Fordham IPED 2016

[kasbah]

I'm in at the Fordham IPED program with a Coverdell fellowship. Did anyone else on this board apply? 

[KodiH]

Congratulations! Yes, I too was offered admissions to the IPED program with a Coverdell Fellowship, which I can say with 99% certainty that I will accept. Where did you complete your service in the Peace Corps?

[KodiH]

I was a TEFL instructor on the coast of Madagscar. It's great to hear that the IPED program offers a few Coverdell Fellowships every academic year and that Fordham has a RPCV community (this is what drew me towards American U.) . I as well applied for American's SIS (accepted w/Coverdell), and George Washington U. ESIA (accepted, waiting to hear on funding).

Have you fully committed to Fordham's offer or are you still weighing your options as well?

Also, I have a friend who is currently serving as a PC volunteer in Morocco! Seems like a wonderful place for service! When did you officially COS?

Edited March 16, 2016 by KodiH
Additional info

[kasbah]

I'm still weighing my options. The other two I'm really considering -- unless GWU comes through with an amazing funding package -- are Fletcher (I feel like the program is probably the best fit for me) and CMU Heinz (I got a 100% tuition waiver there as well). 

I really like the IPED program and the fact that it's in NYC. I worry about the name recognition, though. Will a degree from Fordham go as far as one from a "bigger name" school? 

[Jliw]

I'm in! Wait listed for funding though which is a bummer. 

Edited March 16, 2016 by Jliw

[liya]

Hey everyone! I also got in, but I'm with Fulbright, so not sure in which university I'll be placed. But as for now - very excited about the possibility to attend

[Grad Decision 2016]

Hello all,

Congrats guys! I also received a funding offer with a Public Service Fellowship. I am interested in focusing my studies on the former Soviet Union and Central Asia. I am an RPCV and still living in Kyrgyzstan currently, but will be back in the US by the summer. If UM-Ann Arbor offers more funding (I was offered 1/3 tuition reduction, and am on the waitlist for the FLAS Fellowship as well) I think I'll head there simply because of their Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

I really like the quantitative focus of the IPED program at Fordham however, and the fact that it's an easier route to do a dual with an economics degree. Plus, Fordham seems to always get a lot of RPCVs ( @KodiH @kasbah!) so it will feel like coming home!

Does anyone know more about the opportunities at Fordham to focus studies on particular regions of the world?

@liya - Your location says "Russia." Are you a Russian citizen? Congrats on the Fulbright! Maybe we'll see each other in NYC!

[liya]

@Grad Decision 2016 I'm a Russian citizen. And thanks - fingers crossed I'll end up in Fordham, and if UofM won't work out - see you in NYC too!

As I see you are interested in the former USSR region - do you speak any of the region's languages? 

I also would love to focus on the region (MENA), but just looked through the course catalog and they don't have anything region particular (only found politics of Middle East). But they offer a variety of languages and language immersion programs, so maybe its possible to take some courses outside of the program and make up your own specialization  

[Grad Decision 2016]

@liya I'd like to focus on Central Asia - I speak intermediate Kyrgyz, and am currently taking intensive Russian tutoring courses so hope to get up to intermediate Russian by the summer. I believe the IPED program allows for students to audit language courses, but I'll have to verify. The plan would be to continue taking Russian through 2 years at Fordham, and apply for a Boren Fellowship for Russia/Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan to do a year after IPD. I think I would try to do the dual IPED/Econ at Fordham, so I'm not sure how much extra space there will be for courses in history/other politics. That's another question I need to ask my potential advisor.

I was offered a FLAS Fellowship at UW-Madison to study Kazakh next year, but I think if I can make Russian work somewhere I'd rather focus more intensely on that since it's obviously applicable across most of CA/EE.

The other thing about NYC though is the very large Kyrgyz expat population. It would be fun to make friends there!

What other schools have you been accepted to? What criteria does Fulbright use in making a selection for you? And, where in Russia are you from? I really wanted to get a visa to visit this May/June, but it would be expensive, onerous, and from other recent attempts, looks like westerners are being denied who are applying here in Kyrgyzstan. I have an application pending to visit Uzbekistan, and then I think I'll head over to Ukraine instead.

 

[liya]

@Grad Decision 2016 a little off-topic - but you should watch a  Kyrgyz movie "Salam, New York" if you still haven't seen it - not a great acting but a very touching story. 

As for acceptance, I don't even know schools where my application has been sent in - IIE in NYC was sending them out to schools based on my scores and etc, but they don't inform Russian Fulbright applicants on that, and we only know the final placement (probably their final decision is made based on the best fit & funding). I've also had an interview with Bush school in Texas A&M, but don't feel like its a good fit for me. 

Russian visa process is a painful one, the same as American visa process for us  But Ukraine will be the easiest to visit for you without any visa problems. I'm from Kazan (little eastern from Moscow), but spent my undegrad years in Moscow. If you have a chance, time and money - Moscow is for sure a place to see!

[Grad Decision 2016]

@liya I have seen Salam, New York! I watched it with my landlord's kids and spent the movie explaining to them why getting on a plane for the US with no plan is a bad idea, haha. Well, it worked out for him in the end. I really like the movie's hit song by Kanykei - she's one of my favs.

It sounds like you've made it through the visa process already which is I'm sure a big relief--congrats! As I understand it, Ukraine is 90 day visa free for Americans. I want to make it to the Black Sea as well. Was hoping maybe to see Crimea, but, Putin got to the best beaches first...

Kazan - I've read that there are (or were) a lot of Tatar Mosques there, correct? I'll add it to my list of places to visit when I'm able to get a visa someday!

 

[liya]

@Grad Decision 2016 you should visit Odessa than or go to Georgia - beautiful country and Black See shore near Batumi.

And you've heard right, Kazan is one of the biggest Muslim centers in Russia, so if you get a chance to visit Russia, its a nice place to include on your travel list too (sorry for spam, everyone!)

 

[KodiH]

Hey, has anyone submitted their admissions deposit? I plan on doing so in the coming week. I'm very excited to attend this fall and meeting all of the other incoming IPED students!

[Grad Decision 2016]

Hello @KodiH and @kasbah - congrats to both of you on the Coverdell Fellowships! I too am an RPCV (COSed June 2015 but am still living in Kyrgyzstan). I found out about Fordham initially because of Coverdell and applied for such, but ended up with a Public Service Assistantship offer which is also a huge blessing. KodiH - did you commit to Fordham then? I'm also heavily leaning Fordham but am waiting to see if the Ford School at the University of Michigan will reconsider funding. U of M has a Center for Russian and Eurasian studies which makes it quite attractive for my particular interests.

That being said, I really like Fordham because of the quantitative component. There we'll be able to gain the skills to work as economists and do cost-benefit analyses and statistical inference on issues relevant to pretty much any organization, government or business anywhere doing development work. I believe this is a huge advantage of the IPED program (and the second MA in Economics with only 1-2 extra semesters of work) over some other programs that focus more on policy. In fact, the relative strengths of other MPP or MPA or "development" programs at the other big name schools we've applied to are that they boast a stronger focus on analytical skills. We've already got that here at Fordham.

What do you guys think? What drew you to Fordham? Has anyone else committed yet?