Archive for June 2009

2010 Application Information Post #1: Changes in the Process for 2010

Admission work pretty much follows an annual cycle and if you have been following the blog you know that much of the focus has been on wrapping up the current cycle of those who will be joining us this fall.  The bulk of admission travel and outreach happens during the fall months, however I have noticed that email traffic is picking up regarding the new application year that is ahead of us.

I wanted to post an entry to assure those interested in applying for spring 2010 or fall 2010 that we will have plenty of content coming your way soon.  And for you incoming students, we still have information for you so stay tuned as well.  Thanks to all the new students that have been sending in photos!  If you have sent photos, rest assured I will get them up eventually, and if you have not sent photos yet, please do.

For you future applicants, the Admissions Committee has been meeting over the past month to discuss how we can make the application process better for both those who apply and those who read the applications.  We have made some decisions and my staff and I are working with our technical crew as well as Senior members of the Committee to put everything in order for the coming year.

The Committee had two main goals in mind this year.  First, we hope to make the process of submitting documents easier.  Second, we hope that some slight changes to what we ask for in the application will help the Committee to better evaluate candidates for admission as well as give candidates a better opportunity to explain their qualifications for our programs.

I do not want to sound too cryptic or give too much away at this point.  The real gist of this entry is to assure you that the decisions we are making are in the best interests of all involved.  I can tell you that our goal is to have the new application “go live” on August 15th.  If you have started an application you will notice at this point there is no option to choose “Spring 2010” or “Fall 2010” as your application semester.  When the new application goes live these choices will be enabled, along with some modified instructions.

Please do not fret, we will not be asking anything radically different, we will just be asking applicants to submit similar information in different formats.  One thing that will stay the same is our deadlines.  The spring deadline will be October 1st and the fall deadline will be January 5th.  So stay tuned and in the coming weeks I will be rolling out the changes we will be making in the applcation process for the coming year.

New Student Photo Entry #7

The first three photos come from Jonathan Camuzeaux, an incoming MIA student.

“Faces” was shot in Allur, a village in Tamil Nadu where SEVAI’s main offices are. These children (Bana Pria, Deepika and Keerthik) lived in the Allur Sevai Center and had their education sponsored by the NGO.

“White” was shot in Tamil Nadu, India, in a small village named Pettavaithalai, close to Trichy. I was completing an internship there for the Indian NGO SEVAI (Society for Education, Village Action and Improvement). This old man was waiting, with numerous other villagers, for a free medical check-up organized by the NGO. We started talking and I asked him if I could take a picture of him. I was fascinated by his intense gaze.

“Memories of You” was taken for a friend I haven’t seen for a while, in the 18th arrondissement, in Paris. It is also a tribute to an amazing performance of the eponymous song, by Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Jacki Byard.

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These photos come from Meredith Hutchison.

Emerging at sunset – Kala Refugee Camp, Zambia

Francis and Chicken – Kala Refugee Camp, Zambia.  Francis tries to catch a chicken for dinner.

Ninja vs. girl.  Gaudi Park, Barcelona

New Student Photo Entry #6

The following photos come from incoming MIA student James Canonge.

Where the photo was taken:  Jérémie, Haiti
A brief description of the photo:  These guys would hang around the construction site of an orphanage we were building in rural Haiti.  Eager to show us some local produce, one climbed a nearby tree and plucked this unripe orange.  Haiti’s violent slums are notorious, but here the machete is only used to divvy a refreshing afternoon snack.

Where the photo was taken:  Damascus, Syria
A brief description of the photo:  The covered end of ٍSharia al-Mustaqim is lined with spice vendors and couturiers.  The taxi drivers and goods traders race up and down this busy street from morning until night, but the pace inside the shops is much calmer.  I like how the contrasting atmospheres have been captured in this photo.

The following comes from Diyana Ishak, incoming MIA Candidate.
Where the photo was taken: Isfahan, Iran
A brief description of the photo: This photo was taken during my trip to Iran in March 2007. The photo is a view of Imam Khomeini Square in Isfahan, a large city south of Tehran. Recently, it was the site of demonstrations against the outcome of the June 12 elections. The trip was an eye-opening experience for me, and you are welcome to read more about my experiences there on Foreign Policy’s blog: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/blog/33. My thoughts and prayers are with Iranians now as they face incredibly challenging times.

New Student Photo Entry #5

The first two photos were submitted by Yi Ren, an incoming MPA student.

This photo was taken in June of 2007 in Lugu Lake, Yunnan Province of China. I was exactly astonished by the purified natural landscape. It was hard to catch this scene because if you went there in a rainy day you would have got nothing but a messy pond of marsh. Good luck to you if you wish to visit the best ever wonderland of minor ethnic region in south west China. It would take a long journey to bring you there which make the place more divine and more marvelous.

This is me. The photo was taken in May of 2009, one month ago. I went to Nanjing for a couple of weeks for visiting my friend, who took it. I don’t intend to show off but it is really a harmonious combination between human and nature. I tore when I saw it. This is a ground of very plain grassland in Nanjing Normal University, quiet but never eye-catching. This case told me that beauty is nowhere until you open you eyes with hearts to discover them.

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The following photos come from incoming MIA student Oleksiy Krylov.

“Capetown”. This photo was taken in October 2008 from the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt near Capetown, South Africa. Famous Table Mountain surrealistically rising above aircraft carrier. We were anchored out and heavy seas didn’t let crew leave the ship on the first day of our port visit.

“Oxford”. This photo was taken in April 2009 inside the gallery of one of the oldest Universities in Europe, Oxford. I loved medieval Oxford’s atmosphere and would definitely go back.

SIPA Alumus Comments on Iranian Election

Recent subscribers to this blog may not be aware of another great blog – The Morningside Post (TMP).  TMP is a SIPA student blog and they have great articles on a wide variety of topics.

A great example is TMP coverage of the election in Iran.  SIPA alumnus Matteen Makolla is an Iranian-American who is currently writing a book on his travels in Iran.  TMP recent posed five questions for him.  To gain insight on the following question and others, click here for the full entry entry.

How should Obama respond to the protests? How can he and other Western leaders avoid poisoning the opposition with the appearance of Western backing?

Photo Credit to TMP

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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