MA in Security Studies at Kansas State University or other alternatives?

[IR007]

I'm looking for MA programs in Security Studies to get into government jobs. I'm not looking for top schools such as SAIS, Fletcher, Georgetown or SIPA. I'm rather trying to get second opinion on where MA in Security Studies of Kansas State University stands.

 

1. Has anyone heard of it, graduated from it or knows any graduate of this security studies program?

2. How does the program compare to its top rivals from the Foreign Policy Magazine's ranking of IR programs?

3. Where does the program stand in terms of reputation among government employers?

 

It doesn't require GRE for master's admission for applicants with undegraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Besides, this MA program allows transfering credits and thus can be completed in one year. Out-of-state tuition seems to make the program a bit expensive and risky investment. Their website seems weak and rather plain and covers basic information. I would have liked to see the full list of available courses and course descriptions.

 

Any comparable security program (with relatively easy admission, low tuition, good chances of employment after graduation) worth for consideration for aspriing federal government employee? I'm also interested in Middle Eastern Studies, Iranian Studies, and Central Asian Studies.

 

So far I found interesting George Mason University's MA in Middle East and Islamic Studies, which seems ridiculously expensive for out-of-state applicants. Its location is a huge plus. However, while Mason is decent school it does not seem to have strong reputation as SAIS or Georgetown in IR/Security Studies. Instead, Mason seems to have pretty good program in Conflict Analysis & Resolution. Its MA in Middle East and Islamic Studie is a brand new program and their out-of-state tuition fees seem too high for a school of such (tier 1) caliber.

 

Another program which I like a lot is MLitt in Middle East and Central Asian Security Studies at University of St. Andrews. I know that it is a top school in IR and Security Studies but what are the chances of getting US goverment job upon graduation? Especially if one can send an application for a federal job before going overseas for graduate study. 

 

Any opinion is appreciated. I especially would like to hear from people with similar dilemma of choice and from someone who have already accomplished their goal of joining either goverment agency in the fields of IR, diplomacy or security/intelligence.

 

Thanks.  

 

[Burnt Orange]

The MA in Security Studies at KSU is a solid option given your preferences. Something to remember about Government jobs is that federal hiring doesn't really take into account prestige of degree. That sort of thing will apply once you hit political appointee status. I'd read about KSU's program before applying to grad school and have looked at their PhD program a bit. A quick glance at the faculty will show that for the most part, they are folks with reasonably strong academic credentials and IR backgrounds. A lot of Army officers take courses and pursue degrees at KSU, including Security Studies, in addition to the Command and General Staff College curriculum. So many senior military officers will at least be familiar with the program. Something to consider if you hope to work in DOD. As for George Mason, I think that program is doing a lot of build its prestige to attract strong applicants and faculty members. Also, the DC community will be familiar with GMU. That could be of help to you beyond federal hiring. I recommend looking at faculty profiles and getting a sense of the student population. GMU will be a lot of part-time DC types with a great deal of professional experience while KSU might be very different. Determing how you want to learn, who you want to learn with, and who you want to learn from are important pieces to the equation that often play second fiddle to University brand, prestige, and cost. Hope that helps.

[IR007]

USMA06, thanks for your input! I'm actually still trying to get my MA degree from Korbel School, but due to various reasons, its completion has been delayed by me for several years. While I was able to meet all coursework requirements for the master's degree a while back, I was unable to complete MA thesis and nail the degree down. Right now I'm trying to get it done and get it over with. However, since I had been out of Korbel School for the last few years and had been in an irrelevant job, I have had some concerns about marketability of that MA degree, which I am yet to obtain.

 

Therefore, I thought that by doing second master's degree, preferably in Middle East or Iranian Studies with strong Arabic or Persian language component or, perhaps MA in Security Studies from Kansas State, I could improve my chances of breaking into the field as fresh graduate. I know that it doesn't make sense from financial standpoint and sounds like waste of time. But again, the idea is to apply for those competitive federal jobs as fresh full-time graduate of any other university, be it K-State or GMU, and while in school, to develop some connections.

 

From what I've read, K-State's Security Studies Program had been actually created by DOD grant and seems to have strong connections with the military. Another relative advantage of K-State's MA in Security Studies is that it allows to transfer up to 15 credits from relevant program and can be theoretically completed in one year. GMU, on the other hand, has great location in Virginia where well-known agencies are headquartered. I am positive that either Virginia, Washington DC or Maryland will sooner or later be my destination state because of security and IR jobs are being primarily clustered in that geographic triangle.

 

Disadvantage of GMU is its high out-of-state tuition, which is close to DU's tuition. It is a brand new program, which is yet to be launched in Spring 2013. Another thing to consider is that it will take me two years to complete their MA program. But putting financial concerns aside, I think that GMU's MA in Middle East and Islamic Studies can hypothetically (because it is brand new, unknown program) provide me with different skill set (georgraphic concentration and language studies), something that I am looking for as aspring security analyst. I like that GMU has Eric McGlinchey on the board. On the other hand, doing K-State's MA in Security Studies seems like duplicating Korbel's MA (which I'm yet to obtain). But K-State seems to have more focus on military and strategic studies but they do seem to have Arabic language courses as well.

 

The bottom line, I feel that doing K-State's MA can possibly get my foot in the door with DOD agencies, while GMU's MA can get me to my destination state(s) sooner and can, hopefully, get my foot into the intelligency community's door. In summary, from financial standpoint doing either K-State's or GMU's MA, in addition to spread-out MA from Korbel, seems like financial immaturity as I seem to make some weak assumptions about relative value of doing second MA in a hope to improve my chances with feds as fresh graduate. Accruing 30K+ debt from less than stellar schools wouldn't necessarily make me a better candidate for federal jobs.

 

I still like that MLitt of University of St. Andrews a lot but I think that it is off the table for pragmatic reasons. For federal jobs I'm better off staying in US and figuring something out at US graduate schools. Besides, in US I can work while in school and don't need any work permit, something that can be problematic while studying in Scotland as foreign student.

 

Do any of my points make sense? Should I just stick with Korbel's MA and see if it can get my foot in any federal agencies' door?

Edited December 30, 2012 by IR007