JHU SAIS vs LSE vs GW Elliott

[karakchai]

Accepted at --

JHU SAIS, MA South Asia Studies

LSE, MSc Social Policy and Development

GW Elliott, MA International Development Studies

No word of funding from any. Career interests include research and policy work on educational equity in north India; will perhaps pursue a PhD in international development in the future. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[IRToni]

Are finances an issue?

Obviously, LSE is going to be much cheaper than either JHU or GWU. However, it is also a one-year program.

Otherwise, I have don't know much about your specific sub-field, so I'll just give you a couple of general things to consider:

1. JHU is not a MA in development studies. Since IDEV is incredibly competitive, the chances of you changing are quite slim. I'm not sure how good of a shot you'd have at a IDEV PhD with a Non-IDEV M.A.

2. LSE is definitely the most academic of the bunch. If you're thinking of doing a PhD, that might be a good fit for you. At the same time, at least JHU will also open up PhD possibilities for you. If you're sure you want to do research, a more academic program might be a better fit. If you're not sure yet, it's still something to consider.

3. JHU does not include a M.A. thesis and instead includes a capstone. From what I gather, both GWU and LSE include a thesis. Depending on your Pre-Admission background, not writing a thesis could be weighed against you if you want to do research/a PhD program. However, JHU offers lots of opportuinities for research papers and practical research.

4. JHU is definitely most-respected of the three in the US. In Europe, JHU and LSE might range about the same, with LSE having a higher name recognition. GWU is also known by people in the belt, but its name recognition is not comparable.

5. Look at specific courses and professors you'd be interested in. See if these are offered and you could combine them in the way you want to

6. JHU contains a pretty steep econ concentration. These courses are mandatory.

I don't know anything about the specific programs (I know JHU, but not the SA Studies), just some input as to what you might want to consider...