Master of Arts of Politics?

April 29, 2009 2:14 AM

George Washington University has a Masters in Professional Studies in Political Management. Great, except for being a Masters in Professional Studies. I want to do an MA or MS degree with classes in political management, speechwriting, and fundraising. Any other places you can suggest that are in the DC Metro/Northeast USA area?
posted by parmanparman to Education (5 answers total)

You might want to try Hopkins' DC center. But really, you should really consider just working for a campaign or on the hill for awhile. All of these schools are incredibly expensive and aren't going to teach you anything you couldn't learn first-hand while actually making (some) money. Plus, the opportunity cost is huge - I can guarantee you that most campaign managers are going to hire the guy with two years of actual experience versus the guy with two years of school. Just my two cents.
posted by downing street memo at 5:22 AM on April 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

Amen to what downing street memo said!!!

Also, both parties have campaign schools and candidate schools. The former can range from informal survey to serious coverage. You need good cred to be admitted to them.
posted by jgirl at 5:38 AM on April 29, 2009

Downing street memo is right. I think GW comes out with a new master's program every week or two in real estate or sports management or whatever they can think up. It's getting ridiculous.

Find a job in politics. You may be able to keep your optimism about employment prospects longer doing a master's degree and the program marketing people (the admissions counselors and profs) will tell you how important the degree is, but honestly, it won't help get you hired and you'll be in mad debt, surrounded by people who don't have a master's. Start schmoozing. No master's degree is going to give you a leg up.
posted by anniecat at 9:56 AM on April 29, 2009

I've worked in politics and advocacy for about a decade, and I want to strenuously nth what the others have said. The masters program at GW is seen as being sort of a joke among the political professionals I know. And one of the upsides to a career in politics is the on-the-job-training - it seems like one of the few professional careers left where you can learn everything you need to know on-the-job. If you're not convinced, consider that neither campaign manager from last year's presidential campaign (Steve Schmidt and David Plouffe) even finished their undergrad degrees.

You're a journalist, so you already have a skill set that lots of campaigns will want. Many, many press secretaries and comms directors are former journos. Right now is a really good time for you to start networking, to set yourself up to get snapped up by a 2010 campaign. Go to some campaign schools (I like Camp Wellstone and the New Organizing Institute, which are both technically nonpartisan but left-leaning). If you're a Dem, sign yourself up for Democratic GAIN, which does trainings and networking events.

The other thing you might want to do is just start emailing political consultants your resume and ask them if they would be willing to meet and give you some advice/guidance. IME, people in politics love to do this. Obviously don't ask them for a job during these meetings, but just tell them about your experience and ask them how they think you should go about breaking in. Consultants are often the first to hear about jobs, and if you make a good impression, they might recommend you to their clients.

Take the best job on the best campaign you can next year. Know that you might have to start at the bottom (in your case, that probably means as a press assistant or field organizer), but try to at least be on a high-profile campaign with a great management team. Be a team-player, do solid work, and you'll get hired when your boss goes to his/her next campaign. S/he will have a better position, so you probably will too. Rinse and repeat. BTW, if you're eventually interested in being a campaign manager, it's probably best to start out in field or finance, where most managers seem to come from.

Oh, and: volunteer this year. If you're in DC, see if any of the campaigns going on in VA need any help.

I've already written a novella, but if you have more specific questions, feel free to MeMail me.
posted by lunasol at 10:51 AM on April 29, 2009

An alum of the GW program says that the criteria for admission are as follows: (1) Are you breathing?; (2) Can you pay?
posted by jgirl at 11:13 AM on April 29, 2009