Fletcher MALD - Fall 2013

[rhodeislander]

Okay, so here are a few of my random musings from my afternoon touring Fletcher:

 

-The Tufts campus is really pleasant, but you are on a college campus, amongst the undergrads (the horror!). Boston is a quick subway ride away, but you are in your own little campus bubble somewhat. Whether that's a positive or a negative is up to your own personal preference. Personally, I don't mind it at all, since I'm more excited about the academic element than the networking of DC. Its obvious the community is very tight-knit and judging by the fliers they had up there's always plenty of cool stuff going on.

-The main things they stressed were "community" and "flexibility," the ability to tailor your education as you see fit, which they directly contrasted to, ahem, certain other schools which tell you what to do (to which Fletcher responds, in their best Cartman voice, "Whatevah! I do what I want!"). You can pick from 22 fields of study, or design your own to suit your needs. You can also enroll in ANY school in the Boston area for credit. Harvard is the easiest, but so long as you get approval from the other school and can show how it is relevant, they'll let you do it anywhere. Otherwise, you can study abroad with one of the many schools worldwide they have a relationship with, or set up your own ad hoc study abroad semester with their help (unfortunately, you can either do this or do the Boston consortium, but not both). I was really excited about going to the Graduate Institute in Geneva, but apparently this requires fluent French, which I don't have, le sigh. Still, one of the main advantages SAIS has for me is study abroad, so the thought of being able to do it at Fletcher is nice.

-Those who don't wish to do a formal academic thesis can now do a "capstone" project instead. This is more professionally oriented than writing a 90 page thesis and I get the feeling people are happier with it.

 

-The people, as has been reported elsewhere, are all super friendly. I sat in on a class with Professor Kim Wilson, and she was very accommodating. One of the students, unprompted, stayed after class to talk to me and offer his advice, which was cool. On a similar note, the prospective and admitted students at the info session all seemed really accomplished (one guy directed an African field office for a very well known and respected NGO). All had extensive international experience, which made me feel like I was around people who shared my interests and I could get along well with.

-The sandwiches at the Fletcher cafe are pretty atrocious, but there were several nice looking little restaurants nearby. And a Dunkin Donuts, which is clutch.

So anyway, that's all that's coming to mind right now, but I'll be sure to post more as I think of it. Overall, I'll just say I got a very good vibe and Fletcher might be my frontrunner now (although that's subject subject to change after next week, when I hit up Chicago and DC). Feel free to ask any further questions you may have on here or through private message. For those of you going on Monday, have fun, its a really lovely place!

Edited April 4, 2013 by rhodeislander

[intlrlns]

Great to know about the capstone project! I'm not a fan of writing another thesis...

 

Also, WIN:

-The main things they stressed were "community" and "flexibility," the ability to tailor your education as you see fit, which they directly contrasted to, ahem, certain other schools which tell you what to do (to which Fletcher responds, in their best Cartman voice, "Whatevah! I do what I want!").     

[went_away]

I'm starting the GMAP mid-career professional master's program this week at Fletcher. Happy to be here. I won't have the same experience as the MALD people, but can confirm rhodeislander's observations.