and Arabic.

The process has been fulfilling on a personal level, but I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a professional academic. My grades are fine but I don't find myself driven to do the kind of research I need to make a niche for myself in the academy. More than anything I've always just loved learning languages, i.e. being able to speak them and immerse myself in a new culture. Right now I'm mostly reading dead languages, reading articles by old German scholars and doing my best to keep it up as a spoken language in my spare time.

For some time now I've been wondering if I could find a more fulfilling outlet for my interests in languages, travel and cultures as some kind of diplomat, foreign service officer, language analyst for one of the federal agencies, etc. My GPA at UNC was a 3.75 (graduated "with distinction"). After a year of work at ND I have a 4.0 for my M.A. My travel experience is as follows: during college I spent a summer living in Germany and volunteering at a kindergarten. I have worked in orphanages in Russia and India. I've traveled as a tourist to Dubai, Warsaw, Zurich, and Paris. This past semester I went with one of my classes to Vienna to work in the national library and look at the medieval manuscript collections in several of the old monasteries in the Danube Valley. I think my aptitude for languages is very high and that my academic record is good enough for what it is, but I'm concerned about not having the specialized training in some kind of Area Studies/Political Science/Economics, etc. For those of you who have experience in this sort of field:

1) Do employers look more for specific training or general aptitude?

2) Could I hope to land a job after finishing my current M.A. with prospects for further training (i.e. with the possibility of having further education funded by an employer) or would I need to do another master's on my own first?

3) Is it common to find a master's program relevant to what I've described that carries some kind of financial aid in the form of tuition remission, stipends and/or graduate teaching assistantships? The current appeal of sticking with the track I'm on is that a doctoral program would be funded, but I don't want to stick around just for the sake of having it easier in the short term.

4) If I should look at doing another degree before seeking employment, what kinds of programs should I look at? I have a lot of ambition to take on responsibility and do something that will "make a difference," help people, challenge me, etc., and I'd like for it to be in a context where I could utilize my love for language. I know there are degrees in international relations but I'm also aware that JD and MBA programs can have international law or international business concentrations. Since I'll have this M.A. from Notre Dame and am interested in comparative religions, I think I might try to look at a track that would allow me to be involved with religious freedom, interfaith dialogue and that sort of thing. I'd also be interested in knowing what kinds of jobs are available for people interested in professional interpreting (for an international organization like the U.N. or a private firm devoted to issues I'd be interested in).

I apologize if this is all over the place. These are thoughts that I've been turning over in my own mind for a long time and I'm just dumping them out on the screen here. Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer!

Edited August 15, 2010 by Philologus

[balderdash]

As an undergraduate (UNC - Chapel Hill) I put myself on track to become a career academic because at the time it seemed like the best way for me to utilize my interest in languages. I double majored in Classics (Greek and Latin) and Germanic Languages. The second major included work in Middle High German (a medieval literary dialect) and Dutch. Now I'm in the middle of a master's degree in Ancient Christianity (Notre Dame), in which I've continued with Greek and Latin as my primary research languages and German as a vehicle for reading scholarly research. I've also picked up Syriac, an ancient semitic language (dialect of Aramaic) related to Hebrew and Arabic.

The process has been fulfilling on a personal level, but I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a professional academic. My grades are fine but I don't find myself driven to do the kind of research I need to make a niche for myself in the academy. More than anything I've always just loved learning languages, i.e. being able to speak them and immerse myself in a new culture. Right now I'm mostly reading dead languages, reading articles by old German scholars and doing my best to keep it up as a spoken language in my spare time.

For some time now I've been wondering if I could find a more fulfilling outlet for my interests in languages, travel and cultures as some kind of diplomat, foreign service officer, language analyst for one of the federal agencies, etc. My GPA at UNC was a 3.75 (graduated "with distinction"). After a year of work at ND I have a 4.0 for my M.A. My travel experience is as follows: during college I spent a summer living in Germany and volunteering at a kindergarten. I have worked in orphanages in Russia and India. I've traveled as a tourist to Dubai, Warsaw, Zurich, and Paris. This past semester I went with one of my classes to Vienna to work in the national library and look at the medieval manuscript collections in several of the old monasteries in the Danube Valley. I think my aptitude for languages is very high and that my academic record is good enough for what it is, but I'm concerned about not having the specialized training in some kind of Area Studies/Political Science/Economics, etc. For those of you who have experience in this sort of field:

1) Do employers look more for specific training or general aptitude?

2) Could I hope to land a job after finishing my current M.A. with prospects for further training (i.e. with the possibility of having further education funded by an employer) or would I need to do another master's on my own first?

3) Is it common to find a master's program relevant to what I've described that carries some kind of financial aid in the form of tuition remission, stipends and/or graduate teaching assistantships? The current appeal of sticking with the track I'm on is that a doctoral program would be funded, but I don't want to stick around just for the sake of having it easier in the short term.

4) If I should look at doing another degree before seeking employment, what kinds of programs should I look at? I have a lot of ambition to take on responsibility and do something that will "make a difference," help people, challenge me, etc., and I'd like for it to be in a context where I could utilize my love for language. I know there are degrees in international relations but I'm also aware that JD and MBA programs can have international law or international business concentrations. Since I'll have this M.A. from Notre Dame and am interested in comparative religions, I think I might try to look at a track that would allow me to be involved with religious freedom, interfaith dialogue and that sort of thing. I'd also be interested in knowing what kinds of jobs are available for people interested in professional interpreting (for an international organization like the U.N. or a private firm devoted to issues I'd be interested in).

I apologize if this is all over the place. These are thoughts that I've been turning over in my own mind for a long time and I'm just dumping them out on the screen here. Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer!

Haha this is kind of all over the place. However, I'll do my best with it:

1. I think a bit of both matters... I do know that if you're placed on the list of accepted foreign service candidates, you're ranked according to a bunch of factors, one of them being your ability to speak a 'critical' language. But that said, I do know a few people who had past stints in the CIA who were hired because they were good with languages and promptly asked to learn another one that was completely different. So with diplomacy and the like, it's not really important. I think, though I'm not 100% sure, that it's the same for business. I know at least 2 people who graduated with degrees in the Classics and got a job at a Morgan Stanley type -- anybody can learn how to run a discounted cash flow model, but far fewer can analyze it, you know?

2. I think one masters will be more than enough. When I worked for the UK's Department for International Development, a lot of the learning (even for mid-range managers) was done on the job. I don't think many employers expect the master's to get you 100% trained for the job... but that said, you'd certainly be helped out by a bit of work experience first.

3. Master's? No. I'd be surprised if you found such a program, unless it was abroad.

4. I really don't think I'm the person to answer this, and I would suggest elections observing and such but your languages aren't really the type to aid you in watching Nepalese elections, you know? So I'll leave this question to someone else.

[Philologus]

Yeah, looking back on things, I was just going through a rough spot that it seems like a lot of graduate students go through (is this really should I should be doing?). Since I wrote that post I've come to find an area of study (still within Religious Studies) that I'm much more drawn to than I was to what I had been working on, and I'm set for a great PhD program next year. The wind is definitely back in my sails!

[CC139]

Have you looked into FLAS fellowships? I am not very familiar with them, but they are given out by the Dept of Education for US students pursuing degrees in international studies.

They provide some (all?) tuition and give an stipend. However, I believe they are for modern languages, so if you're interested in learning yet another language, with your background you'd probably be a very good candiate.

Edited April 27, 2011 by CC139

[JAC16]

Hello philologus... I'm glad "the wind is back in your sails". in any case... here is some info in case you change your mind again...

In response to your second question... I believe language majors as yourself will be able to land professional interpreting jobs in an international organization. In your case though, the only language that might be useful in this sense is german. Latin, ancient greek, middle high german, and syriac are languages that, as you might imagine, are not useful in this sense. That is, unless you want to translate anciet sriptures or other documents of the sort. I imgine you wouldn't want to do this, given that you are transtitioning out of academia. Other kind of jobs (i.e. state department) will probably be very difficult to land with your background.

In response to your third question. YES... many universities provide full tuition remission fellowships and a stipend for masters in international affairs/public affairs. There are also a variety of IR masters where you could study subjects related to interfaith dialogue and religious freedom. These scholarships, however, are given to the top candidates as you might imagine. Despite your exceptional academic background in laguages, I imagine you probably won't be in this group. This is mainly because MAIR/MPA/MPP programs usually look for certain skills in mathematics and economics that, given your background, you probably don't have.

Edited April 27, 2011 by JAC16