Canadian international relations programs!

[cedunton]

I've been accepted to Dalhousie for Political Science (IR and foreign policy subfield), McMaster for International Relations and Ottawa at the GPSIA and absolutely have no idea which to choose. HELP! 

[wednesdaynight]

Think about the fit and who you prefer to work with. You might also want to consider funding availability if that's important to you.

[MAofIndecision]

im trying to choose between npsia and gpsia and feeling just as lost.

[newpollution]

I think it's fair to say NPSIA is a stronger and more well known program than GSPIA. NPSIA is the only Canadian member school to the Association of Professional Schools in International Affairs (APSIA). It is ranked very highly by Canadian academics and has historically been treated as a feeder school for DFATD/DND etc. 

 

That being said GSPIA offers a pretty similar program with similar co-op opportunities. It is a young and growing school with top quality professors in many fields, especially Canadian foreign policy. I think it boils down to how professors mesh with your own interests and also the amount of funding you receive. GSPIA is likely to be more generous with scholarships so you should take that into consideration! 

 

Either way whatever you pick is the right answer. Getting into NPSIA and GSPIA should be considered major accomplishments and you should feel proud about that. Whatever you choose is a good choice! 

 

Hope this helps!

[MAofIndecision]

Thank you so much for your insight. Its not easy to make a  decision when one school is so young and the other is NPSIA.

 

Also congratulations to you too on your acceptances!! Have you decided where you will go?

 

Would you think the APSIA cert has a lot of weight in terms of post grad job opportunities?