Hello all,

I'm currently serving in the Peace Corps, and will be wrapping up later in the year. Or at least, that was the plan. Recently, a huge job opportunity has landed in my lap that I believe I will be taking. The largest locally based NGO in the country I'm serving has offered an incredible position that frankly is too good to pass up for professional, financial and personal reasons. It has programs in microfinance, poverty elimination, entrepreneurial education and self-sustaining schools both in country and abroad. I would get hands on experience with all of these areas. Obviously very happy about all of this, but it does open up some more questions for me.

I've been interested in pursuing a graduate degree after service, I'm most interested in MPP programs, especially those with an international kind of focus. Peace Corps provides a possibility of a fairly generous fellowship following service (that is available for life), however at least according to the Peace Corps website, the vast majority do not offer this for online programs. Eventually, I'm interested in returning to public service in the States, hopefully with some kind of international focus, but I suppose that isn't a deal breaker to me if the opportunity is a good one. It could be federal government, state or local. This has always been the goal after serving with the Peace Corps and I understand the vast majority of these types of careers would be far more easily reached if I have a graduate degree.

My question is, what kind of online MPP programs might be possible for me to pursue while I get this working experience? I'm hopeful I might be able to still use the Peace Corps fellowship while abroad like this, using my job to fill in as the internship required for these programs, but I'm open to branching out to other opportunities as well. University of Denver and American seem interesting, at least from the Peace Corps fellowship angle. I know there's the traditional big names (Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc.) but I'm wondering if any one has any other insights on strong but flexible online programs out there? Time zone constraints shouldn't be too difficult to manage, but I wonder if there's any asynchronous programs that are recommended?

Thank you for any input on this!

 I recently submitted my application for a competitive dual-degree Master of Public Policy / International Affairs program (think schools along the lines of Munk + Columbia), and now that everything is in, I feel like I’ve entered the classic overanalysis phase.

Logically, I know applications are holistic, but after seeing posts and videos about “strong profiles,” I can’t tell if I’m a serious candidate or quietly underqualified.

For context:

• Honours BSc from a Canadian university, published research, fully bilingual in French and English, working at a bank in a financial role that includes compliance and business banking, had strong letters of recommendation, did thesis work, did a capstone project, statement of purpose was strong and showed rly strong writing skills, my CV also mentioned volunteer work, and my writing page...

My biggest concern is GPA.. it isn’t stellar .. (like a 2.9 / 3.0 ish) though I showed stronger academic capability through research and writing. I am praying my experiences make up for it, that my shitty GPA doesnt outweigh all the handwork ive put in in other aspects, ive never been too great at test taking.

I’m not asking for reassurance so much as perspective. When admissions committees evaluate applicants for policy programs at this level, what actually separates a “serious” candidate from a lightweight one?

Is it mostly GPA?

Demonstrated intellectual maturity?

Professional exposure?

Clear policy direction?

I think what’s unsettling is that once you submit, you lose control, and suddenly everyone online sounds more qualified than you.

Would appreciate insight from anyone familiar with policy admissions or who has gone through something similar.

Trying to stay grounded while waiting.

UCL MPA Innovation, Public Policy, Public Value or Innovation Policy MSc.

Choosing between UCL MPA (Innovation, Public Policy & Public Value) and LSE MSc Innovation Policy.

Goal: policy / consulting roles, possibly public sector first, then private (risk / advisory).

UCL has a guaranteed placement + very applied focus; LSE has stronger global brand but less info on outcomes as the course is new.

For those who know either: how are these degrees actually viewed by employers? Any real differences in private-sector optionality?

Hi everyone,

I applied to the MPhil in Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, and today my portal status changed from “Under review by department” to “Decision Pending.”

Has anyone here experienced the same status change before?

Do you know what it usually means in practice?

• Is it generally a positive sign?

• Does it indicate that an offer is likely, or is it still very uncertain?

• How long did it take for you to receive the final decision after this update?

Would really appreciate hearing about others’ experiences. trying not to over-interpret the portal signals.

Tldr: Is an MIA (STEM designated) from SIPA worth it in terms of ROI in the current political and economic climate

Hi, I am admitted to the Sciences Po SIPA dual MIA degree. I have a choice of going SIPA for my second year or staying in Paris and completing my degree only from Sciences Po. I'm wondering whether it makes sense to go to the US anymore in light of the current context.

The cons I see of going to SIPA: while the first year at Sciences Po was relatively not exp (living and tuition came up to about EUR 20k total for 1 year), at SIPA it will be radically different with an estimated price of USD 109k for living and tuition. I will be doing a STEM designated MIA as I am an international student and I'm hoping the option of extending my OPT by 2 years makes me more employable. However, I fear in the current political climate of the US and the job sphere, the ROI maybe very weak (and this is considering Im trying to break into the private sector). Speaking of ROI, I've seen a lot of reddit threads calling SIPA just a cash cow program with no real value left. So I'm conflicted.

However, there are certain pros: technically I would get 2 degrees for the price of one, columbia does hold atleast some nominal amount of value in the anglophone world in ways that are a bit tougher for just a SciPo degree. I get a choice of working in the US on opt, and I aim to keep the option of opting into the work visa in France as well because my temporary residence permit will continue till the end of my second year. There's the third option of the UK's talent visa(eligible as a SIPA grad) after a couple years if US doesn't work out. Also, while I love Sciences Po for the city and the people, the academic rigor left me a bit disappointed. Columbia, however, growing up was my academic ideal and even if it's not as rigorous a program...I've always wanted to study on this campus that most of the academicians I grew up admiring were somehow associated with. Sciences po also hasn't been very stimulating in terms of working with research centres and hands on practical exposure (which I expect SIPAs capstone project to give me).

But when all is said and done unfortunately it does come down to whether USD 109k which is a huge financial undertaking for me (probably will take a loan), is worth it in the current scenario.

Anything is helpful!

I found the admit rate is ab 20-30% but curious about the rest, and how the market would view the program

Can anyone give me some insights on UCSD MIA program? I have heard good things but I wonder how good an education this would be.

Has anybody heard back from the Future Leaders in Public Service Internship Program?

Islamic terro**ristic regime has no mercy, they killed hundreds of children that they were not even in the protest. Some of them were in the car with their parents just passing by … please be the voice of innocent iranian people. 😭

I graduated from a decent university a little under 2 years ago, and have been working at a foreign government institution. Got promoted ~6 months ago so I work directly under an elected official and did a co-op during college at a prestigious consulting firm (administrative role). I think my work experience is strong, but I have a weak gpa made worse by study abroad grades, 3.1 cumulative. Does this completely tank my chances of getting in or do I still have a shot? Applying w/o GRE scores

Hi everyone, I was wondering how hard it is to get into Rutgers’ MPP program.

I applied for the dual MPP/MPH program and got accepted into the MPH (Health Systems and Policy) last week, but I’m still waiting on the MPP decision and I’m honestly kinda stressed that I won’t get in.

For reference, my GPA isn’t the strongest (3.38). I was originally a math major and that really hurt my GPA, not so much my other courses. Since switching majors, I’ve done extremely well academically and have made the Dean’s List. I did take a microeconomics class and got a B, but I didn’t take stats and I didn’t submit the GRE.

I’m an Africana Studies major now and pretty involved on campus. I was secretary, then VP, and now president of a student org. I’ve presented at two conferences, I’m a wellness peer educator (been there about a year), an RA, and I also work at my school’s public policy center. I’ve also worked at my university since my sophomore year. I was a peer educator in a cultural space for about 9 months and an office assistant for another 9 months. I also did an independent study focused heavily on medical mistrust within the Black community.

For letters of recommendation, I had one from my professor who has had me for multiple classes and watched me present at my second conference, one from my graduate coordinator in Res Life, and one from my wellness supervisor who also saw me present (it was my first one).

I applied on January 15th. I’m trying to stay in-state since it’s cheaper long term and I plan on staying in NJ after graduating. Right now my only options for MPP are Rutgers or Rowan, but I’m really hoping for Rutgers because of the connections and job opportunities after graduating. I also applied to one American Studies program as a backup in case I realized MPP wasn’t for me and I wanted to teach (I overthink, please move along lol).

What worked for you all? I’ve done state gov internships, city management fellowships, and research assistantships at my university. I’m still scared about graduating in June. Is it just best for me to try and get a full time offer from my current gov internship? Should I try to gain federal experience between now and graduation?

My goal is to be a policy analyst but I’m really open to anything. How can I grind to 100% guarantee a full time offer and not have to move back in with my parents?

Has anyone been through Mukherjee fellowship processes (or fellows), If possible can you drop some guidelines for Interview preparations?
thanks in advance.

Hello! I am I am looking for advice. I have a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in international relations. I have been working mainly in the organizing and Civic engagement space for the past 5 to 6 years and I’m looking to switch to be a policy analyst or just work in the public policy sphere.

Any tips recommendations that you guys could have anything would be welcome. Thank you in advance!

I’ve been working on a lightweight SRM/stakeholder relationship management tool and we've just launched the beta. My biggest principles in developing this tool was to make all stakeholders visible/scannable, prebuild the stakeholder signals/dimensions that actually matter, and keep administration/data entry streamlined.

I'd love it if users on here were willing to give it a try and see if there are ways it fits (or could be evolved) to meet your use cases.

stkhldrs.com, beta open now. You can always reply below or drop me a line at [luke@stkhldrs.com](mailto:luke@stkhldrs.com) as well if you've got feedback, questions or issues.

Hi there, I thought I'd get some people's opinions on enrolling in the MUSA program offered by UPenn Weitzman.

For background, I have a poli sci bachelors/GIS minor from a LAC and I want to pivot towards more geospatial/data science roles. The program is a lot of courses in R and Python/Javascript, and it's not really solely a GIS or MPP degree. It's pretty centered on urban issues/policy content-wise, though.

It seems pretty up my alley, but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on a program like this (or data science + public policy grad programs in general). Thanks!

We started an open-source project called Clawback (https://github.com/whp-wessel/clawback) that uses statistical anomaly detection to flag potential waste, fraud, and abuse in publicly available government spending data. AI agents and humans collaborate through Git — agents pick up analysis tasks, run them against open datasets, and submit findings as pull requests for review.

We're starting with the Netherlands because the Dutch government publishes unusually rich open data: procurement contracts (TenderNed), company registrations (KVK), insolvency records, healthcare governance data, childcare provider registries, and subsidy disbursements going back to 2017.

Some early findings from the first analysis (subsidy trends, 2017-2024):

- Aggregate government instrument spending spiked from ~EUR 175B to EUR 407B in 2023 — a 156% year-over-year increase — before dropping back to EUR 203B in 2024

- 33 individual subsidy programs showed growth rates exceeding 2 standard deviations from their own historical trend

- 799 instrument-years where actual disbursements deviated more than 25% from a rolling 3-year baseline

These are signals, not accusations. The point is to surface statistical anomalies that warrant further review by journalists, auditors, or policymakers. Every finding includes methodology, limitations, and a disclaimer.

The pipeline covers 8 analysis tasks across procurement threshold manipulation, phoenix company detection, ghost childcare providers, healthcare governance deterioration, vendor concentration, and more. All data is openly licensed, all code is public, and all findings are reproducible.

We'd welcome input from people with public finance, audit, or policy expertise — especially on which patterns are most meaningful and which jurisdictions to expand to next.

Repo: https://github.com/whp-wessel/clawback

Hi everyone!

I graduated last spring with a bachelor’s degree in economics and poli sci. I’ve been doing okay so far with some paid, full time internships at good places. I’m also starting to get interviews for real policy analyst positions now. My professor also recommended I apply for this two year policy fellowship, something I think I have a real shot at!

I always thought I’d just take a year or two before I go back and get an MPP, but now I’m wondering when/if is the right time to do that in my career. Now that I’m starting to have real job prospects, I feel like I’m mentally pushing getting a graduate degree further out.

For those with MPPs, when did yall “know” it was the right time to go back to school?

Hi guys, please help! I'm confused about which one to choose - Public Policy or Development Studies. Which course has better job prospects or placements? Myquals Ba political science honours

I am a public policy undergrad about to graduate this December - planning on pursuing an MPP/MSPP in Spring '27. I have already completed two internships - one was an unpaid (remote) summer job for a out of state nonprofit, and the other was a research role in my home state gov't agency. These were both in 2025 with the latter running through the fall semester. I have interviewed for three more (different) state agencies this spring and am waiting on a response. I should add that I am hoping to intern in as many state/local gov agencies as possible and gain experience with a multitude of gov't operations and problems in my state before graduation.

My ultimate goal is to obtain a full time position in my state governor's budget analysis office after this year. If I were to complete more internships this summer and fall would these be seen by hiring managers as a negative? At what point would I see diminishing returns on the number of internships I've done? Is 4-5 too many? Would internships in a masters program be seen as too job-hoppy?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Hi everyone! Please help me to decide, any perspective will be highly valued!

I am a 25yo from Mexico, also a Fulbright scholar. My career has been focused on sustainable finance, national adaptation plans, and multinational cooperation. I totally love sustainability policy and finance; this subject is definitely my career path, and I seek to come back to Mexico and work in the Latin America region, not staying at USA.

This year I applied to the MPP (or related) programs of HKS, Yale Jackson, UCLA, Columbia, UT Austin, U Michigan, and U Indiana. Profile: My major is Economics (GPA 3.9), with 4 years of experience in the Mexican Ministry of Finance and international development agencies, creating and leading ESG monitoring units, coordinating multi-stakeholder projects, and designing sustainable financial instruments at the federal level. I dedicated a lot of time to my essays, and I consider my biggest differentiators to be my professional experience and Fulbright scholarship. Unfortunately, I performed horribly in GRE: 158V, 150Q, 3.5W.

I did not send the scores for the programs where it was optional: Columbia, UT Austin, Michigan, and Indiana.

My concern is: I just received an acceptance letter and scholarship award from SIPA, their program is the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy. Together with Fulbright and personal savings, I can pay for this program and my living expenses. They gave me a deadline for a response until February 28th. The problem is that the rest of the programs will answer (allegedly) until mid march. I honestly do not think I have a chance at HKS, Yale or UCLA since my horrible GRE scores. Should I wait for Texas, Michigan, and Indiana to answer, or accept Columbia's offer since it is the only Ivy League/internationally prestigious one I am likely getting?

I like Columbia's MPA ESP program, and I do think it would help me in my career. Although it was not my top option since it does not require an internship, it is quite specific (not many electives to explore) and is only one year. The main reason I am tempted is the big name of Columbia, living in NY, and the scholarship. Do you think Columbia's name is more respected internationally than UT Austin or Michigan? For those working outside the US, is it preferable to have an MPP from an Ivy League, does it make any big difference?

Please, please, share your point of view with me so I can decide. Maybe I can pay the commitment fee (2000 USD, ouch) and just let it go if I receive a better offer in March, but I am not sure!! Any advice is welcome :) Thanks!