New(ish) programs: SAIS MIEF, Fletcher MIB

[Xperto]

Greetings everyone:

 

Hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying rather than suffering throughout this waiting season!

 

I have received very positive (yet not definitive) news regarding my application to SAIS' MIEF program and I have also applied to Fletcher's MIB

 

As everyone knows, these programs are similar, yet fundamentally different to typical MPA/MPP programs. However besides a couple of posts in this Forum I have not found further opinions and impressions about these programs. I would like to respectfully ask your input regarding them.

 

Definitely, the ultimate answer will rely on someone's interests and terminal objectives. In my case I have a mixed experience in the public/private sector and I am interested on working in Financial Policy in a Multilateral institution or similar; despite that I would kindly ask your perspective in these programs, their potential and if you had any experience with them

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions, good luck to everyone in all your endeavors.

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

[allischu55]

Hi!

I am a current student in the Fletcher MIB program. I wasn’t familiar with the MIEF program at SAIS, but after looking at the program website, it appears to differ from the MIB in a few keys ways. First, the Fletcher MIB curriculum is broader than the MIEF. The first year of the MIB mirrors the first year of an MBA program so in addition to finance, classes cover strategy, operations, marketing, statistics, and economics. It looks like the MIEF curriculum is strictly finance, economics, and quantitative methods. The more focused MIEF curriculum seems like great preparation for a more narrow set of post-grad school opportunities (central banking, commercial banking, development banks). Fletcher’s “International Finance and Banking” field of study is pretty comparable to the MIEF, but the MIB core curriculum will give you more exposure to other business topics. If your end goal is working in Financial Policy at a multilateral institution, you may also find that Fletcher’s law and international affairs classes help put the finance in context. As you said, answering the question of which program is a better fit will depend a lot on your background and goals, but I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have about Fletcher.