UCSD IRPS or Duke MPP

[Oscar42]

I am extremely torn between these two schools. I have read endlessly about the pros and cons. I'll break them down into my three major categories affecting my decision making: cost analysis, class size, and my research interests.

 

 

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I.)

 

Outstanding Debt Post-Grad:

DUKE - 74k   (not including assistantships)

UCSD - 39k   (not including assistantships)

*I showed how I derived my figures, but roughly, DUKE will leave me with twice the debt, give or take a few thousand as a margin of error. Feel free to skip the breakdown, but I left it up in the incident there is some obvious miscalculation I made.

 

 

Funding:

DUKE  36k      18k x 2 (both renewable following year)

           4k assistantship (also renewable if desired)

UCSD 46k  

(*could also look for assistantships, although it’s not advised in the first term, plus I'd have to procure them myself, not guaranteed)

 

Tuition:

DUKE-   tuition - 84k          42k for two years

UCSD- tuition -   45k          30k first year, 15k second year because in-state tuition status can be claimed to exclude 12k out-of-state fees

 

Prequisites:

DUKE -  0    No prerequisites required

UCSD - 5k   Two prequisites required (I'm estimating cost here)

 

Living:

DUKE - 30k     (15k x 2)     

UCSD - 36k     (18k x 2)

Deriving these figures was a bit awkward because of how they combine food/housing for UCSD. I feel they are plausible enough, but would be my most vulnerable area to miscalculation.

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II.) Class Size:

 

DUKE undeniably has a super-group cohesion that underlines its MPP program. With a class size over 60, and no more than all 60 of your classmates in one class together/average class size around 30 --it is not difficult to see where this cohesion is derived from. (Comparing the face book page of DUKE to UCSD is unmatched in how quickly people are already acclimating with one another)

 

UCSD has a class size over 130 for the IRPS program. It is not difficult to surmise in two years 130 people will not make the same level of sincere connection as 60 people.

 

I come from an undergraduate institution with class sizes similar to UCSD. I had no problem being assertive in order to distinguish myself amongst faculty. Regardless, there is no doubt a larger class size will have some level of adverse effect on the graduate experience.

 

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III.) Interests:

 

I had been set on Chinese studies and international economics before my time in Africa. Although the focus still remains, I would look to try to incorporate Africa back into my research interests if possible. I cannot quite say that doing a Chinese track in international economics at UCSD would completely mitigate that possibility. However, a more general Public Policy program like DUKE might allow me more flexibility in not only focusing on one region or thematic specialty.

 

Additionally, I have technically never been to China. (Only Africa and Japan at this point.) I read a great deal of policy articles, many of which have been about China though. [i add this in because a colleague of mine who has been to China thought it to be risky to delve so heavily into graduate studies into a place I have never been.]

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If I had to shoot out a ranking system:

 

                                        DUKE                         UCSD

Cost:                                     B                               A

Class Size:                             A                               B

Interests:                               A                               A

 

 

 

 

 

Any general thoughts or comments?

If you've made it this far, thank you!

 

 

[IRToni]

I'll just give you some more questions you might want to consider:

1. Where do you want to end up (geographically as well as in terms of what kind of job you want)?

Your emphasis on research interests does not exactly add up to the kind of programs you're going for (professional programs).

 

2. What kind of skills would you need to get to where you want to end up? Which of these could you acquire at each of your schools? Where do graduates usually end up at these schools?

 

3. What are the big curriculum differences? Which classes interest you more?

[Oscar42]

Toni,

 

Thanks a great deal for the response.This was also a great brainstorming exercise.

 

1.) Originally, my research interests were on China. Keep in mind, I'm 25, with two years in Africa post undergrad. I want to end up anywhere from academia, think tanks, or consultancy.

I agree with you that IRPS can be seen as more of a professional degree. What I like about IRPS is it would allow me to build up a stronger foundation in econ (which I have little beyond a core courses as a  non-econ major, though I  have been reading a great deal of economic materials over the past two years.) It would also allow me to continue my excitement on a Chinese regional perspective. IRPS would offer heavy macroeconomic work and still allow me to dabble into research interests in macroeconomic policy/international development, for example like macroeconomic perspective on rural parts of China or particular aspects of the Africa-China connection. Well IRPS might not seem like a traditionally academic program, I was assured I could still take up a graduate thesis at my own discretion.

Duke is certainly a research based position with its core courses engulfed in quantitative policy analysis. As I mentioned, I wouldn’t necessarily feel confined to take on a regional specialization which can give me more time to consider possibilities and research interests. Ultimately though, I would like to focus on macroeconomic/international development policy regardless of region. That is why the Global Policy track at Duke most appeals to me because it has a track cut out for my exact interests in international trade and international development.

2.) I am in the midst of inquiring more into this one.

 

3.) They both offer great curriculums. Clearly the strong Chinese focus is ideal, but as I stressed earlier, it might take away from my ability to tap into my interests in Africa. For instance, I felt so intrigued reading Foreign Affair’s interview with  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her macroeconomic policy changes in Nigeria. As mentioned previously, both would offer courses with macroeconomic/international development themes.

 

4.) Money can’t be taken out of the discussion either though. Clearly, UCSD is also more affordable than Duke.UCSD will imbue me with more professional skills which will give me more maneuverability in the job market outside of direct research (I feel it's always good to have a safety net, especially in regards to employment.) Having a strong China focus will also make me more noticeable (IMO.)  My one concern about a MPP at Duke is I really feel like it might hamstring my abilities to continue traveling around China/Africa. This is one area I am actually quite weak in with regards to knowledge. I just feel the finance/econ core at UCSD would be more appealing to international jobs Non-NGO related. (NGO work is something I would maybe one day transition into/dabble in  --but it’s certainly not my focus now.)

 

I welcome your/anyone's thoughts once again.

[IRToni]

Mmh. I would say that your interests are not nearly well-defined (or maybe articulated) enough. Academia, TT and consultancy are huge fields, and each of these would require different skills etc. It almost sounds like you are more interested in a PhD than a professional Masters. If so, why not apply to PhD programs next year? Carrying M.A. debt when pursuing an academic career is, IMO, not the smartest move.

 

Note that both the MPP and UCSD's IR/PS are professional degrees, so they are not designed to prepare you for a PhD or a career in academia. While some students (probably from either program) do end up pursuing a PhD, neither of these courses is intended for this path.

 

Maybe you should ask yourself the more fundamental question of why you want to get a professional M.A. first? Where do you (ideally) see yourself in 5,10, 20 years, and how would each degree help you in attaining this goal? Would it even? What would you expect to make post-grad, and would that be enough to pay back your loans (this also depends on whether you have ugrad loans)?