MPA/Regional Studies MA

[Amerikanka]

Is anyone thinking of a MPA/Regoinal Studies MA? I noticed that many of the top ranking institutions don't have this combination. Those that do seem to hide the affiliation. I recently heard a Foreign Service Officer say that Regional Studies programs were worthless when he went to grad school but now they might be coming back. He said this with the implication that this was a bad things and why haven't they been crushed yet.

So my question to grad school applicants with work experience and/or extensive knowledge of the field: is this true? 

P.S. I am interested in joint degrees with Russian or Central Asian Studies. These programs have FLAS funding for language learning. 

P.P.S. I am often attracted to useless things that require a lot of work. Would continuing Russian and learning Persian be a good move? I also plan to take statistics, economics and accounting coursework. I just love learning about the world! I'm trying to find a way to do that and still put food in my belly.