MPA or MA in Economics?

[Mr. X]

Hello All,

I am a recent graduate in Political Science and Latin American Studies, and looking to pursue a Masters Degree. I am very interested in Public Policy issues and implementation as well as in Political Economy and Development. I would like to pursue a career in NGO's, government offices, and/or international institutions.

From my perspective, pursuing a MPA seems like pursuing a another Political Science degree but much more rigorous. I point out the similarities since these discipline deal with broad issues and not necessarily specializing in a particular "field." That being said, it seems that a MA in economics provide both a specialization--making myself more marketable--and intellectually challenging. Yes, I have taken some economic courses and I am contentiously reading books on economics, questioning why I never majored in this discipline. Since I never majored in economics, I would have to take about 8-10 courses (which will take another 2 years part-time) to become a competitive candidate in the graduated programs I would love to go to.

From the interest that I stated, I would like like to get any insight, advice or critique on my potential plan. Also, I would really appreciate any input or personal advice regarding a choice of program in light of my interests and career objectives. I'm looking at both discipline at the wrong way?

Thank you in advance for your time and I look forward to reading your insights!

[juilletmercredi]

I don't think public administration is necessarily more rigorous in and of itself. It kind of depends on where you go and what you do there. Breadth doesn't necessarily mean rigor. Also, political science is absolutely a discipline/field.

Do you like math? Are you good at quantitative analysis? It's my understanding that most of the good jobs for economics MAs involve a lot of econometric and statistical analysis, and that students who get into good MA programs in this field have solid mathematics backgrounds.

You say you want a career in NGOs or government offices. But what kind of career? Those organizations have all kinds of employees, including accountants and lawyers and HR managers. What do you want to do? That will help answer your question of what to pursue.