Columbia LSMA

[Poppet]

Just wondering if anyone has heard from the Columbia LSMA program for an admit/reject.

Also, I was hoping to open up discussion (again) about the plausibility that this program might be badly regarded, and not considered a "real" masters program. What's the real scoop here - if I get an LSMA in Human Rights from Columbia, am I going to be damaging my career instead of improving it?

[bjp1989]

I applied to the American Studies program and have yet o hear back.

Just wondering if anyone has heard from the Columbia LSMA program for an admit/reject.

Also, I was hoping to open up discussion (again) about the plausibility that this program might be badly regarded, and not considered a "real" masters program. What's the real scoop here - if I get an LSMA in Human Rights from Columbia, am I going to be damaging my career instead of improving it?

[lydiag]

I applied for Asian Studies. On the 15th I got an email asking if I wanted to switch my application to a different department that they thought might fit my interests better, but since I was already accepted elsewhere (better fit, plus funding), I just asked to withdraw my application. Long story short, sounds like the departments were in the process of reading apps a week ago, so hopefully soon.

[Poppet]

Thanks for your responses.

So do either of you have concerns about how some people consider the LSMA to be an inferior degree? I have read that it's often not considered a "real" masters and should be avoided if you ever intend to pursue a PhD. I am not sure that I will do that but definitely don't want to rule out the possibility. In the meantime I am concerned about possibly investing the money in Columbia only to find out that people will be laughing at me for bothering. Does anyone else have any concerns about this?

[Poppet]

Here's a better example of the kind of discussions about the legitimacy of the LSMA that really scare me.

I would love so much to have Columbia on my CV, but not if everyone is going to think I didn't have to work hard to get there.

[Seeking]

Ideally, one should go for an LSMA with focus on various area studies only if one wants to continue into a PhD program in one of those areas. Otherwise, if you are not decided about a PhD yet, it's better to get an MA in some other related subject at Columbia with possibility to take human rights courses available across the university.

It doesn't mean the program is bad - Columbia is well-know for its strength in the areas included in its LS program - it just means the students who went there without having a long-term plan to specialize in one of those area studies, perhaps didn't realize what this program was all about.

An LSE degree will be as well-regarded as a Columbia degree. You may consider joining there if they are offering you funds and perhaps later if you feel like getting a PhD, you can always apply at Columbia. London will be a great experience too.

[Poppet]

Thanks for your advice Seeking. I guess I should have been more clear - This is actually my third degree and I have a very targeted career path with quite a clear specialization in human rights - I'm just seeking to further it at the masters level for my own personal and professional reasons. I'm not confused about what I want to do with the rest of my life. I'm concerned about whether the LSMA is considered a legitimate degree, or whether it is considered inferior to an MA, and whether a student pursuing an LSMA is considered a less valuable candidate for a PhD. It's really the program that I am seeking advice about, not what my other options are. Those I can find lots of information on, it's the LSMA that I can't!

My funding offer at LSE is very generous and it's very likely that I'll end up there, but if the program at Columbia is not actually a joke of a program then I think it warrants some consideration. I just want to know if the Human Rights LSMA is going to be laughed at in comparison to an MA or an MSc in Human Rights, for example.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Poppet

[Seeking]

I'm sorry if I conveyed this impression, but I didn't mean you were not focused. I meant the small number of students who went there and complained about it on a different forum may not have realized the LSMA is meant to prepare the students for a specialization in one of these areas. By the way, all of these area studies at Columbia are highly regarded.

Columbia's Human Rights MA is no longer part of LSMA. It has now moved to the Human Rights Institute of Columbia and their course structure is here - http://hrcolumbia.org/hrstudies/

You can compare it with a "regular MA" course structure that you'd like to do. That way you can make out whether this is the program you want to attend.

This is the Human Rights MA that was earlier housed in LSMA, but has now moved to the Human Rights Institute - this is the program you applied to. Check with the LS and Human Rights Deptts.

Since it's part of the Human Rights Institute with a strong Human Rights focus, I don't see why it should be a joke or not a legitimate degree as some might think. As for reputation, Columbia's Human Rights Institute certainly is well-regarded.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Seeking

[bjp1989]

Has anyone heard from the American Studies program under the LSMA degree?

[diamont]

Soo, I received a decision notice a couple hours ago except I was unable to access my account due to some technical things?? Has anyone heard back yet? And if so, were you able to view the decision?

[lydiag]

I got the decision email today too, for East Asian Studies. The link in the email didn't work - I had to copy and paste it into my browser. I got in, but I've already decided to go to Yale.

I was a bit concerned that it wasn't a "real" program, but Yale was my first choice anyway. I'd been warned that Columbia's MA in EALC was really difficult without more language study, so I decided not to apply to that yet, though they did offer to transfer my application.

[DyingTrades]

I applied to the Human Rights MA (now no longer in the LSMA program) and I haven't gotten a decision yet but when I called they said we'd know in "mid-May". I hope that's true and I haven't been rejected!

I understand the motivation behind trying to figure out if this is a "legitimate" degree or "cash cow" or whatever, I really do. It's expensive and if you don't have a snazzy school on your resume already, it is at least an ego booster to get one now- "Or then again, it is, or will everyone be laughing at my "illegitimate cash cow" faux-gree?", etc, etc.

I just want to say for myself that I don't feel like this degree needs to be ranked against any other. Just in this upcoming semester, I would be able to take a few classes from some of the finest scholars in my areas of interest. My work is my life (I love it!!) but I need to take some classes to jump to the next level in competency. I love scholarship (I even love buying fresh new pens and notebooks, ha) and I already know more or less what I will do for my thesis, which will make a real contribution to my work. Not because someone will see a snazzy name on my resume but because the research I will do will help people do the work I'm doing (myself included) better. And to me, that's all that matters.

Good luck to everyone who applied!!

[PoliPub]

Finally heard from the Human Rights program. The link didn't work for me, either, so I logged in at the application site. Not accepted, unfortunately:( One annoying thing-the email notifying me in my email read, "congrats, columbia grad decision", which originally led me to think I'd been accepted. While I guess this is standard, I think they need to phrase the notification email a little differently:) Again, good luck everyone!

[Seeking]

It is very legitimate for every applicant in every program to ask if they are applying to a legitimate program.

But it's rather unusual to ask this if one has already got a generous funding from another world-class institution - and more unusual to not even know that this program they applied to was reorganised to be included in another centre with all info and the course work on public display on the website.

I would think one would research the websites of the programs one sends one's applications to and go back to these websites a few times.

[Poppet]

Seeking, on 06 May 2011 - 10:52 PM, said:

But it's rather unusual to ask this if one has already got a generous funding from another world-class institution - and more unusual to not even know that this program they applied to was reorganised to be included in another centre with all info and the course work on public display on the website. I would think one would research the websites of the programs one sends one's applications to and go back to these websites a few times.

Excuse me? What an arrogant thing to respond. Do not presume that because someone asks questions about the reputation of a program this means that they haven't had the sense to so much as look at the program's website. Your previous response was reassuring but offered no new information because, as a perfectly reasonable applicant yes, of course - I looked at the school's webpage! But the fact that a program has its own institute doesn't necessarily make that program a good one, and it doesn't provide me with an answer to my question at all. I also studied the course list, the available professors and the optional courses intently, and had done considerable review of the program prior to applying to the program. This is precisely why I knew that debates on the legitimacy of the program even existed in the first place! I should think that questioning whether those arguments had substance or not was the sign of someone who had clearly DONE some research instead of blindly applying to programs without conducting even minimal examination of their content. With the existence of a human rights concentration in the very competitive SIPA program, I don't see why it could be considered remotely unreasonable (or "unusual") to question whether this degree would be viewed as a poor substitute for the more competitive program.

On top of everything, in my admission letter from the school itself, I was informed that I have "been admitted to the Liberal Studies Master of Arts degree program in Liberal Studies - Human Rights Studies." This simply justifies for me even further the legitimacy of my concerns. So do not suggest to me that my concerns about what this meant were the product of laziness.

And for the record, my other admissions or scholarships are only relevant to the discussion in the respect that I would be turning down funding to attend Columbia. It is not appropriate for you to bring them into the discussion as a means of gauging whether I am an intelligent (or at least mildly diligent) applicant. Your original posts were respectful and reassuring despite being unhelpful. Try and keep the condescending presumptions to a minimum in the future, thank you.