Masters degree- Georgetown>George Mason

[Anonymous]

I've been out of the job market for several years (sahm) and am ready to get back. I'd like to start with getting my Masters which I never finished before in a different state.

I'm in NoVa and the in-state tuition is a big plus which makes GMU's tuition about half of Georgetown. I'm wondering though if the Georgetown name would outweigh that plus though, especially since I'm lacking in recent job experience.

I had started a master's in International Affairs previously and would either restart with that or get a MPP with a focus on global development.

Would you pick one over the other for greater job prospects?

[Anonymous]

Georgetown. No question. The name counts for a lot when getting your first job and they probably have a much better career services office.

[Anonymous]

For job prospects? Definitely Georgetown. Its all about the network. For the education? Probably still Georgetown, but that's more about how much you put into it.

[Anonymous]

Is this something you are looking to do right away? Georgetown has amazing tuition benefits, so if you could find work at the University, after the first year you could go for free...

[Anonymous]

GMU. Better bang for the buck. Nobody cares where you got your MA. It is a "check the box" degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU. Better bang for the buck. Nobody cares where you got your MA. It is a "check the box" degree.

I agree. Mason's program is really very good.

[Anonymous]

The value of an MA in IR is pretty questionable so if you are going to go that route it should at least be from a top program and that would be GU and not GMU. Are you sure you really need it to get a job? Don't think that doors are going to swing wide open once you do have that GU (or GMA or SAIS, or whatever) IR MA. Maybe investigate the jobs that interest you and see if the MA is even that essential. It's a lot of money for a degree that half the people in DC seem to have.

[Anonymous]

also, check the recent thread on IR MAs and MPPs.

[Anonymous]

I personally went for the cheap university, and it worked well for me. But I work in that field now (international development) and I see a lot of Georgetown graduates. So I'm thinking it might be better to stick with the better one. Saying that, most people in this field have a PhD or a couple of Master's degrees. Would you consider going straight to the PhD (is that possible?)? It's a fairly hard field to get a job in. Anyway, for me, going to a cheaper university worked out in the long term - but I went into a high demand field originally and then drifted across to this.

[Anonymous]

George Mason may not be your cup of tea politically. I'd look at American, or Georgetown, or George Washington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown. No question. The name counts for a lot when getting your first job and they probably have a much better career services office.

I say YES for the MPP program (and I have a master's from Mason in public administration actually!) definitely go Gtown but if you are doing a more generalized program in International Affairs, etc. then honestly, no I don't think you will have that much more luck with Gtown vs. Mason, in part because much of the networking you need to do may happen at off campus events anyway, at partner institutions or think tanks, etc. Its a HUGE financial difference and I think the MPP program, if you can get in to Gtown,is enough of a difference to be worth it by name alone. But Mason faculty is impressive in its own right for many programs (even MPP) because of its location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Mason may not be your cup of tea politically. I'd look at American, or Georgetown, or George Washington

Sorry, chiming in after working at Mason for a bit in my career too. Its so odd there- entirely school dependent. The Law School is full of what I've heard described as "libertarian kooks" (obv. by someone not in that school) and they stay entirely separate from the rest of the school. I'm sure there is a spectrum when you are actually inside but that's the view from the outside (even within Mason). The Business school is also viewed that way sometimes, although the only faculty I know at that school is very, very much Keynsian! The OLD guard of the public policy department (now part of a larger merged school) had a more conservative lean but the faculty I know there that are under 50 are very much all over the place or left leaning. The public affairs area is actually typically more liberal leaning, like much of academia.

[Anonymous]

DH went to Georgetown undergrad and got a JD MPP from Mason. He loved Mason grad. Bright, hardworking kids and a program ideal for part time students/parents. He actually preferred his Mason profs to his Georgetown ones.

[Anonymous]

That degree is not very useful outside of DC, in DC it doesn't matter where you went as long as you can tick that box. Go with the cheapest possible. You aren't some hot shot young grad that's going to be picked up by a rich silicon startup

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH went to Georgetown undergrad and got a JD MPP from Mason. He loved Mason grad. Bright, hardworking kids and a program ideal for part time students/parents. He actually preferred his Mason profs to his Georgetown ones.

I'll add that DH is politically conservative so that's one of the reasons he loved Mason. Too many leftist, Israel bashing professors at Georgetown. The JD/MPP program was more balanced politically and there were many healthy debates where he came home energized with different perspectives.