International Affairs rankings

[went_away]

On 3/31/2019 at 5:41 AM, Kyilah said:

I have to decided between Georgetown’s MSFS with 40% of the tuition paid or NYU’s MA in international affairs with a full ride. I’m very conflicted. I hope to work in international security; most likely with a think tank or within the government. I also plan to pursue a PhD after 2 years of working. Which is the better offer?

There is zero doubt NYU is the better offer. None.

[went_away]

On 3/31/2019 at 12:59 PM, Yixuan5511 said:

Can you elaborate a bit more on your point on HKS? What do you mean by not enough of their grads focused on international affairs vs domestic policy? So instead they mostly focus on thematic areas? Just curious. 

It's just a different kind of degree with a different student demographic. If you go to a happy hour with Fletcher/SIPA/Kennedy grads, the difference becomes clear pretty quick (Kennedy kids focused on domestic policy not so much international).For whatever it's worth, most Kennedy grads I've met tend to be in much better jobs than grads from those other 2 schools (they also tend to have an insecurity/chip on the shoulder issue that seems to stem from their dramatically lower social prestige status than Harvard undergrads and MBAs, but that's another story).

Edited April 2, 2019 by went_away

[Spurs]

@went_away Where would you rank Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs on that list? It's a new program, but it seems to give everyone who gets in a full-ride.

[went_away]

12 hours ago, Spurs said:

@went_away Where would you rank Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs on that list? It's a new program, but it seems to give everyone who gets in a full-ride.

No clue. Probably somewhere below NYU and somewhere above Virginia Tech (I'd probably put NYU at or a little below the Elliot School's ranking). A full tuition scholarship would of course significantly alter the calculation for an accepted student.

Edited April 3, 2019 by went_away

[TuDream]

22 hours ago, went_away said:

It's just a different kind of degree with a different student demographic. If you go to a happy hour with Fletcher/SIPA/Kennedy grads, the difference becomes clear pretty quick (Kennedy kids focused on domestic policy not so much international).For whatever it's worth, most Kennedy grads I've met tend to be in much better jobs than grads from those other 2 schools (they also tend to have an insecurity/chip on the shoulder issue that seems to stem from their dramatically lower social prestige status than Harvard undergrads and MBAs, but that's another story).

Can you please elaborate this "another story" please. I had a hard time deciding if I should go for MPAID at Kennedy (0$)

[went_away]

7 hours ago, TuDream said:

Can you please elaborate this "another story" please. I had a hard time deciding if I should go for MPAID at Kennedy (0$)

I don't really have anything else to add other than you should probably go somewhere else for school on a full tuition scholarship unless you're quite certain that Kennedy will land you an engagement manager position at Mckinsey/Bain (i.e. paying in excess of $150k annual straight out of school). Of course, if your family is rich and generous none of my analysis matters.

[Yixuan5511]

On 4/3/2019 at 12:24 AM, went_away said:

It's just a different kind of degree with a different student demographic. If you go to a happy hour with Fletcher/SIPA/Kennedy grads, the difference becomes clear pretty quick (Kennedy kids focused on domestic policy not so much international).For whatever it's worth, most Kennedy grads I've met tend to be in much better jobs than grads from those other 2 schools (they also tend to have an insecurity/chip on the shoulder issue that seems to stem from their dramatically lower social prestige status than Harvard undergrads and MBAs, but that's another story).

I see. I want to focus on international affairs, particularly on post-crisis political development/governance with more of a focus on gender. Kennedy offered me a full scholarship for MPP. It's the best deal (better than what SIPA and Fletcher offered) I got so I guess I should still go for it? Kind of regretting not applying to WWS.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Yixuan5511

[somewhatslightlydazed]

2 hours ago, Yixuan5511 said:

I see. I want to focus on international affairs, particularly on post-crisis political development/governance with more of a focus on gender. Kennedy offered me a full scholarship for MPP. It's the best deal (better than what SIPA and Fletcher offered) I got so I guess I should still go for it? Kind of regretting not applying to WWS.

Congrats on the Kennedy scholarship! I also got significantly more money from HKS and WWS than I did from SAIS or SIPA, so I'm deciding between those two even though they don't have as much of an international focus as the others I applied to (that I originally liked better). There are still a ton of internationally-focused classes, you're just surrounded by proportionately more domestic-focused students, which I don't think is necessarily a negative. There are certainly benefits to going to an IR-focused school rather than a school focusing on public policy in general, but IMO following the money is almost always the way to go. 

[went_away]

4 hours ago, Yixuan5511 said:

I see. I want to focus on international affairs, particularly on post-crisis political development/governance with more of a focus on gender. Kennedy offered me a full scholarship for MPP. It's the best deal (better than what SIPA and Fletcher offered) I got so I guess I should still go for it? Kind of regretting not applying to WWS.

Number one, Kennedy is a better school than Fletcher or SIPA in terms of professional outcomes and prestige. Number two, they offered you more money. There's zero question of where you should go. You will have plenty of opportunities to develop an international focus while at Kennedy and I would also recommend you cross-register for a couple Fletcher classes. Enjoy!

[went_away]

8 hours ago, dearte said:

Maybe I missed it but could went_away explain how it knows so much about other policy programs and why it should be trusted as an authority (and rater) of policy programs in the U.S.?  The supposed degree of knowledge/insight seems far beyond what any random applicant/student would ever know about a program (or a slate of programs).  So, please share why and how you know so much about these programs, went_away?  Please also provide data since one can assume you used a rigorous process to review this limited slate of programs.  

My original post lays out the sources I considered. Do you disagree with the ranking or any particular school or do just believe it's not possible to rank them at all? If the former, give us your opinion and supporting evidence. If the latter you'll need to consult a professor of epistemic uncertainty. 

[Leznver]

Any additional thoughts or comments on Elliot's program? 

[went_away]

On 4/19/2019 at 1:09 AM, Leznver said:

Any additional thoughts or comments on Elliot's program? 

I would say it's solidly at the bottom of the top tier and competes on price, schedule (evening classes), location, and wide availability of classes. Weak points are student quality and career outcomes. It's a sort of you get what you make of it program. I will also say I have hired some of their professors for teaching gigs and been quite impressed with their academic quality.