Archive for October 2010 – Page 2

First-Year Retreats at SIPA

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Thursday, October 21st, 2010 
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The following post is credited to second-year student Sawako Sonoyama.

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First-Year Retreats at SIPA

Not sure what your concentration should be? It may be confusing to know which concentration is right for you during the application stage. However, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to learn about all of the different concentrations at the beginning of your first semester before you have to decide. One perfect way to explore if a concentration is right for you is to go on a Retreat.

Every year during the first month of the Fall semester, almost all of the Concentrations, Specializations, and Specific Degree Programs will offer a Retreat for first-year students. There are so many retreats to choose from! In one weekend, a SIPA first-year must decide between the International Finance and Economic Policy (IFEP) retreat , the United Nations Study Program (UNSP) retreat, or the Energy and Environment Retreat. These retreats have many objectives: to convince those who are uncertain about their path, to make new friends amongst those who are interested, to introduce the faculty and advisors involved, and to create your family at SIPA.

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It is true that your concentration becomes somewhat of your family during your 2-year life at SIPA and I was able to find this family through my concentration retreat.  As an Economic and Political Development (EPD) student, going to the EPD retreat last year was one of the best decisions I made. Looking back, I made the majority of my SIPA friends this weekend at the EPD retreat. We still laugh about the inside jokes and the corky activities we shared from that weekend. (Can’t tell you what we did exactly, don’t want to ruin the surprise!)

Retreat 2009

EPD Retreat 2009

Recently I had the pleasure of going on the EPD retreat again as a second year. I was chosen to help organize the retreat by creating community building activities, facilitating discussions, and answering a lot of “first-year” questions.  I was pleasantly surprised that I actually could give some advice, considering just a year ago I was lost and clueless about what courses, concentrations, etc.  It is quite incredible how much we learned in one short year and also scary that we will be graduating next spring.

Overall, it was nostalgic and wonderful to return back to where we started as EPD students just a year ago. I am happy to have made a lot of first-year friends while reconnecting with my 2nd year EPD friends. From what we could observe, the first-years seem to have had a great time and successfully created their family as well. I hope that they loved the EPD retreat as much as I did,  and encourage all future SIPA students to go on at least one retreat when they arrive to SIPA.

tablephotosawako

EPD Retreat 2010—2nd years

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Categories : Admissions, Meet Seeples
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SIPA’s Four Pickering Fellows Prepare for Diplomacy

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 
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Each year SIPA is proud to partner with several organizations to assist students with paying for school.  One of the programs we partner with is The Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship.  This fellowship focuses on individuals that are interested in working for the U.S. Department of State and are applying to graduate programs.

There is another program available to undergraduate students called the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship.  SIPA is proud to partner with both divisions of this fellowship program.

The following article was contributed by SIPA student Timothy Shenk.

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Four SIPA students have been named Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellows and are preparing to work in the U.S. Foreign Service. Just 20 graduate Pickering Fellowships were awarded this year, more to SIPA students than any other school.

SIPA’s four Fellows are Keondra Bills (MDP ’12), Amanda Buescher (MPA ’12), Karina Gabriela Garcia (MIA ’12), and Jane Park (MPA ’12).

The fellowships were awarded this spring by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and are funded by the State Department. Pickering Fellows pursue two years of study in fields such as international affairs, political science, economics and foreign languages. They also complete two internships with the State Department, including one at a U.S. embassy.

In exchange, Fellows commit to work for three years as Foreign Service officers, which is contingent upon passing the Foreign Service exam.

According to Park, the Pickering Fellowship is an ideal award for students interested in pursuing a career in the Foreign Service. She is concentrating in international finance and economic policy at SIPA and hopes to work in international trade negotiations.

“Representing the U.S. internationally is something that I always found admirable,” she said.

Garcia said she hopes to work for the State Department on human rights issues in Africa or Latin America. She chose to attend SIPA because of its human rights concentration.

“I definitely felt like the program here was a better fit,” she said. “It’s very flexible and interdisciplinary.”

Four second-year SIPA students are also Pickering Fellows: Kristofer Clark (MIA ’11), Caitlyn Finley (MIA ’11), Kahina Robinson (MIA ’11), and Miriam Schive (MIA ’11).

The Pickering Fellowships are named for Thomas R. Pickering, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.

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Categories : Admissions, Paying for SIPA
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Spring 2011 Admission Review Update

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 
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I wanted to provide a quick update for those that have submitted an application for spring 2011 admission consideration.  As you know, the deadline for spring admission passed on October 1st.  We have spent the weeks since the deadline assembling applications and plan on sending out update emails soon – not decision emails, but update emails.

Not to get too much into details, but we have changed our processing system this year and also have some new staff on board.  We are thus on a bit of a learning curve but overall things are going as expected.  We are on the schedule we set but are still ironing out our communications.  This has no impact on when we plan on releasing decisions, I just wanted to let you know that if you applied for spring and have not heard from us there is no need to panic, things are moving along nicely.

We print each application and then meticulously review each document to verify completion and readability.  Most applications are complete when submitted, it just takes us time to verify everything. When your application has been individually reviewed for completion, you will receive an email.   So the first email you will receive will have to do with the status of your file.

After the Admissions Committee has reviewed all of the applications and made final decisions, we will input this information into the system and applicants will receive an email with instructions on logging into the system to view the decision letter.  Thank you for your patience and we look forward to completing the review process.

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Categories : Admissions
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Top 10 Tips for Communicating With Us No. 9: Attend an information session, tour, or recruitment event

Posted by Columbia SIPA 
· Monday, October 18th, 2010 
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Updated: March 2016

This is the ninth entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 9 – Attend an information session, tour, or recruitment event

While I realize not everyone can make it to New York, if you can visit campus the best way to obtain information is to attend an information session.  If you live nearby or are visiting New York attending a session is probably the best way to learn about our programs and how to put together a competitive application.  Due to the large number of visitors and our small staff we are unable to arrange walk in appointments.  You are always welcome to visit and someone will assist you, however we are rarely able to provide extensive individual counseling appointments. The Office of Admissions is open 9am – 5pm, Monday through Friday, and there are usually current students or admissions officers available to chat briefly with anyone who stops in with a question.

If you would like to attend an information session or attend a SIPA tour, you can see our schedule of upcoming sessions within the Information Sessions or Tour tab on the Visit SIPA website. Click on the information session for the programs that interest you and then register for the date you can attend on the calendar that appears.

SIPA admissions officers also attend recruitment events in the U.S. and abroad.  You can view our recruitment schedule on the Visit SIPA website as well. You can find the information within the Off-Campus Events/Recruitment Calendar section. However, you are always welcome to come to the office during business hours and ask a few questions or obtain information.

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Categories : Admissions, Application Tips
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International Fellows Program

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Friday, October 15th, 2010 
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When filling out your admission application to SIPA you will notice a section labeled “International Fellows Program” (IFP). Applying to become an International Fellow at SIPA is optional.  This means that it is not a requirement that you submit an essay as part of your admission application.  Not submitting an IFP essay will have no impact on the decision of the Admissions Committee in any way.

However, the IFP program is an outstanding opportunity to shape your future in a unique way and I believe it is worth the time to submit an essay as part of your admission application.  Below is a short video that provides insight into this truly exceptional opportunity.

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Categories : Admissions, Paying for SIPA
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"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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