UCSB, Duke, UMich, Indiana??

[aliwstevens]

Going for an MS/MESM/MEM/MSES-- received a lot of funding from SPEA at indiana, 15K from nic school at Duke, and 10K from SNRE at UMich. No funding from bren school at UCSB. Love the flexibility of UMich program but tuition is still so expensive! Thoughts??

Thanks!

[indigorama]

I'd make a list of pros and cons for each school and work from there. Also consider the cost of living, the research fit, and plans for afterwards just to name a few things to take into account. What are your top two choices so far and is how much Indiana is giving you enough to sway your decision any? ..I actually applied for Indiana's SPEA program and Michigan's SNRE program (along w/ a few others) but Indiana gave me nothing as of yet -so i'm not really expecting anything-, while Michigan gave me a Rackham Award woo!

[Rachel B]

I'm glad I didn't get into UCSB Bren. There's no way I could have gone without funding. I can't remember where I read it, but isn't Indiana's program number one in the country among graduate environmental science schools?

[delight]

IU's SPEA has a really great reputation; my friends went through the program and loved it. They do, sometimes, have rather large class sizes for being a graduate program due to the high demand. Also, I love Bloomington - it's a beautiful campus, close to several lakes, lots to do, and really into their basketball program

[aliwstevens]

i also saw that SPEA is #1 across environmental science schools, but when i visited I was informed that it is the school's MPA program that gives the school its #1 spot while the MSES program is actually not ranked

[StephanieJ]

I visited SPEA also...I'm deferring admission for a year, but it's a fantastic program. From my understanding, the MPA and MSES programs are well-respected. I think that the programs are fairly equally recognized as good programs (with the exception of Duke...I know nothing about them). I prefer SPEA over Umich because the program is incredibly flexible for a graduate program and they seem to be really focused on making sure everyone has an individualized education that best suits their needs.