Help: Are international joint degrees worth it?

[Student007]

Hello, all!

I'm currently an IR grad student at an APSIA school outside the US. As an American, I didn't really want to pay exorbitant tuition fees for a graduate program when I can gain international experience at a lower cost to boot with my masters abroad. I'll be finishing my requirements in the middle of this year, but I have the option of continuing my studies for another year at a top 10 FP school to gain a dual degree in IR. So, basically, I'll have 2 IR degrees from abroad and in the US.

My concern is this: For my IR degree here, I basically paid roughly ~$10k/year for my 2 year program. The partner institution will rake me about ~$37k/year for a 1 year continuation of my program. That's almost 4x the price of my degree here.

Is it worth having 2 IR degrees--from one being abroad with most likely very, very, very little name recognition and from one being a top 10 FP school?

I'm afraid of being viewed as a "degree collector", which is not really my intention. I just feel that the US school would help me get my foot in the door. To be honest, my current school isn't really doing much for networking as they leave us to fend for ourselves. I should also add that I'm not completely solid about staying in the US for work and would be very open--maybe even prefer--to working abroad.

[panameboss]

What are the schools?

[Student007]

4 hours ago, panameboss said:

What are the schools?

Sorry, I'm really trying to avoid mentioning them as I am 100% I would be identifiable if I reveal them.