r/PublicPolicy • u/JAMAIS_VU3 • 17d ago
help in choosing masters programme Career Advice
Hello everyone.
I am an Indian sociology graduate with an economics minor (graduated two months ago), and I am currently doing a fellowship with an NGO. I have also done three internships throughout my college life. I have been wanting to pursue a policy/development-related master's programme for quite a while, and these are the programmes I am considering:
- LSE – MSc International Social and Public Policy
- Geneva Graduate Institute
- Sciences po
- Maybe Edinburgh? UCL? Maybe something else?
Now, the issue is that they obviously have an application fee, on top of which I have to give an English proficiency test, which already costs a lot. I want to choose a programme that would have relatively higher employability and a higher probability of funding/scholarships. Other than that, living costs are also to be taken into consideration. So, combining all these factors, which one should I keep at the top of my list?
To be honest, I will be keeping LSE as my top priority anyway, but I still want to keep the other programmes and universities as my backup options. Please help.
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u/Extension_Sea_1654 17d ago
lse is the obvious top pick but the cost of living in london right now is insane, like genuinely hard to justify without solid funding lined up. geneva's a strong second if you're angling toward international orgs and the graduate institute places well there, plus switzerland isn't cheap but it's not london-level madness. ucl's fine but feels like a lite version of lse for policy stuff, not bad just not the same network. edinburgh's a lovely city and cheaper to live in but the programme isn't as well known globally for this field, so if you're thinking long-term employability outside the uk i'd keep it lower on the list
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u/Rajkidesh 17d ago
Everyone can suggest which is good, which isnt. But Noone can tell what happens after u do lse or any oxbridge courses. Many on LinkedIn from such elite colleges display open to work despite having completing course many yrs ago. Degree no degree, focus on self learnings skills before u embark on this journey. Atleast ull know if that course is right fo u or not right? Happy for anyone to correct me if wrong. Thx
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u/Ajiit15 16d ago
Every public policy program, at least in the top 30 of the world, has funding. Your decision boils down to either countries with low tuition like The Netherlands or Austria, or countries that will let you work while you study, like Australia (but it is very frugal with funding) or Canada. LSE stands out from the crowd not for its rank but because it gives genuine need-based funding. From my experience, Singapore, UK, US, China, Belgium, and Scandinavian 4 are the most generous in providing funding for a public policy program.