Georgetown SFS vs. GPPI, GW Elliott vs. Trachtenberg

[talisay13]

Hello all,

After much research, I am still narrowing down my applications for Fall '13.

I'd like to know if anyone, particularly current students, has insight into the relative advantages (both in terms of reputation/networking and academics) for schools at Georgetown (SFS vs GPPI) and George Washington (Elliott vs Trachtenberg).

I'm planning to pursue a career in international organizations, but I'd like to gain concrete management and policy skills during graduate study. So it seems I can go either direction: an international affairs program with a management focus OR a management program with an international affairs focus - a GPPI MPP with international policy focus vs MSFS OR Elliott MA in Intl Development vs Trachtenberg with Intl Development Management field of study.

I've looked at the courses in each, so I'm familiar with the structure of the programs, but how are the different schools perceived within the larger university and do current/past students seem to have better opportunities in one of the schools over the other?

[orangesplease]

I'm a GPPI student atm. Not sure if you're interested, but we have a joint MPP/IOMBA program with the Univ. of Geneva (or some other school in Switzerland lol). As far as prestige goes, SFS is the more prestigious program. With that said, either could work for what you're looking for. GPPI has many courses on management, but most of its internationally-inclined courses revolve around development. Hope that helps!

[Santino]

Bumping as I would love to hear additional thoughts on this. It seems the international affairs programs are the more prestigious programs for both schools, but I am inclined to want to pursue an international-focused MPP as I've heard it is a more marketable/versatile degree (not sure how much truth there is in that).

[Sneaky]

Current GW Trachtenberg student here - with the MPP or MPA degree, you can choose international development policy or security policy as your area of concentration (or design your own).  The overall degree program would not be as internationally focused as other degrees out there, but you could still take plenty of courses in that area (including those in the Elliot school).

[Santino]

I've also been thinking about this question, and the question of MPP/MPA vs. IR more generally. I plan on continuing to do international-related work, but I also worry about not having the flexibility to pursue domestic-related work in the off-chance that I want to go down that path at a later date. I would think that an international-focused MPP/MPA may give me more flexibility down the line in that regard than would an IR degree, but I could be wrong on that. Of course, I understand that work experience matters more than either in determining which jobs you're able to land. I imagine the answer is that I just need to stop hedging and commit to doing IR work, but that is tough as there are a number of domestic policy issues that I am very interested in as well.