Applying to Munk 2017 - also NPSIA, GSPIA, BSIA etc

[justapersonwhochangednames]

8 minutes ago, SweetPotato1996 said:

Cool! I am so confused as to what to do with my life now.... I am considering all kinds of options. But I guess there's no rush (especially since this year I am finishing a four year BA after only 3 years). 

Omg take it easssssy  you'll be fine. Don't stress out about not knowing what to do. That's normal. Take your time figuring it out, read about the fields you might be interested in, etc. Life has a way of working out. 

[SweetPotato1996]

41 minutes ago, justapersonwhochangednames said:

Omg take it easssssy  you'll be fine. Don't stress out about not knowing what to do. That's normal. Take your time figuring it out, read about the fields you might be interested in, etc. Life has a way of working out. 

Thanks! This year has been incredibly stressful for me as I am finishing my undergraduate studies. I am open to all sorts of possibilities...main thing is I want to stop relying on my parents and become independent. 

[Hopeful2017]

Anyone registered for econ summer courses? 

[pixiedustxo]

On 3/24/2017 at 7:41 PM, Hopeful2017 said:

Anyone registered for econ summer courses? 

I might register with Athabasca uni. I'm thinking of registering with my university as a non-degree course, but I still need to talk to the department. How about you? 

[Hopeful2017]

11 hours ago, pixiedustxo said:

I might register with Athabasca uni. I'm thinking of registering with my university as a non-degree course, but I still need to talk to the department. How about you? 

I might just do the online micro/macro course at Carleton! 

[Hopeful2017]

Athabasca looks interesting though - is it completely online? It looks like for the macro course you need to do the exam in person! But everything else is online? 

[SweetPotato1996]

32 minutes ago, Hopeful2017 said:

Athabasca looks interesting though - is it completely online? It looks like for the macro course you need to do the exam in person! But everything else is online? 

I recently finished a course from Athabasca. Everything is online, except for a final invigilated exam. Courses are expensive though - including the final exam, I paid over $1000. 

[Hopeful2017]

2 hours ago, SweetPotato1996 said:

I recently finished a course from Athabasca. Everything is online, except for a final invigilated exam. Courses are expensive though - including the final exam, I paid over $1000. 

 

You paid 1000 just to write an exam wtf?!

[SweetPotato1996]

1 minute ago, Hopeful2017 said:

You paid 1000 just to write an exam wtf?!

Oh no! That's not what I meant, I don't remember how much the exam cost, but the entire course (including writing the exam) cost at least $1000. 

[DefeatistElitist]

20 minutes ago, SweetPotato1996 said:

Oh no! That's not what I meant, I don't remember how much the exam cost, but the entire course (including writing the exam) cost at least $1000. 

That's still insane for an online course.

[Hopeful2017]

1 hour ago, SweetPotato1996 said:

Oh no! That's not what I meant, I don't remember how much the exam cost, but the entire course (including writing the exam) cost at least $1000. 

 

Yeah, each course is like $911 - that's steep. 

Edited March 26, 2017 by Hopeful2017

[theorynerd]

Could someone post the link to the grad cafe thread discussing GSPIA v. NPSIA? I was leaning toward NPSIA, but my funding there is associated with a TAship while my Ottawa funding is not. Not sure if I'll be able to turn down the prospect of not having to work to pay for school. 

[SweetPotato1996]

7 hours ago, DefeatistElitist said:

That's still insane for an online course.

Yeah, especially since I learnt absolutely nothing from the course. Oh well, at least I got the credit. 

[SweetPotato1996]

6 hours ago, Hopeful2017 said:

Yeah, each course is like $911 - that's steep. 

And you are marked by tutors, not all of which will be good. My tutor was fine, but I've heard lots of complaints from other students about bad tutors. 

[pixiedustxo]

11 hours ago, Hopeful2017 said:

I might just do the online micro/macro course at Carleton! 

Do you have a link for more info on the micro/macro courses at Carleton? It's online right?
If you take the course, would the grade be transferred to your overall GPA? Or do they just care about what mark you get in the course?

[Hopeful2017]

7 minutes ago, pixiedustxo said:

Do you have a link for more info on the micro/macro courses at Carleton? It's online right?
If you take the course, would the grade be transferred to your overall GPA? Or do they just care about what mark you get in the course?

 

Go to the public class schedule! And no it is not counted towards your GPA - they just want a minimum B- in the course. 

[Hopeful2017]

Hey everyone,

So I'm still deciding between GSPIA and NPSIA - I think they're both great. I was wondering for your opinion. 

I really like the professors at uOttawa - my interests lie in education policy, and social policy more generally. GSPIA seems to have more professors that specialize in that area. For example, they have an Education Policy Research Initiative, that does lots interesting research in what I'm quite passionate about. If I were to choose GSPIA, I would likely do my research paper in that area and with those professors. I also like how it is public AND international affairs - so domestic and international policy making. 

My only hesitations are that the co-op opportunities seem less abundant, the mandatory French course, the somewhat daunting MRP, and its perhaps more theoretical approach? I also did my undergrad there, so I think I would be bored of the campus. 

For NPSIA, I really love its reputation, practicality, co-op opportunities and their course work option. Also, I went to the campus and it seems awesome there! I've heard good things about their faculty, but from what I've seen from the website, their backgrounds don't necessarily match my interests ( they seem more focused on conflict and security). 

I've gotten full funding from both - GSPIA 24K, NPSIA 19K. 

Can anyone give any insight? 

I have one week left to decide and I'm extremely torn. 

[NPSIA grad]

Has anyone accepted a NPSIA offer yet?

[DefeatistElitist]

3 hours ago, mchutchi said:

Has anyone accepted a NPSIA offer yet?

I formally accepted mine a few days ago.

[sonsofeasterly]

23 hours ago, Hopeful2017 said:

Can anyone give any insight?  

Some brief thoughts: 

1) It sounds like the professors who are doing exactly what you're interested in are at GSPIA, and to find a school where academics are really closely aligned with your own interests is often a struggle, so you're pretty lucky! 

2) The MRP probably isn't as daunting as you think it will be. For GSPIA's MRP, you don't need to cultivate primary sources or original data, and you can probably turn one of your seminar papers into the bones of the MRP, which will make the overall process pretty manageable. 

3) As far as reputation, here's my take: within Canada, employers looking specifically for grads with the type of coursework that both NPSIA and GSPIA offer - they're likely to view both schools as approximately equal. For employers just looking for a 'generic' MA grad, they'll likely view Carleton and UOttawa as approximately equivalent schools. Outside Canada, neither school has much name recognition (I'm working at a think-tank in DC right now that does defense/security stuff and my boss had no idea what NPSIA was when I mentioned it to him, despite the school's security-oriented faculty), so its really more what you can show employers you've done. Here, the differential access to co-op placements may matter more, but I got my current job because I wrote a really good paper that I submitted alongside my application - which brings me back to the importance of going to a school where the profs are doing work you're interested in.

Plus GSPIA is giving you (a bit) more money, which never hurts. 

[Hopeful2017]

24 minutes ago, sonsofeasterly said:

Some brief thoughts: 

1) It sounds like the professors who are doing exactly what you're interested in are at GSPIA, and to find a school where academics are really closely aligned with your own interests is often a struggle, so you're pretty lucky! 

2) The MRP probably isn't as daunting as you think it will be. For GSPIA's MRP, you don't need to cultivate primary sources or original data, and you can probably turn one of your seminar papers into the bones of the MRP, which will make the overall process pretty manageable. 

3) As far as reputation, here's my take: within Canada, employers looking specifically for grads with the type of coursework that both NPSIA and GSPIA offer - they're likely to view both schools as approximately equal. For employers just looking for a 'generic' MA grad, they'll likely view Carleton and UOttawa as approximately equivalent schools. Outside Canada, neither school has much name recognition (I'm working at a think-tank in DC right now that does defense/security stuff and my boss had no idea what NPSIA was when I mentioned it to him, despite the school's security-oriented faculty), so its really more what you can show employers you've done. Here, the differential access to co-op placements may matter more, but I got my current job because I wrote a really good paper that I submitted alongside my application - which brings me back to the importance of going to a school where the profs are doing work you're interested in.

Plus GSPIA is giving you (a bit) more money, which never hurts. 

 

Thank you!!!!!!! I appreciate the response, you made lots of good points  

[Rmz]

Hi everyone, I applied to NPSIA, GSPIA and MPPA. I have not received a response yet. My profile on GSPIA is under evaluation. NPSIA AND MPPA is recommended for assessment. Do you guys have any idea when I would hear back from the universities? 

[Nupur11]

7 hours ago, Rmz said:

Hi everyone, I applied to NPSIA, GSPIA and MPPA. I have not received a response yet. My profile on GSPIA is under evaluation. NPSIA AND MPPA is recommended for assessment. Do you guys have any idea when I would hear back from the universities? 

Same boat. I had emailed API they said,  you will hear back from GSPIA anytime from first week to mid April, as for NPSIA my application is "recommended for assesment ", I think maybe another 2 weeks because there is another stage "Something by faculty..." until a decision is made. 

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by Nupur11

[PoliticalNerd2017]

17 hours ago, sonsofeasterly said:

Some brief thoughts: 

1) It sounds like the professors who are doing exactly what you're interested in are at GSPIA, and to find a school where academics are really closely aligned with your own interests is often a struggle, so you're pretty lucky! 

2) The MRP probably isn't as daunting as you think it will be. For GSPIA's MRP, you don't need to cultivate primary sources or original data, and you can probably turn one of your seminar papers into the bones of the MRP, which will make the overall process pretty manageable. 

3) As far as reputation, here's my take: within Canada, employers looking specifically for grads with the type of coursework that both NPSIA and GSPIA offer - they're likely to view both schools as approximately equal. For employers just looking for a 'generic' MA grad, they'll likely view Carleton and UOttawa as approximately equivalent schools. Outside Canada, neither school has much name recognition (I'm working at a think-tank in DC right now that does defense/security stuff and my boss had no idea what NPSIA was when I mentioned it to him, despite the school's security-oriented faculty), so its really more what you can show employers you've done. Here, the differential access to co-op placements may matter more, but I got my current job because I wrote a really good paper that I submitted alongside my application - which brings me back to the importance of going to a school where the profs are doing work you're interested in.

Plus GSPIA is giving you (a bit) more money, which never hurts. 

I'm in the exact same boat with the GSPIA profs being a big selling point for me and having received more funding from GSPIA. Thanks for that perspective. I've been leaning towards NPSIA for the reasons such as the mandatory grad level French course at GSPIA, name prestige of NPSIA and the coursework option but my gut is telling me to go with GSPIA. 

[sonsofeasterly]

57 minutes ago, PoliticalNerd2017 said:

I'm in the exact same boat with the GSPIA profs being a big selling point for me and having received more funding from GSPIA. Thanks for that perspective. I've been leaning towards NPSIA for the reasons such as the mandatory grad level French course at GSPIA

Yeah, the grad course in French is enough to make me happy I didn't apply to GSPIA. NPSIA's path to language proficiency is a little more palatable.  

Edited March 28, 2017 by sonsofeasterly
Grammar