|
 |
A general note on graduate schools,
for Macalester College International Studies
majors, I.S. graduates, and others
Prof. David Chioni Moore, April 2002
mooredc@macalester.edu
Over the years I have received many questions on graduate schools from my Macalester students and alumni. This brief note summarizes my general views on the subject. I'd be glad to consult with you on specific issues as well.
First, it is likely but by no means obligatory that Mac graduates will receive a graduate degree within the first 5-8 years after graduation. More and more these days, a graduate degree (MA, MBA, MPH (Public Health), MIA (International Affairs), JD, MD, PhD, etc.) is seen as the basic professional qualification in most serious fields. To be sure, many people have superb and rewarding careers without such degrees, but this is less and less the case.
When to go? Typically but not always, Macalester students get 1-3 years of concrete field experience before returning to graduate school. This is especially important in "hands-on" fields. Most of the best MIA and MBA programs, for example, will not even read applications from those coming straight out of an undergraduate degree. But the main thing is to go when you are ready. Only you will know when that is.
Once you have chosen a particular field or degree, you've got to choose the specific schools themselves. When choosing schools, keep in mind that in a real way prestige can count as much as exact fit. In many ways the key to graduate school (and investment) choice is the somewhat mercenary "what will the concrete and practical result be for me?" What sort of job placement, alumni network, and credential cachet will this school offer me, and in which communities? Graduate school is a financial and career decision much more than your undergraduate decision was. You must ask: where - to what broad range of places - can this school get me, and at what price, and is that where I eventually want to be?
Let me say a quick word about several types of degree. This is not a discussion of every type of graduate degree - there are hundreds - but it does encompass most of the major flavors.
The Masters in International Affairs is a common destination for International Studies majors. It goes by many names, including Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, Masters of Public Management, Masters in International Relations, etc. The MIA is classic for those intending careers in development, non-governmental aid, diplomacy, international affairs, trade, and related fields. I offer more extensive commentary on the main schools and options below.
Many students pursue the MIA because they wish to "do the right thing" or fight the good fight. However, two other, more classic degrees, which progressive students usually shun, thinking they are too "establishment" or "corporate," can also be very effective in facilitating the right thing.
The first is the JD, or Juris Doctor - the law degree. As a colleague once said, "with a general Masters you can write a letter, but with a JD you can stop them cold in court." A JD can be useful for international or domestic work, and enjoys wide recognition. There are a broad range of schools available, with different flavors and often with progressive tracks. It takes three years, and financial aid is possible but not abundant.
The second is the MBA, or Masters in Business Administration. Not long ago a former student - one of Mac's most famous recent activists, who is now really fighting the good fight in a profoundly international way - came to me and marveled that for all the political theory she'd taken at Macalester, what she really needed to know at a crisis point in her organization was accounting. No organization can be effective if badly financed or badly run. The MBA is a "hard-headed" degree which has wide respect for its practicality, even among progressive organizations. As with the JD, an MBA can be useful for international or domestic work. There are a broad range of schools available, with different flavors, and sometimes (only sometimes) with progressive tracks. MBA students tend to be more conservative and, of course, business oriented, than those at other schools. An MBA takes two years, and financial aid is possible but not abundant.
Having discussed these two classic degrees, I will not discuss the MD, MAT (Masters of Arts in Teaching), MPH, or M.Div (Masters of Divinity), whose utility should be self-evident.
The scholarly MA and PhD are widely recognized degrees. Typically a PhD takes 5-6 years and is designed for those pursuing academic or scholarly careers. Given the great difficulties of the academic job market, which seem unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future, only the truly top students in most of the humanities and social sciences (e.g. literature, religion, cultural studies, sociology, history, etc.) should pursue a PhD. At times, folks with PhDs in semi-practical fields such as anthropology or political science can find good non-scholarly opportunities. But generally humanities and social-science PhDs are strictly for future academics. It is too much of a commitment to pursue this degree and then not get the academic position that you seek.
A broader range of students (i.e., not just the very very top students) might wish to pursue the PhD in other, more practical fields which have more of an "external market" for degree-holders. Examples include PhDs in economics, finance, computer science, engineering, and many of the sciences. Financial aid is widely available for PhD programs in all disciplines, with the sciences especially well funded. Top programs in strong fields, even in the humanities, can offer full tuition remission plus substantial, livable stipends guaranteed for years. Most strong PhD programs admit BA's directly into PhD study, awarding candidates their MA's along the way.
The University of Pennsylvania career-services website has a good page, at www.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/grad/gradenglish.html,
entitled "Thinking about a Ph.D. in English? Some advice from English Department professors and graduate students." Though the page is aimed at those pursuing a Ph.D. literary studies, much of the advice on the page is applicable to other disciplines as well. I am hoping that Penn's link will stay current.
An MA-only in a scholarly field is a dicier proposition. Financial aid is only rarely available, and the programs are often "money-makers" for the schools. People often use MA-only programs to test out a field they may want to pursue a PhD in. Still, if this is your intention, apply directly for a PhD, and drop out after receiving the MA if you do not like it: you will be better funded and better treated. Later on, for secondary-school and other teachers, locally based scholarly MA's can be excellent intellectual and career enhancers.
Importantly, combined-degree programs are the right choice for small but increasing numbers of students. To be sure, these programs increase the cost and time involved. But they can add special distinction to already distinctive degrees. Some examples would include MBA plus Masters in Environmental Studies, MD plus Masters of Public Health, MD plus PhD (for medical professors), MIA plus MBA, MAT plus scholarly MA, or JD plus MBA (for business warriors). Sometimes these programs are standardly offered by major multi-school universities, but equally often they are custom-designed by the students themselves. Importantly, sometimes the total-time-to-degree can be reduced by combining requirements. A JD (three years) plus MBA (two years) could be completed in four years total, for example.
Now back to the MIA, which is, again, the most common field for Macalester International Studies majors to pursue - even though this counts for at best only 1/3 of the total degrees pursued.
In my own view, the six top tier International Affairs programs, in alphabetical order, are:
1. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy ("Fletcher") at Tufts University
2. The John F. Kennedy School of Government ("the K-School") at Harvard University, which also includes a strong domestic angle
3. The School of Advanced International Studies ("SAIS," pronounced like rice) at Johns Hopkins University, but located in Washington DC
4. The School of International and Public Affairs ("SIPA") at Columbia University
5. The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (which alas has no nickname)
6. The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs ("Wilson") at Princeton University. Like the K-School, it includes a strong domestic angle as well.
Of course, all six of these schools have different focuses and strengths, but all of them are unimpeachable. The strong next tier of MIA programs include the other members of APSIA, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. Go to www.apsia.org for a list and much more information. Special note should be made here of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs ("HHH") at the University of Minnesota. It is a strong school often favored by Macalester graduates with regional commitments here in the upper midwest. Like Wilson and the K-School, it also has a strong domestic component. There are a few dozen additional schools beyond the APSIA list, many of which have important strengths.
Each of the many International Affairs schools has somewhat different regional, disciplinary, and functional specialties, and some have special and/or joint-degree programs (e.g. forestry, health, economics, domestic issues, etc.).
As to admissions to International Affairs schools, in general terms if you graduate Macalester with a GPA of over 3.7 (magna cum laude, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and possibly with an honors thesis), you are high probability at all the top schools. If you apply to all of the top six, you will likely get into at least three or four of them. As your GPA moves towards 3.0, your chances at the top six diminish. As with all degrees, your chances also depend on your "story," special attributes, intervening work, and recommendations. Applicants just one year beyond the BA will be evaluated mainly on the college transcript, board scores, and recommendations. But the further past the BA you are, the more the quality of your intervening experience will count. Do know that graduates with GPAs in the 3.1 to 3.5 range remain very viable at all the strong next-tier MIA schools, many of which have very fine programs.
This concludes my general note on graduate schools. I hope it has been of some use!
|
|
|
