Applying to NPSIA for 2018

[alexma63]

On 3/15/2018 at 11:32 AM, LoopyLex said:

You have the option of taking classes outside of NPSIA as well, if you're interested in some of the EURUS stuff. Quite a few NPSIA classes are European orientated as well!

That would be economics of conflict, which I unfortunately haven't heard too much about. It seems right now the econ for defense and security is the most difficult (he likes to throw math at us) while the others are a bit more basic in their math load and more theory based. Just about all of us history/poli/psyc/english folks get through it though, it just takes more commitment if you're shooting for a higher grade.

There are load of international opportunities. A few of my friends went to Japan for a week or so (fully paid for) through an amazing program here. There's some UN internships they're pushing on us right now, as well as I believe some sort of Taiwan thing going on? Honestly, it all starts to become a muddled mess because we get SO MANY E-MAILS about various opportunities. I don't know anyone personally who's done an exchange, just because of the commitment to organizing that while also trying to do co-op/research paper/thesis can be difficult. Most people try to take advantage for the shorter international opportunities. Although, interestingly enough, there was a co-op position in Madrid this year working out of an embassy! So you can sort of double up co-op with international experience if you get lucky.

It seems NPSIA still inches ahead over GPSIA when it comes to jobs. A few students were discussing the other day how their employers told them that they actively seek out NPSIA students over others. If you're looking for work in the federal government, I really don't think any other program compares. The alumni network is just so huge, and people recognize the program as quality that it gives us a leg up over GPSIA who is just now getting really into the co-op game.

@LoopyLex thanks for the information, it is really helpful for my decision making process. 

I know that GPSIA has a wide range of embassy placements available to their students... do a lot of students end up being able to take up these opportunities?

One other question I have is the format of the program itself. I know NPSIA is 2 years long but I was wondering if I might have the summers off or is it likely that I will be working during that time? 

 

Thanks again! 

[LoopyLex]

2 hours ago, alexma63 said:

@LoopyLex thanks for the information, it is really helpful for my decision making process. 

I know that GPSIA has a wide range of embassy placements available to their students... do a lot of students end up being able to take up these opportunities?

One other question I have is the format of the program itself. I know NPSIA is 2 years long but I was wondering if I might have the summers off or is it likely that I will be working during that time? 

 

Thanks again! 

I can't really speak to GPSIA opportunities. It looks like that program involves unpaid internships with some financial support from what I've read. NPSIA usually has one or two paid positions at embassies pop up per semester (there were two in Spain for this summer that required applicants speak fluent Spanish), but no specific internship program for embassy work. There is an internship program you can take advantage of in the winter of your first year though, and the placements vary all over Ottawa. Some are within the federal government, others with corporations, and some with not for profits.

NPSIA is set up so students have 6 semester to complete your degree. If you take co-op, you get an extra semester added (so a max of 8 semester to complete your degree). Typically, most students do their first co-op in their third semester (summer of their first year). You can choose to have summers off though, and do co-op in the fall/winter of the next year, take classes in the following summer/fall and graduate at the end of the fall. Basically, there's a lot of flexibility in how you can complete the program. I do recommend doing co-op over the summer though, since funding can get a little weird if you do co-op over the fall/winter instead (in terms of part-time and having to push TA positions back).

[Ronnieb]

For those of us who have to take ECON 1000 in the summer, does anyone know when we have to register for the courses? Are the exams in class/on campus, or can they be done through distance education? 

[sunshine18]

1 hour ago, Ronnieb said:

For those of us who have to take ECON 1000 in the summer, does anyone know when we have to register for the courses? Are the exams in class/on campus, or can they be done through distance education? 

Are you planning on taking the course with Carleton or another avenue?

[Ronnieb]

1 hour ago, sunshine18 said:

Are you planning on taking the course with Carleton or another avenue?

I'm planning on taking it through Carleton, I don't know if that's the easiest way to do it or not though? I was just reading and if I take it through Carleton and I can't be in class for the exams I have to get a proctor to watch when I write the exam. I just don't know how registration works. 

[sunshine18]

18 minutes ago, Ronnieb said:

I'm planning on taking it through Carleton, I don't know if that's the easiest way to do it or not though? I was just reading and if I take it through Carleton and I can't be in class for the exams I have to get a proctor to watch when I write the exam. I just don't know how registration works. 

I was thinking of Carleton too. I've read mixed things about the Carleton course though. Apparently its really difficult and it's harder than the Athabasca course.

[Ronnieb]

1 hour ago, sunshine18 said:

I was thinking of Carleton too. I've read mixed things about the Carleton course though. Apparently its really difficult and it's harder than the Athabasca course.

It just seems like an easier route to go through Carleton. I took micro and macro in first year and didn't really try very hard, and I got a 60 in both. I read somewhere that registration starts on the 22nd of March for Carleton but I could be wrong! 

[moeinika]

Hey guys! Join the Facebook group for incoming NPSIA students for this fall: https://www.facebook.com/groups/388904091576257/

[Chuupa]

Among those who got into GSPIA, do you know if there's a group ? I cannot find anything on facebook and I think it's pretty weird... 

Edited March 20, 2018 by Chuupa

[Sagnik_G]

Anyone have any updates on second round offers? This whole strike thing seems to only be getting worse each day and now major politicians are getting involved. Don't know when a decision (good or bad) will even be made at this point and being left hanging is the worst...

[limbsun]

@Chuupa don't think so, we should prolly make one? 

[Chuupa]

@limbsun You've decided on GSPIA, then ? I went to the open house this weekend and the faculty is absolutely beautiful, I could really picture myself there haha !

Yeah, I think we should make one ? It's a nice way of getting to know everyone  ^^

[jasper28]

@LoopyLex I was just reading your comment about international opportunities and am really curious to learn more as the only information I can find on the website is related to international exchanges. Would you be able to elaborate a bit on some of the short term opportunities you mentioned? Or would you possibly know where one could find more information about these? Thanks!! 

[Flyflyaway]

those who are taking econ at carleton this summer, are you planing on doing the online course or the in-class? I live in ottawa so would be able to do either, does anyone have any suggestions? 

one is with Prof. Brian Glabb and the other is with Prof. Troy Joseph if anyone had taken with either of these profs

Edited March 21, 2018 by Flyflyaway

[Investigate311]

On 3/1/2018 at 4:43 AM, Flyflyaway said:

just joining in now (I've been lurking for a few days) 

I received an unofficial offer last week to npsia, my first choice is IOGP. my specialization hasn't been updated on carleton central. npsia is my first choice, but a few days ago I got into the MPPA at Carleton with almost full funding for the 2 years, and now am torn... I have till the 19th to accept, do you guys think we'll receive our official offers before then? I'm still thinking npsia regardless, i think? is there anyone here in the mppa program at carleton that could shed some light on their experience? or anyone that knows about the program?

 

also, congrats on everyones various acceptances and I'm crossing my fingers for those who have yet to hear!

Yo dawg, you still deciding?

[sunshine18]

1 hour ago, Flyflyaway said:

those who are taking econ at carleton this summer, are you planing on doing the online course or the in-class? I live in ottawa so would be able to do either, does anyone have any suggestions? 

one is with Prof. Brian Glabb and the other is with Prof. Troy Joseph if anyone had taken with either of these profs

I am taking the online one because I live near Toronto. 

[spadeofhearts]

Just accepted my offer to NPSIA after much comparison with Munk! 

Hope to see a lot of you in the fall.

If anyone has taken the Athabasca economics courses, can they comment on how they found them? 

 

[LoopyLex]

5 hours ago, jasper28 said:

@LoopyLex I was just reading your comment about international opportunities and am really curious to learn more as the only information I can find on the website is related to international exchanges. Would you be able to elaborate a bit on some of the short term opportunities you mentioned? Or would you possibly know where one could find more information about these? Thanks!! 

These can be hard to predict year by year, so not all of them have online info (some of these we just get pdfs to apply for!) Basically, every year different organizations get in touch with NPSIA and ask for students to apply to their programs. This year, there was a (fully paid) trip to Japan for a week in December, a 4-5 day (cheap) trip down to Washington to participate in some IR events, a week long leadership conference in the UK and another for two weeks in Thailand (or somewhere near there, I don't quite remember, nor how much it cost or if it was covered). Many of these opportunities aren't specifically limited to NPSIA students, but we get them forwarded to us by the admin staff from those who organize these events because they know NPSIA produces some great students. So we get a bit of a leg up over the general competition due to the name of the program.  

Here's the website on the UK trip: https://www.britishcouncil.org/future-leaders-connect.

And that 6 month UN internship I believe I mentioned before: http://unac.org/unac-projects/international-internships/

Basically, we get e-mails every day alerting us to opportunities sent in by professors, fellow students, or alumni. So different opportunities pop up all the time every year.

[JackFr]

I'm choosing Munk instead so hope one of you guys gets some good news in the next few days!

 

[Flyflyaway]

13 hours ago, Investigate311 said:

Yo dawg, you still deciding?

i chose Npsia! haven't accepted yet, but the deadline for the MPPA has passed and i couldn't get any response when i emailed/called asking for an extension- I'm sure its because of the strike. I think it was a blessing though because it made me make a decision rather than thinking about if for another 2/3 weeks....

13 hours ago, sunshine18 said:

I am taking the online one because I live near Toronto. 

i'm pretty sure i'll do the same,  just because the in class is from 4:30-5:30 then 6-9 and i don't do well with night classes... i think ill find the econ hard enough as it is...

[limbsun]

On 3/20/2018 at 8:48 PM, Chuupa said:

@limbsun You've decided on GSPIA, then ? I went to the open house this weekend and the faculty is absolutely beautiful, I could really picture myself there haha !

Yeah, I think we should make one ? It's a nice way of getting to know everyone  ^^

If I was near Ottawa I would have gone to the open house as well. Glad to know that you loved it! Now I am getting excited as well. Yes, I have decided on GSPIA since I got waitlisted from Munk and haven't heard back from two programs at Waterloo.. 

[jasper28]

@LoopyLex thanks for the reply, it sounds like there are a lot of cool opportunities!  

This may be a bit of a strange question, but I am curious to know what the final exam format is during a Masters (specifically with NPSIA). Is it similar to undergrad where you can have a final exam or a take home due on a specific day during the exam period? Or is it always a take home type of exam or something completely different? 

ETA: What I am trying to figure out is whether or not Grad students are restricted to the same exam period as undergrads! 

Edited March 22, 2018 by jasper28

[Chuupa]

So ! I created a group for those who got in GSPIA

Feel free to join ! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1748453535210917/?source=create_flow

[LoopyLex]

On 22/03/2018 at 7:27 PM, jasper28 said:

@LoopyLex thanks for the reply, it sounds like there are a lot of cool opportunities!  

This may be a bit of a strange question, but I am curious to know what the final exam format is during a Masters (specifically with NPSIA). Is it similar to undergrad where you can have a final exam or a take home due on a specific day during the exam period? Or is it always a take home type of exam or something completely different? 

ETA: What I am trying to figure out is whether or not Grad students are restricted to the same exam period as undergrads! 

This is entirely dependent on the class. Most classes (if they have exams) schedule them for the last day of the class rather than during exam period. Some have take home exams that have to be handed in my the end of the exam period. A few will just schedule exams on their own during the exam period. Most classes don't have exams at all, except for the required classes which seem to like them more due to larger class sizes (we had a take home exam for law, no exam for statistics, a multiple choice in-class final for research methods, and an in-class multiple-choice / short answer for policy). Most of the economics classes also have final exams, but these vary by format and when they are scheduled.

[Delidas]

Well, after deep rumination and careful consideration, I've decided to accept my offer to NPSIA. At long last, I've emerged on the other side of the postgraduate application process!

It was a really tough choice (I'm still not 100% sure of how I feel about it), but toward the end I really found myself weighing Carleton's program against IHEID's city. Obviously, I had to go with the program that I felt was a better fit - that and the one most likely to net me a job (I hear those are nice). So, NPSIA it is. 

I haven't been keeping up with this thread in the past little while, so congrats to everyone else who has since received offers. For all of you NPSIA folks, it looks like you're stuck with me for the next two years. For those of you going to GSPIA, I'm sure you're all in for a great time, too. When we're all in Ottawa next fall, we should get together for a beer. I'm sure there are plenty of fine bars halfway between our respective campuses!