Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with university and masters

MA in Politcal Science v. M Public Policy

brakiwi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:29:26 -0800

¿Master in Political Science or Master in Public Policy? I'm an Spaniard that wants to study a Master in the US next year. After a lot of research my final list of universities I'm applying, is this one:
1.Georgetown
2. U. of Chicago
3. Columbia
4. NYU
5. GWU
6. Northeastern
7. American University
8. Loyola University of Chicago

My question is: ¿Master in Political Science or Master in Public Policy?

Most of this universities has both Masters programs and mainly I know the differences between them, but maybe you can give me more information so i can make my decision with more criterion.
In thinking in applying one program or the other, depending in which university.
Maybe you know someone who took some of this masters...
As you can see the cities and departaments I'm interested are Chicago, Washington DC, NYC and Boston. Do you think this are the most interesting universities in this cities to apply for? (for an MA because others have only PhD).

Thanks in advance,

What do you do in an advanced degree?

divabat — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:27:31 -0800

Those of you doing [post]graduate degrees...what exactly are you doing? I've been looking into various advanced degree programs (Grad Cert, Grad Dip, Masters, etc) but I'm finding it difficult to imagine what sort of work one does in an advanced degree.

My family comes from a science background: my sister did biotech research for her Ph.D and my dad did coursework in engineering for his Masters. Apparently my aunt did a Masters in Sociology but I don't know what this entailed for her. I'm getting a degree in the Creative Industries, and have been looking into advanced degrees in non-profit management, arts, or education.

What DO you do in your degree? Do you do a lot of reading? Is yours more practical? Do you get to do a project?
How academic is your degree? Do you have to do a lot of writing in a certain style?
How much opportunity do you get to travel, or do experiential learning? How about conferences?

I figure this would differ wildly between programs and schools, but my only concepts of advanced degrees are either sit in a library then write a long densely academic thesis, or do research in a lab and write a long densely academic thesis (research is fun, but writing long densely academic theses is my definition of hell).

Academic uninterest in quitters?

Anonymous — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:34:28 -0800

Life and education quandary: If I take a masters instead of finishing my PhD will I be blackballed if I reapply to finish my PhD First year grad student in top ranked science program finds they don't like their research project. adviser is understanding and suggests other topics, a possible switch to a new lab, or take a masters and some time off. Student, while committed to a PhD, is worried about getting stuck in a dead end with current adviser and concerned that switching to a new lab without considerable consideration (which might not be possible with current research in addition to class) would be a bad idea (assuming that another lab will take on said student), and thinks maybe it would be a good idea to take time to carefully evaluate different lab groups at same school, and maybe others. Req letters should be fine, and there might be a paper with first author for the student depending on current research success and time taken, but it has been recently suggested to them that once someone has a masters, they're out, and it will be exceptionally hard to get back in. A job taken would probably be in a related industry to research, but maybe not. Certainly the appearance of inability to commit to the first program could be seen as a warning. On the other hand, student is already trained and would be able to start quickly.

Miserable with a future, or on hold but with less misery?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:38:44 -0800

I have almost certainly won an eighteen thousand dollar award to do my Master's degree, but every day I find myself semi-wishing that I don't win it so that I don't have to do my Master's. Do I suck it up and advance my career, or turn down more money than I make in two years and end up working at the mall? I am a pretty smart cookie, I love school, and I love the fields that I majored in. For the past several years, though, I have been a research assistant for Dr. M, and when the time came for me to pick a supervisor, he seemed a natural fit. Smart, well-known, friendly, a good boss. Since then, though, we have had some conflict. I have had to change my topic from the area I am passionate about to the area he studies (I know, this is fairly typical) and he micromanages every step of the application process. As an example, he wrote my scholarship application for me and then seemed insulted when I made changes. He made all the decisions about who would be on my committee without consulting me. He has already decided the theoretical framework and methods for my study (as it happens to coincide with his). Anyway, bitching aside, the Cole's notes version is: I am unhappy with my supervisor, I am unhappy with my topic, I will very likely win a bunch of money to do this work.

Switching to another prof so that I can study what I want is not an option, as for various reasons I am tied to this one city (which only has this one school), and my department is quite small. There is no one here who specializes in my interest, and the department is so small that I really can't afford to step on anyone's toes, especially not Dr. M who has invested so much in training me these past years. I feel like I owe him.

If I do turn down the award, my degree is not such that I am qualified for any particular position. I would probably end up working at a call centre or something equally fulfilling. At this point, though, all I really want is to get away from the Uni. I have been there for so long that I have grown to hate it, hate research, and hate writing.

I can suck it up and do this degree, but I am sure it will not be a pleasant two years. Still, it will be two years, a short amount of time in the long run. I will have the award to put on my CV, plus some publications. All-in-all, good for my career. Do I do this, put my academic potential first and suffer through two years, or do I put my career on hold for a bit (turning down a large sum of money), and experience Life After School?

Roehampton Creative Writing Masters

0bvious — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:44:00 -0800

What do you know/think about the University of Roehampton, London? Most especially I am interested in its School of Arts, and its MA in Creative and Professional Writing.... Good uni? Did you attend there? What are your experiences of the Roehampton area?

Any info gratefully appreciated

Thesis defense tips

Quartermass — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 11:15:05 -0800

I am defending my MA Thesis (finally!) this afternoon. I would like advice from those who have gone through this, specifically on things I shouldn't do.