Chicago MPP VS Columbia MA in Economics and Education VS Cambridge Mphil in Economics

[yitao]

Hi all, 

 

Chicago MPP 2 year 

Columbia Econ&Educ 1 year FA17k

Cambridge Mphil in Economics Queens College 1 year 

 

My plan is to pursue a phd degree or find a job in the States after I finish the MA degree. 

 

I am kinda interested in both policies and economics so I am wondering in terms of competitiveness, placement ratio and program reputation, which one would be a better option? 

 

The columbia's program is 1 year course, as an international student, I am kinda worried it would not allow me enough time to find jobs or apply for phds...

 

it would be great to hear advice from you all! 

[perpetuavix]

Are you specifically interested in educational economic policy? It looks like that is the focus of the Columbia degree (it's listed as a Teachers College master program, in the department of education policy). But if you attend a one year program, you likely won't have the opportunity to have strong letters from professors at your masters' program if you do go on to PhD programs. What kind of job are you interested in? 

[ExponentialDecay]

 My plan is to pursue a phd degree or find a job in the States after I finish the MA degree.

 

Okay, which one is it? Because these goals cannot be achieved concurrently.

 

If you want a job in the states, a one-year program is probably-to-definitely not right for you. You will not be getting a job straight out of school, for one, because H1B1 visa quotas open in April and fill up pretty quickly, and employers are only allowed to request an H1B1 for an employee who already has the degree. If you get an F-1, you can, of course, stay on OPT, but if you get a J-1, which I think is possible in MA programs, though I'm not sure, OPT is not one of your options. Finally, you're right that one year is probably not enough to find employers or references. On the other hand, it's good that you're looking at programs in major cities such as Chicago and NYC, since more rural areas have fewer hiring opportunities.

 

Also, do you know what kind of jobs people with MPPs or Economics of Education MS's get? For the latter, I suggest you ask Columbia for placement records. For the former, it has always been my impression that MPPs are good mostly for civil service jobs. As an international you are, of course, ineligible for civil service jobs.

 

Finally, hiring international students creates an extra cost for employers, because they need to file papers, pay some fees (I think? Never been hired yet), etc. You can't go into this assuming that any private business will hire you: you will have more success with big corporations, because they file such paperwork routinely, and you will have to make sure that the industry you are going for does not require agents to have security clearance, because that will not be given to internationals. Some people just don't want the hassle. Your best bet for getting hired in the US is to possess an exceptional or highly desirable skill set. Do you have that? Will any of these programs give you that?

 

Now, for the PhD. Are you aiming for a PhD in public policy or economics or what, specifically? If the latter, you need to make sure that the program offers enough math and stats classes and has a research component (important!). Of course, if your math background is sufficient, you should undertake a research-based MA such as the one offered at Cambridge (is that the one you applied for, though?) and gain LORs and research experience. An MPhil from the UK is unlikely to help you find a job in the States, however. 

 

Why are you applying to an MA if you intend to go on to the PhD? If you are sufficiently competitive from your undergrad, I would urge you to apply straight to the PhD. It's cheaper and incurs less time and hassle, plus there's the yearly shitstorm on these boards regarding whether MA students are more or less desirable to PhD adcomms.

 

I don't know anything about any of these programs specifically, but I think you have a lot more thinking to do before you need to get to the detalistic nitty-gritty.

Edited March 30, 2014 by ExponentialDecay

[yitao]

Are you specifically interested in educational economic policy? It looks like that is the focus of the Columbia degree (it's listed as a Teachers College master program, in the department of education policy). But if you attend a one year program, you likely won't have the opportunity to have strong letters from professors at your masters' program if you do go on to PhD programs. What kind of job are you interested in? 

well I am interested in the economics of education and education policies but I am not too sure if this is what I wanna do for the rest of my life. so Columbia is the only school I applied specifically for Economics and Education. 

Since I could not really work in public sectors in the States, I am thinking about jobs in research institutions (do I need to do PhD for this?), think tank or international organizations Xxxx