Hunter MA vs Rutgers MA Soc-Cul Anthropology

[rchd25]

Hello! So to cut a long story short, I have an undergraduate degree in an unrelated field (law) from outside the States. My work experience has largely been research but largely in law and policy. I'm looking to do a PhD in socio-cultural anthropology and my interests are around legal and political anthropology in the south asian context. I had applied for a few PhD programs this year and got rejected from all. Last year, I had applied to the MAPSS and I didn't take it up because it was turning out to be way too expensive for me. From where I stand, I feel a masters will definitely enhance my chances at a PhD considering I have no formal training in the social sciences, let alone anthropology. I have got offers from CUNY and Rutgers for an MA. There's no funding or financial assistance and I will be paying out of state tuition. I was wondering if anyone here might be familiar with either of the programs and might be willing to share their experiences, so that it helps me make a better decision.

Thank you!

[knp]

That sounds very interesting, and I bet your law background will eventually come of great use in anthropology!

But, honestly, the MA offers you have this year still sound very expensive. MAPSS costs just so much money, but it only lasts a year. Will it really cost you dramatically less to pay tuition and full living expenses at either of these schools for two years? I want things to work out for you, but I am concerned that either unfunded offer here is still a path to an unsustainable amount of debt. If you think that you can do it, though, I'd make this decision by doing a really detailed analysis of the costs of each program: beyond just tuition, to what an apartment would cost—which will be steep, as New York is the most expensive city in the country and New Brunswick is expensive, too—to whether there are any TA/RA opportunities that would be allowed on your visa and your likelihood/eligibility for getting them, to groceries, transportation, etc. Then I'd pick whichever was cheaper. If you go to whichever master's program is "worse" for your interests right now, it might have a tiny negative effect on your PhD options in your next round of applications. It won't be big. The prestige of your master's degree, if you get one, isn't a big factor in PhD admissions in this field, and especially as somebody coming from outside the field, you'll learn a lot and have a much improved application after attending whichever one you choose. But if you go to whichever master's program is more expensive, that extra debt is likely to place extra long-term constraints on you. and I don't think any tiny marginal advantage in PhD admissions would be worth it.