Middle Eastern Studies/NELC Masters/PhD

[_sawyer_]

On 3/3/2017 at 3:38 PM, Tea3A said:

CONGRATS Sawyer! I didn't get an email so biting my nails at the moment...did they say anything about funding?

NYU Masters is an unfunded program. In the admit letter they linked to a bunch of possible scholarships.... I will very likely decline. Good Luck!

[hzko]

Congrats to all on the thread this cycle. I was accepted to the UChicago MA at CMES, and the Oxford MPhil in Modern Middle East Studies and St Antony's College. While the half tuition offer for the first year at UChicago (apparently the most they offer) is nice considering the second year is generally free, I'm waiting on my funding results for Oxford. 

There's also the looming feeling that all of these programs are cash cows, and while I had a solid application and fit for both programs, I can't shake the feeling. Even though I am very committed to continuing on to the doctorate level in the US. 

Surprisingly, even with this "generous" package at UChicago (that seems to be the best scholarship offered based on their site and posts here), costs at Oxford unfunded are comparatively within reach. US Masters are extremely expensive at base price. 

Anyone else that is or dealing with this sort of predicament? 

 

 

[Abdelazar]

Rejection notification from UCLA NELC (Hebrew Bible) this morning. Best wishes if you got accepted; it's a great program!

[Beamesly]

On 3/7/2017 at 4:30 PM, hzko said:

Congrats to all on the thread this cycle. I was accepted to the UChicago MA at CMES, and the Oxford MPhil in Modern Middle East Studies and St Antony's College. While the half tuition offer for the first year at UChicago (apparently the most they offer) is nice considering the second year is generally free, I'm waiting on my funding results for Oxford. 

There's also the looming feeling that all of these programs are cash cows, and while I had a solid application and fit for both programs, I can't shake the feeling. Even though I am very committed to continuing on to the doctorate level in the US. 

Surprisingly, even with this "generous" package at UChicago (that seems to be the best scholarship offered based on their site and posts here), costs at Oxford unfunded are comparatively within reach. US Masters are extremely expensive at base price. 

Anyone else that is or dealing with this sort of predicament? 

 

 

 

Yes, I am also dealing with this hzko. I was accepted to UChicago's CMES program and have been decidedly trying to determine the positives and negatives of the extremely high tuition and the generous scholarship. I am additionally waiting to hear back from another university on their admission decision as well as their available funding option(s). Chicago has been a tough debate primarily because of the second year scholarship -- it's like the Siren's call. It seems as though Chicago's first-year tuition is equal to most other American universities' first AND second-year MA program fees; in this case, you're just being billed for it in the first year instead of over the course of two, due to the full second year scholarship. I can't speak to the funding or fees in the UK but it seems as though they would be similar at the outset (considering the scholarships etc.)?

 In regard to the "cash cow" statement, I think it's important to consider the reality of graduate education in America. The vast majority of MA programs are expensive. UChicago is certainly not alone in their high price tag, but I think what sets them apart IS their scholarships. It is very difficult to find institutional funding from MA programs. Because they offer it, and so generously, solidifies my opinion that they are not a "cash cow", at least entirely. If that were the case, they would have no prerogative to give out scholarships, particularly for 1/3 to 1/2 of the total ticket price. I truly believe that the department does this so as to attract some of the best students like you, me, and the others on this feed who were accepted or are currently attending. Regardless, congratulations on your acceptances!

[_sawyer_]

Well that is about it for me folks. I have come out the other side with 3 nice choices (2 nice offers) to choose from. While I am technically still waiting for one more response, I am pretty sure it is a reject (a whole complicated story where I am not sure if they have really accepted my application or not and they won't tell me). Best of luck to everyone, I really think this is an important field and I am glad to meet other people who agree. 

Now to decide between UChicago and UT-Austin.... 

[turkish coffee]

Hello, would appreciate thoughts regarding graduate school decisions/comments from people in the same boat. I've heard a lot of perspectives from International Affairs folks, but not as many from Middle East Studies people, please bear with my lengthy post.

I Interested in the Middle East, development, and human rights. I have State Dept. experience and did some volunteer NGO work in Lebanon.

Accepted to: 

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey - International Policy and Development MA program ($14k fellowship over 2 years)

George Washington University - Middle East Studies MA program, concentration in International Affairs and Development ($5k/year fellowship) - waiting on another fellowship that would fully fund 1st year.

Fletcher at Tufts University - MALD program ($24k fellowship over 2 years) 

SAIS at Johns Hopkins University - MA program, no funding 

 

still waiting on a decision from the Ford School at University of Michigan (MPP program), where I can also take a lot of my electives from the Middle East Studies program.

 

SAIS was my #1 because I wanted to strengthen my economic/quant skills.. took an online econ course to prepare and started to reconsider haha, and the $0 funding doesn't help. Fletcher seems up my alley with their human rights rep, and they gave me the most funding, but they're also more expensive than GWU and don't have the DC advantage. Michigan would probably be my top choice if I get accepted because of in-state tuition. Their MPP is ranked 3rd after Berkely and HKS, and they offer several international-oriented courses so I'd still walk away with the skills and expertise that I want. Middlebury is great but can't compare with the other schools, especially considering I will still have to take out significant loans to go there, so it's probably out of the running.

I'd still like to consider SAIS despite no funding, as I'm waiting for a reply from Pickering Fellowship and that could be a game-changer. I would also appreciate advice considering Michigan's MPP and walking away with a maximum of $50k in student debt, vs. Fletcher or GWU, where tuition alone is going to be $65k. 

I'm interested in State for sure but don't see it as a lifetime career unless Pickering pans out. If not, I would love to end up working in Lebanon, either at a think tank/NGO or one of the UN agencies, ESCWA, UNICEF, and UNHCR are my preferences. If I go the PhD route, it would be so that I could teach at the American University of Beirut or Lebanese American University. I know what my interests are, but not so much my ultimate career goals, and I think delving further in the topics I'm interested in through an MA are a good way to develop a better sense of what I want to do as my day-to-day job. 

I do think that GWU is better for focusing on the Middle East, and the Middle East is my main priority (heritage Arabic speaker, lived in the region, family there, etc.), but I do think Fletcher could also be a great place for regional studies specifically because of their Fares Center for Eastern Meditteranean Studies.. my focus within the Middle East is definitely the Levant, especially Lebanon. GWU also has courses that would allow me to focus on the Levant more, and they even allow study abroad at the American University of Beirut, which is a plus. I actually attended AUB while I was living in Lebanon for three years, so abroad experience isn't the most important factor, but I do think it would help me rebuild/strengthen my network there if I don't end up doing something government-related in DC. I am a heritage speaker but obviously can always get better at Arabic, especially reading/writing, so there's that. 

I prefer to be abroad post-graduation, and am also considering going the PhD route at some point in the future, so I'd like to be somewhere where I could do an MA thesis. 

and with that I welcome any thoughts/advice 

[alwahid]

On 3/7/2017 at 6:30 PM, hzko said:

Congrats to all on the thread this cycle. I was accepted to the UChicago MA at CMES, and the Oxford MPhil in Modern Middle East Studies and St Antony's College. While the half tuition offer for the first year at UChicago (apparently the most they offer) is nice considering the second year is generally free, I'm waiting on my funding results for Oxford. 

There's also the looming feeling that all of these programs are cash cows, and while I had a solid application and fit for both programs, I can't shake the feeling. Even though I am very committed to continuing on to the doctorate level in the US. 

Surprisingly, even with this "generous" package at UChicago (that seems to be the best scholarship offered based on their site and posts here), costs at Oxford unfunded are comparatively within reach. US Masters are extremely expensive at base price. 

Anyone else that is or dealing with this sort of predicament? 

 

 

Hey!

I'm facing the same decision. Was accepted into CMES at University of Chicago and into NELC at university of Toronto. You're right about MA programs in the US being cash cows, I think it's well known in the field. 

 

Have you made a decision for next fall yet? I just turned down Harvard today.

Cheers