Questions about IR/IA programs

[BHealey]

Hello everyone,

I'm brand new to these forums but I have been exploring looking for some answers to what master's programs are the best for entering into federal service in the IC or in other internationally focused agencies. This is a field that I am highly motivated to join, as are countless others I'm sure. I graduated this past December with a degree in history from a very small no-name state school in Oklahoma. After doing a little soul searching I decided on the path of International affairs about 9 months ago just before I graduated. Because I decided on this area pretty late in my undergrad career and because money for international experience was nonexistent in my situation I have very little time abroad. Although I am headed to Mexico City for a couple of months this fall to intern with a US agency there.

I am looking at a few programs to get my master's degree so that I can improve my chances of finding employment in this field. The main program that I have looked at so far is the MPIA program at TAMU's Bush School of Government. From what I can find on these forums there are a range of opinions about this program, ranging from fairly positive to that it is a bottom feeder school. I wanted to ask about it here to see if I could find some consensus opinions about it. Is it a good program for someone in their early 20s looking to break into the international affairs field?

I am not looking to go on to higher academic programs after I finish my master's. I simply just want to find the best way to break into the field in Washington with the Federal government. Any thoughts or opinions you could offer about how to do this or on the Bush school would be greatly appreciated. There seem to be some highly knowledgeable posters on here and I would love to read their thoughts. Thanks in advance.

[understatement700]

I don't know a whole lot about the Bush School but I did look into them a little bit before applying to schools last fall. They have some faculty who were formerly in high places, Robert Gates was a former faculty member and they just got Natsios from Georgetown.

http://bush.tamu.edu/news/index.php/story/andrew_natsios_appointed_executive_professor_at_the_bush_school

The Bush School also is one of five schools with the Robertson Fellowship, so they are clearly aiming to help students get into the federal government. In terms of placement rates and alumni, I would actually just email them and/or call them. I ended up not applying there but when considering talked with some people in the office there and they were pretty helpful. Ask for employment numbers and ask to speak with current students about the school, what the student body is like and what their impressions are about career services. One positive thing I came away with about the Bush School, is that compared to a lot of schools they are MUCH more affordable and don't require ridiculous amounts of student loans to study there. I see this as a huge plus.

What field in international affairs are you looking to get in to? Cause that could very well affect where you want to study too.

[BHealey]

Thanks for your reply. I was not aware of the Robertson Fellowship program there. The field of IA that I am most interested in is national security and intelligence. I have spoken with a few people at the Bush School including a couple of former CIA employees that were very helpful and gave me a good impression of the program. They post some information about student employment statistics online and for the graduating IA class of 2011 about 33% were listed as employed by the federal government.

[understatement700]

Yeah, like I said I don't know a ton about the program, but my impression was that they are good for those particularly intending to focus in intelligence/security studies. And 33% employed by the federal gov. after seems like a decent percentange considering College Station isn't anywhere near DC. Of course if this number includes those doing the MPA, those people might be working for domestic focused federal agencies in Texas or elsewhere.