master's programs political science

[jody01]

I am interested in applying to Columbia, NYU, and MIT for a one or two year Master's (NOT PhD) programs. Does anyone have any advice regarding what sort of GPA I should have in order to make it into these schools? I'm coming from UCLA. Thanks for any advice!

[RiverRunner]

Generally these schools look for 3.7 and above. If you scan their FAQ sections on the Admissions page, they will say things like "generally there is no required GPA. However, if you fall below a 3.6 we would look to other areas to strengthen your application."

[suboptimal]

I attended NYU's MA program, and graduated in December 2008. (Wilf Family Dept. of Politics.) I came from UC Santa Cruz, applied December 2006, had an undergrad GPA of 3.49, and GRE of 1220 (5.0 writing.) I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the program, my e-mail should be in my profile or you can send me a PM.

[natofone]

Generally these schools look for 3.7 and above. If you scan their FAQ sections on the Admissions page, they will say things like "generally there is no required GPA. However, if you fall below a 3.6 we would look to other areas to strengthen your application."

I am guessing that this response was for PhD programs because I doubt that any of these require greater than 3.7 for an MA program. MA programs generally are not particularly selective. I have an MA in IR (with some funding) from a school in this tier and my GPA was only 3.5 or so from a total crap undergrad. MA programs want you to go because you will be a source of income for them.

[jody01]

Any ideas about which MA programs at the top tier schools are exceptional (not just cash cows)? Ideally I'm looking for a one year gig, because I don't know how much time I want to commit to going to graduate school -- yet.

[natofone]

They are all cash cows. That is the nature of those programs. Schools don't have much incentive in terminal MA programs outside of making money. They are a ton of work for faculty and don't provide the same payoffs that PhD programs do. In regards to one year programs, I did the CIR at Chicago (http://cir.uchicago.edu/) and loved it. It is great for IR and comparative people. I believe that Yale and Stanford have something similar.