APSIA Member vs. Affiliate School

[TeeCo10]

Thank you in advance! I haven't wanted to contact the schools themselves with these questions because I feel like they could be taken in a disrespectful/shallow way--and I don't mean them to be either.  

 

*I don't know much about the APSIA, so let me just preface this post with that fact in mind.*

 

I've been accepted at one member school (American University), one affiliate school (Boston University), and wait-listed at another member school (Tufts). 

 

The APSIA guidelines read like this --> See: https://www.apsia.org/

Members schools exemplify all these qualities. Affiliate schools exemplify most, but not all, of these qualities:

• an educational program of high academic quality;
• a substantial and demonstrated commitment to the study of international affairs;
• a basic commitment to graduate professional training; and
• significant autonomy within a major university, e.g., as one would expect to find with a Law School or graduate Business School. 

I was wondering two things. 

 

First, specific to me, what you would you assess to be the differences between American University (M.A. in USFP and National Security) and Boston University (M.A. in International Affairs) in terms of these guidelines? I've reached out to the APSIA with the same question, but I'm interested in seeing some of your insights because I think you're all smart and perceptive people.  

 

Second, to what extent do these tiers (member vs. affiliate) impact graduates in the job market--private, public, and non-profit? I don't mean to dig into the debate of "does the Name of your school matter". Rather, I want to know if the APSIA tiers are only of use for the school as a competitive institution or if the tier of the school you graduated from will matter when you submit a resume to future employers post-grad. Are employers even aware that the APSIA tiers exist and will they dock me for going to an affiliate vs. a member school? Does it matter only in certain circles? 

[Gov2School]

Employers are probably not even aware that APSIA exists, to be honest, much less what different schools' statuses are within them.  They're generally aware of a school's "prestige", but even that can be vague and it's obviously subjective (someone who graduated from BU is probably going to think it's a  better school than American and vice versa).