Area Studies M.A. "Rankings"?

[Zahar Berkut]

I'm starting my MA in my area of interest next fall, and I've been asked for advice by a lot of friends about similar programs they might want to look into themselves (in different regions, nonetheless). But aside from pointing them to the Department of Education info page for FLAS, I'm not sure how to find any sort of guide to researching programs. Being interdisciplinary, it would seem knowing particular faculty matters like it would for researching any PhD program, but program organization and reputation should matter in their own right. And of course, it would help to put someone to a list of programs... but for my area at least, the closest I could find were listings of national language resource centers, each of which may or may not administer master's programs. And then there is the question of "ranking," which I fear falls into the vacuous category of school-wide reputation for this sort of thing.

Any advice or experience anyone would like to share that I might be able to pass on to other hopefuls?

[TheCreuset]

I'm not an authority on the subject, but I asked a very similar question to a lot of professors and academics prior to my MA applications.

The general consensus was that as long as my objective was a PhD in Political Science, I should matriculate in an MA program that had two things: a good concentration of professors and resources for the area I study, and good financial aid packages.

They said that the "pedigree" or where the MA came from was far less important than it was for the PhD. The MA should instead be used to develop your regional concentration, since your PhD courses will look at the core parts of the field. The overwhelming consensus was to go to a moderately reputable program with the most generous financial offer.

[gradcafe26]

I'm not an authority on the subject, but I asked a very similar question to a lot of professors and academics prior to my MA applications.

The general consensus was that as long as my objective was a PhD in Political Science, I should matriculate in an MA program that had two things: a good concentration of professors and resources for the area I study, and good financial aid packages.

They said that the "pedigree" or where the MA came from was far less important than it was for the PhD. The MA should instead be used to develop your regional concentration, since your PhD courses will look at the core parts of the field. The overwhelming consensus was to go to a moderately reputable program with the most generous financial offer.

But isn't it the case that only the richest (so usually the most famous) schools can afford to fund MA students? I am not 100% sure, but that's my overall impression. As OP mentioned, could you please list a few MA programs, especially those with good financial aid packages? thanks!

[rising_star]

But isn't it the case that only the richest (so usually the most famous) schools can afford to fund MA students? I am not 100% sure, but that's my overall impression. As OP mentioned, could you please list a few MA programs, especially those with good financial aid packages? thanks!

Often, area studies MA students find TA position in related language departments or for large general education courses. Also, depending on the university and the area, there may be opportunities for FLAS fellowships. None of the opportunities I've just mentioned are exclusive to the richest or most famous schools. You should look into them.

[gradcafe26]

Thanks a lot, Rising Star!