Hertie School of Governance 2016

[haru_ko]

Hi guys! I'm so glad to have found this thread! I applied to the MPP and MIA programs at Hertie and got accepted to both with partial tuition waiver. However, I am still deciding whether I should go there, or accept another offer since the tuition fees are quite a lot. 

On 3 March, 2016 at 10:54 AM, pyrhuss said:

 

You might want to take a look at this report compiled by the Hertie Student Organisation in 2014, which evaluates the MPP program against other established policy schools. It helps to get a bit of an inside perspective on where the school stands and where it is going. But that being said, all my friends there are extremely happy with the quality of instruction. Hertie seems to offer good value for money, and some of the people I know that went on to do the dual degree with SIPA even told me that - besides the Columbia name and a much wider course selection - they still felt they got a better education during their year at Hertie.

@pyrhuss Interesting that you know people who went on to do the dual degree with SIPA! I'm very interested in this option (and actually applied to Hertie because of their dual degree programs). Do you know how competitive is it to be admitted to the dual degree program with SIPA? I actually visited the school in Berlin, and the admission officer told me the program with SIPA was quite competitive to get in (of course). What kind of background do your friends in this program have? Did you go to Hertie yourself?

Edited March 4, 2016 by haru_ko

[seaglass0025]

41 minutes ago, haru_ko said:

Hi guys! I'm so glad to have found this thread! I applied to the MPP and MIA programs at Hertie and got accepted to both with partial tuition waiver. However, I am still deciding whether I should go there, or accept another offer since the tuition fees are quite a lot. 

@pyrhuss Interesting that you know people who went on to do the dual degree with SIPA! I'm very interested in this option (and actually applied to Hertie because of their dual degree programs). Do you know how competitive is it to be admitted to the dual degree program with SIPA? I actually visited the school in Berlin, and the admission officer told me the program with SIPA was quite competitive to get in (of course). What kind of background do your friends in this program have? Did you go to Hertie yourself?

Hi haru_ko! Congrats that's wonderful!! Wow you visited the school? What was it like and what did you think?! Won't be able to do that unfortunately because i'm too far away at the moment. 

Looks like the program is quite competitive and only a few people get selected like 4-5, looked into it myself... 

What other schools are you considering? Thought Hertie is quite affordable actually  (compared to US)!

Are you Japanese btw (your username!)? I'm half and living in Japan at the moment

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by seaglass0025

[haru_ko]

12 hours ago, seaglass0025 said:

Hi haru_ko! Congrats that's wonderful!! Wow you visited the school? What was it like and what did you think?! Won't be able to do that unfortunately because i'm too far away at the moment. 

Looks like the program is quite competitive and only a few people get selected like 4-5, looked into it myself... 

What other schools are you considering? Thought Hertie is quite affordable actually  (compared to US)!

Are you Japanese btw (your username!)? I'm half and living in Japan at the moment

 

Hi @seaglass0025! 

Yep, I visited the school when I stayed in Berlin earlier this year. Before I visited it, I asked one of my German professors his opinions about Hertie. (He's the DAAD representation at my home country, and have worked in various German universities) He highly recommended the school, and told me that he'd worked with some of the researchers/ professors there and they are all very good. So I always have this impression already that this school must be a high quality one. Comparing to other universities, the school has a small 'campus'. I mean, it's really just a building with 3 or 4 floors. They have basic facilities (e.g. a small cafeteria or more like cafe, a few small libraries, classrooms, common room for students, terrace garden that's only opened in the summer and student working places), but as a student at Hertie, you could also use facilities at public universities in Berlin, i.e. FU/ HU. The location of the school is great - quite central I'd say and very easily accessible by metro/ bus. The faculty seems like a good mix of experts from different backgrounds and areas. The admission officer explained to me that the student affairs office takes care of student life, and can offer recommendations for all sorts of matters e.g. funding, german classes, housing (really, all you can think of!) She also told me that the school regularly invites prominent speakers to come and deliver workshops/ talks (which sounds really awesome). I also asked about dual degrees, career services and study abroad semesters, etc. I am confident about the school being a high quality one, and that I will learn a lot out of it. But I'm just not sure about its reputation outside of Germany. Actually, even within Germany, no one seems to have heard of it except people who are in the field...

I didn't actually feel that it's so competitive, since I read that here, quite a lot of people have gotten into it. But just a few years back, there seems to be more rejections or acceptances without any tuition waiver.

I also hold an offer from Sciences Po and am waiting for decision from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

haha I am quarter! Do you study in Japan then? I am currently studying in Switzerland actually

Edited March 5, 2016 by haru_ko

[seaglass0025]

5 hours ago, haru_ko said:

Hi @seaglass0025! 

Yep, I visited the school when I stayed in Berlin earlier this year. Before I visited it, I asked one of my German professors his opinions about Hertie. (He's the DAAD representation at my home country, and have worked in various German universities) He highly recommended the school, and told me that he'd worked with some of the researchers/ professors there and they are all very good. So I always have this impression already that this school must be a high quality one. Comparing to other universities, the school has a small 'campus'. I mean, it's really just a building with 3 or 4 floors. They have basic facilities (e.g. a small cafeteria or more like cafe, a few small libraries, classrooms, common room for students, terrace garden that's only opened in the summer and student working places), but as a student at Hertie, you could also use facilities at public universities in Berlin, i.e. FU/ HU. The location of the school is great - quite central I'd say and very easily accessible by metro/ bus. The faculty seems like a good mix of experts from different backgrounds and areas. The admission officer explained to me that the student affairs office takes care of student life, and can offer recommendations for all sorts of matters e.g. funding, german classes, housing (really, all you can think of!) She also told me that the school regularly invites prominent speakers to come and deliver workshops/ talks (which sounds really awesome). I also asked about dual degrees, career services and study abroad semesters, etc. I am confident about the school being a high quality one, and that I will learn a lot out of it. But I'm just not sure about its reputation outside of Germany. Actually, even within Germany, no one seems to have heard of it except people who are in the field...

I didn't actually feel that it's so competitive, since I read that here, quite a lot of people have gotten into it. But just a few years back, there seems to be more rejections or acceptances without any tuition waiver.

I also hold an offer from Sciences Po and am waiting for decision from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

haha I am quarter! Do you study in Japan then? I am currently studying in Switzerland actually

Ahh seems like we have a lot of similar concerns and draws to the program! I'm curious as to how our decisions unfold, will keep you posted  

Thank you for sharing your impressions of the school, as I am not currently living in Europe, it's definitely difficult to get a good idea of what the campuses are each like! 

No, I studied undergraduate school in the U.S. (I'm American) but teaching English in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program funded by the government! It's been a wonderful 6 months so far and my Japanese is really getting good! High five, have you grown up learning the language and culture? Would be nice to have a Japanese speaking friend at grad school

[CakeTea]

Hertie's facilities as a stand alone school can't be compared with government affairs programmes in the US. It is only one building and it has smaller number of student clubs or events. Granted, as Hertie student one can use facilities (libraries, cafeteria, gym) of the other 3 large Berlin unis, but only HU is close to Hertie whereas TU/FU are in different districts. I was not too impressed by Hertie's small library, meagre online journal subscription, iffy database and opening hrs compared to my undergrad uni. The librarian explained it that its budget is smaller than larger unis. It also depends on your academic interests as Hertie has some areas of strengths (governance, European Relations) but is weaker in other areas. Hertie is mostly known among policy makers in the Berlin and Brussels Bubble, but less known to the general public in Europe. The central location is in the government/think tank/uni neigbourhood with good subway transport from (affordable) outer districts where most students live. 

I noticed the refugee crisis in Berlin as there were queues at various government offices responsible for housing and documentation. There were some collection points for donations. Some Germans also mentioned the strain on social services (housing, education and health). Just to give you a heads up as it is a difference to read about it in the media and see so many refugees in Berlin.

[haru_ko]

3 hours ago, seaglass0025 said:

Ahh seems like we have a lot of similar concerns and draws to the program! I'm curious as to how our decisions unfold, will keep you posted  

Thank you for sharing your impressions of the school, as I am not currently living in Europe, it's definitely difficult to get a good idea of what the campuses are each like! 

No, I studied undergraduate school in the U.S. (I'm American) but teaching English in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program funded by the government! It's been a wonderful 6 months so far and my Japanese is really getting good! High five, have you grown up learning the language and culture? Would be nice to have a Japanese speaking friend at grad school

I actually think I lean more towards accepting the offer from Sciences Po, but let's see how things unfold!

Yea, I grew up partially in the Japanese community so I do speak some Japanese (nowhere near fluent though!). I'm sure yours is much better, esp. when you've been living in Japan for 6 months now! Berlin doesn't have the biggest Japanese community in Germany, but I have to tell you that, when I stayed there in January, I found an amazing Ramen restaurant lol Don't know if you're into Japanese food (I guess you are, 'cause who isn't?!), but it's just amazing. You have to try it if you end up at Hertie haha

3 hours ago, CakeTea said:

Hertie's facilities as a stand alone school can't be compared with government affairs programmes in the US. It is only one building and it has smaller number of student clubs or events. Granted, as Hertie student one can use facilities (libraries, cafeteria, gym) of the other 3 large Berlin unis, but only HU is close to Hertie whereas TU/FU are in different districts. I was not too impressed by Hertie's small library, meagre online journal subscription, iffy database and opening hrs compared to my undergrad uni. The librarian explained it that its budget is smaller than larger unis. It also depends on your academic interests as Hertie has some areas of strengths (governance, European Relations) but is weaker in other areas. Hertie is mostly known among policy makers in the Berlin and Brussels Bubble, but less known to the general public in Europe. The central location is in the government/think tank/uni neigbourhood with good subway transport from (affordable) outer districts where most students live. 

I noticed the refugee crisis in Berlin as there were queues at various government offices responsible for housing and documentation. There were some collection points for donations. Some Germans also mentioned the strain on social services (housing, education and health). Just to give you a heads up as it is a difference to read about it in the media and see so many refugees in Berlin.

@CakeTea Do/ did you study at Hertie? If so, could you tell us a bit more about career prospect of students there? Is it hard to secure decent related internships in Berlin/ elsewhere in Germany/ Europe? And I read through their graduates' profiles. It seems that many of them choose to go into the business sector upon graduation, which puzzles me a little bit...since I'd like to work in international organisations/ policy research think tanks. I wonder if Hertie would really be a good choice for this.

[CakeTea]

@haru_ko: No, I am not a current student at Hertie. I just visited Hertie and did some due diligence last fall, but Hertie was not the right fit for my academic interests. I reached out to some students, spoke to officials and attended a class. I singled out some internationals about internships/jobs. It depends on your German proficiency, but it can be done. Example: An Asian student managed to intern with a German government organisation and landed a job with a think tank in Germany post graduation. Others went for IO (Brussels, World Bank) or national government gigs at home. I don't have like for like numbers of private sector employment with peers (LSE, Ox, Sciences Po and IHEID). Ox MPP strongly prefers admits with proven public sector track record/seasoning and some are government sponsored with return requirement. Hence, one does not see many private career changers at Ox. Different student demographics than Hertie. But Hertie's history may be a reason, it was founded by endowment of German retail family with support of various German corporation (see named scholarships and chairs). KPMG, Springer, Bertelsmann, BMW, LBBW and Commerzbank are sponsors and hire grads. One Hertie scholarship requires fellow to have finance background and career goal. Hertie also enrols more younger students straight out of undergrad, they may just change their mind and join the private sector in contrast to public sector professionals. I was puzzled that a stellar programme such as JHU SAIS MA sends 42% of its students to the private sector.

[seaglass0025]

On 05/03/2016 at 5:20 AM, haru_ko said:

I actually think I lean more towards accepting the offer from Sciences Po, but let's see how things unfold!

Yea, I grew up partially in the Japanese community so I do speak some Japanese (nowhere near fluent though!). I'm sure yours is much better, esp. when you've been living in Japan for 6 months now! Berlin doesn't have the biggest Japanese community in Germany, but I have to tell you that, when I stayed there in January, I found an amazing Ramen restaurant lol Don't know if you're into Japanese food (I guess you are, 'cause who isn't?!), but it's just amazing. You have to try it if you end up at Hertie haha

@CakeTea Do/ did you study at Hertie? If so, could you tell us a bit more about career prospect of students there? Is it hard to secure decent related internships in Berlin/ elsewhere in Germany/ Europe? And I read through their graduates' profiles. It seems that many of them choose to go into the business sector upon graduation, which puzzles me a little bit...since I'd like to work in international organisations/ policy research think tanks. I wonder if Hertie would really be a good choice for this.

haru_ko, that's awesome! Also applied Sciences Po but haven't heard yet! When did you apply and hear back from them? Why are you leaning more towards Sciences Po? 

I've head that Berlin is actually quite international/cosmopolitan so there are lots of different kinds of cuisines one could have for dinner. A ramen place! Ahh I was starting to worry I will be doomed without access to Japanese food next year  

On another note, I've been contacting current Hertie students and a good few of them are not fluent in German and are international (US students). From what they have said it seems like administration is really great about forwarding opportunities to its students and at the end of the day it's up to you to apply and make the effort. But the school does its part in really providing the opportunities. They seem satisfied and have mentioned it is not a struggle to find these internships and jobs.

[haru_ko]

6 hours ago, seaglass0025 said:

haru_ko, that's awesome! Also applied Sciences Po but haven't heard yet! When did you apply and hear back from them? Why are you leaning more towards Sciences Po? 

I've head that Berlin is actually quite international/cosmopolitan so there are lots of different kinds of cuisines one could have for dinner. A ramen place! Ahh I was starting to worry I will be doomed without access to Japanese food next year  

On another note, I've been contacting current Hertie students and a good few of them are not fluent in German and are international (US students). From what they have said it seems like administration is really great about forwarding opportunities to its students and at the end of the day it's up to you to apply and make the effort. But the school does its part in really providing the opportunities. They seem satisfied and have mentioned it is not a struggle to find these internships and jobs.

@seaglass0025 I applied in mid November and heard back from them in mid December. I think I really like PSIA's curriculum. It's really well-rounded and you don't only study things from your "major". There are so many choices of classes (at Hertie, it's definitely much less and their courses are not as diverse). Students have to take one thematic and one regional concentration, which allows me to explore and specialise in areas that I want to continue/ don't know much about yet. I am also more attracted to Science Po since they have a really well-equiped language centre, which offers so many different languages to choose from. To me, language is an important part, and I know it will be essential when it comes to future employment in international organisations, which I aspire to work in. At Sciences Po, I can learn 2 languages max., but at Hertie, students don't even have to learn any languages. I already speak German quite fluently (C1 level). Unfortunately, courses at Hertie are only taught in English. If they had some courses in German, I'd def. try to take them. Besides, the admission officer told me that if there are enough interests, sometimes they open German classes for students, but I think these will only be beginner courses, which are not suitable for me. In addition, I have been learning French at university on the side, and would like continue. Since Hertie doesn't offer any language classes, I'd have to pay extra outside of uni to continue any language studies...

The admission officer at Hertie also told me that they expect students to take the initiative to apply for jobs and stuff, not just to be "fed". This I totally understand. I am just concerned about the competitiveness of actually getting internship placements. 'Cause at my home university, any internship application through the university's career services is so much more competitive than applying on your own...

[haru_ko]

On 5 March, 2016 at 11:27 PM, CakeTea said:

@haru_ko: No, I am not a current student at Hertie. I just visited Hertie and did some due diligence last fall, but Hertie was not the right fit for my academic interests. I reached out to some students, spoke to officials and attended a class. I singled out some internationals about internships/jobs. It depends on your German proficiency, but it can be done. Example: An Asian student managed to intern with a German government organisation and landed a job with a think tank in Germany post graduation. Others went for IO (Brussels, World Bank) or national government gigs at home. I don't have like for like numbers of private sector employment with peers (LSE, Ox, Sciences Po and IHEID). Ox MPP strongly prefers admits with proven public sector track record/seasoning and some are government sponsored with return requirement. Hence, one does not see many private career changers at Ox. Different student demographics than Hertie. But Hertie's history may be a reason, it was founded by endowment of German retail family with support of various German corporation (see named scholarships and chairs). KPMG, Springer, Bertelsmann, BMW, LBBW and Commerzbank are sponsors and hire grads. One Hertie scholarship requires fellow to have finance background and career goal. Hertie also enrols more younger students straight out of undergrad, they may just change their mind and join the private sector in contrast to public sector professionals. I was puzzled that a stellar programme such as JHU SAIS MA sends 42% of its students to the private sector.

@CakeTea Thank you so much for the information! You seem to know a lot about Hertie  I'm surprised that an Asian student managed to intern with a German government organisation. I thought national governmental organisations normally don't hire foreigners, even for internships/ traineeships. Interesting. I'm just a bit worried that Hertie may not be for me as so many of their graduates go into private sector, and their curriculum does seem to prepare students for private sector in a way. 

[CakeTea]

To clarify, it was an agency affiliated to German government departments as main funding source. Her internship was as research analyst. i am puzzled as well as I thought that German gov organisations strong prefer Germans. Hertie has to my knowledge a corporate culture and I saw some government affairs career path (lobbying). I was concerned that due to its smaller class and faculty, Hertie offers fewer electives and policy concentrations than peers. I saw that you are admitted to Sciences Po too, chapeau!

[be409]

Wooooohoooooo, finally the wait is over!!!!! I got accepted to the MPP as well. After having heard nothing during the past weeks, I contacted the admissions office today and tadaaa, two hours later I got the mail saying I'll be in the class of 2018. What's quite surprising though, is that I didn't got accepted for the MIA (which I thought, is still inferior to the MPP). Never mind, I got my first choice and I am going crazy right now. So excited to be a part of this. I will have to wait on an answer on funding though - but I am gonna make it work somehow. I will not let this chance go away - classic YOLO. So excited to see you fellow guys later this year. Cheers!

[greyvetiver]

55 minutes ago, be409 said:

Wooooohoooooo, finally the wait is over!!!!! I got accepted to the MPP as well. After having heard nothing during the past weeks, I contacted the admissions office today and tadaaa, two hours later I got the mail saying I'll be in the class of 2018. What's quite surprising though, is that I didn't got accepted for the MIA (which I thought, is still inferior to the MPP). Never mind, I got my first choice and I am going crazy right now. So excited to be a part of this. I will have to wait on an answer on funding though - but I am gonna make it work somehow. I will not let this chance go away - classic YOLO. So excited to see you fellow guys later this year. Cheers!

Wow congrats! See you in September!

[ChocChoc]

Got in! I have to wait for funding decisions though!  . Did you get the info about the 25% tuition waiver right away together with your email of acceptance? It just because it says in my email that decisions regarding scholarships will be sent in another email. 

[seaglass0025]

6 hours ago, ChocChoc said:

Got in! I have to wait for funding decisions though!  . Did you get the info about the 25% tuition waiver right away together with your email of acceptance? It just because it says in my email that decisions regarding scholarships will be sent in another email. 

Congrats!! Like your letter explains, funding comes in a separate letter/email. It took approximately another week or less for the school to forward that information. I'm sure it won't be too long now.

Is it likely you will be attending?

[seaglass0025]

8 hours ago, be409 said:

Wooooohoooooo, finally the wait is over!!!!! I got accepted to the MPP as well. After having heard nothing during the past weeks, I contacted the admissions office today and tadaaa, two hours later I got the mail saying I'll be in the class of 2018. What's quite surprising though, is that I didn't got accepted for the MIA (which I thought, is still inferior to the MPP). Never mind, I got my first choice and I am going crazy right now. So excited to be a part of this. I will have to wait on an answer on funding though - but I am gonna make it work somehow. I will not let this chance go away - classic YOLO. So excited to see you fellow guys later this year. Cheers!

Congrats be409! You must be so relieved, bask in the glory! 

Find that odd too, thought the MIA was a newer program so easier to get into but anyway win-win for you~

[ChocChoc]

41 minutes ago, seaglass0025 said:

Congrats!! Like your letter explains, funding comes in a separate letter/email. It took approximately another week or less for the school to forward that information. I'm sure it won't be too long now.

Is it likely you will be attending?

Thank you seaglass0025! Whether it is likely for me to attend or not depends completely on the funding  When it comes to your concerns about the reputation of Hertie, I think it's been improving enormously and more and more people know about it in the field (just take a look around Grad Café).  Now, in your case, do you plan to work in the US or in Europe? I'm saying that because I heard so many times from graduates that the most valuable thing a school can offer is its network. I presume Hertie's network will be mostly in Europe and that most graduates end up working in EU countries.  

[seaglass0025]

11 minutes ago, ChocChoc said:

Thank you seaglass0025! Whether it is likely for me to attend or not depends completely on the funding  When it comes to your concerns about the reputation of Hertie, I think it's been improving enormously and more and more people know about it in the field (just take a look around Grad Café).  Now, in your case, do you plan to work in the US or in Europe? I'm saying that because I heard so many times from graduates that the most valuable thing a school can offer is its network. I presume Hertie's network will be mostly in Europe and that most graduates end up working in EU countries.  

Ahh I see, what other schools are you considering at the moment? 

Well, I eventually want to return to the US but would be open to the possibility of working abroad a few more years. That being said, the reasons why I decided not to apply to US schools are that the tuition is astronomical (often times twice as expensive) and want the international experience. 

[ChocChoc]

LSE (almost desecrated due to the price and lack of funding), College of Europe (that's very very European I don't recommend at all that you go there). Then if I manage to get funding I would like to go to HKS, or Berkeley Goldman. 

[Flou]

16 hours ago, ChocChoc said:

Thank you seaglass0025! Whether it is likely for me to attend or not depends completely on the funding  When it comes to your concerns about the reputation of Hertie, I think it's been improving enormously and more and more people know about it in the field (just take a look around Grad Café).  Now, in your case, do you plan to work in the US or in Europe? I'm saying that because I heard so many times from graduates that the most valuable thing a school can offer is its network. I presume Hertie's network will be mostly in Europe and that most graduates end up working in EU countries.  

My thoughts exactly!

I don't think that you necessarily have to attend a US School for a career in the US. However, I think it is a good idea to use the academic exchange or dual degree options to spent some time at a US School or a European Institution that is more well known if you want to work in the US. 

[ChocChoc]

i don't think it's necessary either, but I do think that networks help a lot. Even more than the brand of the school you attend. My point is: if you want to work in the US, Hertie is not going to have as much of a strong network there than most US schools.

[ChocChoc]

BTW, just heard about the funding, no scholarships for me unfortunately . Not even a waiver  

[Flou]

15 hours ago, ChocChoc said:

i don't think it's necessary either, but I do think that networks help a lot. Even more than the brand of the school you attend. My point is: if you want to work in the US, Hertie is not going to have as much of a strong network there than most US schools.

true!

Sorry to hear about the funding. At least it is not that expensive to live in Berlin compared to other european and even german cities :). Did you try the german academic exchange service? They offer a variety of scholarships.

[ChocChoc]

8 hours ago, Flou said:

true!

Sorry to hear about the funding. At least it is not that expensive to live in Berlin compared to other european and even german cities :). Did you try the german academic exchange service? They offer a variety of scholarships.

Thanks Flou. Do you mean DAAD?

[Flou]

14 hours ago, ChocChoc said:

Thanks Flou. Do you mean DAAD?

Yes