Funded Masters

[lelick1234]

Hello Folks, 

I am exploring the prospect of a career in government affairs.  I need my graduate degree, probably a Master's, to be mostly funded.  What institutions would you suggest?

Undergraduate GPA (History): 3.89
GRE Verbal: 89 percentile
GRE Quant: Unspeakably low (did not prepare)
GRE Analytical Writing: 4.5 

--Leo

[irapplicant1776]

You might want to consider retaking the GRE to raise your quant score. Study for a month, retake, get a higher score, and you'll have a much better chance of getting funded. The GRE is often one of the ways they decide who gets what fellowship. Also, you haven't told us what work experience you have.

[kaseyleigh]

Yes, I have no idea about your chances of getting in based on your background/whether you could retake the GRE and all of that, but Princeton WWS is the program that jumps to mind.

[lelick1234]

Hi, 

I forgot to mention.  I worked as a history teacher at an American school in Egypt for four years.  I have about two years of Arabic under my belt and am looking to at least become proficient in that language in both spoken and written forms.  I cannot afford to pay for my Master's degree.  I think my GRE scores are about six years old anyways so I will have to take them over anyways.  I was looking at a program that allows me to specialize in the Middle East since I have real-world experience in that region.  

--Leo. 

[coasts]

I think there are certain schools known for being generous with aid, but of course, there's no guarantee for getting an award/scholarship or the size of it (besides WWS, but for WWS, you have to get in!). 

Some schools that seem like they offer substantial funding include UT-Austin LBJ, Duke Sanford, Carnegie Mellon Heinz, UW-Madison La Follette, USC Price. You can also search through past "results" threads to get a sense for what kind of funding admits have received. 

[goforthegold]

Do consider your state university. In-state tuition can sometimes be the next best thing after a fully funded program elsewhere.

[lelick1234]

UCLA is the closest to where I live.  Does it have a competitive reputation? 

1 hour ago, goforthegold said:

Do consider your state university. In-state tuition can sometimes be the next best thing after a fully funded program elsewhere.

 

[irapplicant1776]

24 minutes ago, lelick1234 said:

UCLA is the closest to where I live.  Does it have a competitive reputation? 

 

UCSD 13th, UC-Berkeley 17th, UCLA unranked. Don't know if any of these programs are known for being good for Middle East studies. Obviously these rankings aren't the end-all-be-all of reputation, but they're a good starting point. 

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/?page=full

Edited March 21, 2016 by irapplicant1776

[goforthegold]

10 hours ago, lelick1234 said:

UCLA is the closest to where I live.  Does it have a competitive reputation? 

 

You may also want to consider moving to the state with your preferred state university and establishing residency there (if the timeline works for you). All things considered, it may be worth it.