Georgetown MGHD vs. Columbia MPA DP

[devguy]

Hello All,

Well, as many people are also doing, I am trying to make a tough choice between two great programs, both of which have a lot of similarities, but have their subtle differences as well, which probably bear on career choice very much.

I have been accepted to Georgetown SFS's new Master's in Global Human Development, with no funding. The program is brand new and is supposedly a "holistic" approach to international development. The program is very small, having apparently only accepted about 20 people. From the look of the site, and the faculty, and SFS's reputation as a whole, it seems heavily focused on USAID careers (at least via faculty having extensive AID experience and careers), and of course major DC development contractors. SFS's reputation is hard to beat, but the focus on DC careers, and the fact that it is brand new bring some doubts.

On the hand, I was also accepted to and seriously considering Columbia SIPA, MPA in Development Practice, also with no funding (but "potential" funding for second year...unclear what that actually means). The program is also relatively new (2 years old??), and seems to have been created with some pretty lofty goals in mind (creating professionals to address the millenium development goals). Clearly more "rock star" professors attached to SIPA in general, and the program in particular (Jeffrey Sachs created it and still serves as its main advisor), but of course there remain serious questions as to how much contact students will actually have with the better known profs. Program is also small (apprx. 40 students). The degree is very hands on, primarily geared toward producing people who are practitioners and probably looking to go back in the field.

It's a tough decision, and I've gotten advice from many different people that goes all over the place, some say go one way, others another. Mainly, I believe the SIPA program is more science driven, and is probably doing more innovative stuff in the field, with loftier goals. Georgetown, however, is possibly better for US professional development (at least for a US-based career, and most certainly for a DC-based career). SIPA is more exciting in terms of brand name of school and professors, but suprisingly their employment rates are not stellar (about 85% for traditional MPA program, vs. 98% for Gtown's flagship MSFS program). NY beats DC any day as a city, but many swear by DC for its professional contacts, and especially for development. The Gtown program is brand new, so there is a lot unknown about it. This at once poses some problems, but affords some opportunity for a lot of individual attention. Both programs are clearly practitioner based.

Any thoughts, advice, or inside knowledge about these programs would be greatly appreciated. I guess it would help to say my career goals are not to go back into the field immediately, but rather to work in HQ, maybe in World Bank, or similar organizations, or private development contractors.

Thanks so much.

[bgreenster]

Hey, I can't speak for SIPA since I honestly know very little about it (aside from reading stuff on here!) but I can say that GHD has definitely impressed me. I am almost certainly going to Georgetown, and I went to the admitted students day last week. For specific questions, feel free to PM me and I'll answer what I can.

More generally speaking, I will say that I was beyond impressed by the hands-on approach of the professors, as well as their own experience. The dean was really involved during the day, and it was pretty crazy to see the connections of the faculty. If you are looking at working for the World Bank, I can say that a LOT of the faculty and people involved with the school had previous work with the World Bank, and are definitely well-connected there.

I think that you can't go wrong with either of your choices, and they sound fairly similar. I think it really comes down to where you would rather live, more than anything.

[piquant777]

This has been discussed in various places, but I personally think Georgetown's reputation for international affairs exceeds that of SIPA's. SIPA is known for being stingy with funding and very large/impersonal (i.e. paying $50k/year and not even being able to take the classes you want), but then again you're talking about a new program that I'm not familiar with so it may very well be different. I would not count on getting second year funding since many SIPA students do that only to be disappointed, but then again if second-year funding is definitely not an option at GHD (did you ask?) then that is tough.

I don't feel I can really speak well to the comparison since I know nothing about this SIPA program (I personally do not want to live in NYC and heard such lukewarm-to-bad things about SIPA from alums that I didn't even bother applying). However, I can give you more info about GHD as well since I was also at the admit day (hi bgreenster!). The faculty panel was incredibly impressive and really drove home the point that they will not only be professors, but also mentors and professional connections for the MGHD students. They are happy to have students work closely with them, do research, and co-publish. In addition, all of them are former practitioners with storied careers in the Bank, USAID, international NGOs, etc. They, in addition to the program's director, are very committed to the new program and also helped design it. They seem to be huge personal advocates who are committed to making sure each of the 20 in the cohort gets the summer projects, internships or jobs that he/she wants both during and after the program.

If what you want is to work for private development contractors, have you seen the list of partners that the GHD program has signed on? It's listed on the website, and is framed sometimes as the summer project partners but really it's much more than that. At the admit day there was a "partner luncheon" where all the partners were invited from DC, and it became clear that these people have signed on to help the students in the program, whether that be term-time internships, summer internships or jobs after graduation. It seems very clear to me that if you wanted a placement with one of these partners after grad, several of whom are private consulting firms/contractors (again check the site for specific names), that would be incredibly easy with these built-in relationships within the program.

I totally understand the hesitation with a brand new program and I have also heard lots of advice about it too from people who are wary. I won't lie that it is a consideration in that there is no history of the program, other employers who may not be as familiar with it might wonder, and there isn't a dedicated base of alumni of the actual program yet (though obviously GHD students will have full access to the SFS career services office and their alum database). But being there in person I can say that the admin is well aware of these potential shortcomings and therefore seems to be making a concrete effort to really devote individual attention to each admit/student and make the first cohort as strong as possible.

Have you looked at the curriculums at both places? It helps sometimes to map out what classes you'd be taking with which professors for the full two years, to really get a comparative look. I thought the Gtown program was incredibly relevant and interesting, including classes on M&E, project management, and an innovation/technology lab. If you are interested in the latter, the social entrepreneurship fellows program with the business school that GHD is starting might be interesting to you. I was emailed by the professor who runs it and it seems like an awesome opportunity.

Please take my comments with a grain of salt because I'm clearly biased and know nothing about the SIPA program (plus am infinitely in the DC>>>>NYC camp). But hope this helps a bit since you were not able to make the GHD admit day!