Archive for washington d.c.

New York v. DC: Battle of the Grad School Cities

When thinking about policy graduate schools and careers in the U.S., Washington, D.C. seems to be the hub of policy. They have multiple schools, tens of thousands of jobs in policy, and the entire U.S. federal government is based in of the city. Many prospective SIPA students wonder, “Why go to SIPA in NYC when I can be so close to the action in D.C.?” 

I’m here to tell you how I answered that question.

I knew that I was going to be living in D.C. once I graduated. As a 2017 Rangel Fellow, my entire career will be between U.S. Embassies abroad and the State Department in D.C. So naturally, I applied to policy schools in D.C. even though I felt my grad school calling was in New York.

But I was hesitant. I thought if I went to the Big Apple, I would be missing out on the networking opportunities in D.C. that would boost my future career. But I knew that D.C. was not really for me in terms of the graduate schools’ curricula or the bureaucratic culture. If I went to D.C. for graduate school, I knew I would likely be miserable as the Capital lacks the diversity and cultural aspects that was so appealing in NYC. I definitely had some deciphering to do in which was right for me.

I’m proud to say now that choosing NYC over D.C. for policy school was the right move for me personally AND career-wise.

First, being in NYC does not remove you from the D.C. network of policy. SIPA has thousands of alumni based in D.C., and it’s very easy to reach out to them. We also have a D.C. career conference every January in which SIPA students get the opportunity to connect to government agencies, think tanks, or private companies working out of the Capitol. Even on days you want to attend an event in D.C., the train can get you there in three hours, so you could possibly make a day trip of it.

Second, and personally, New York was the right city for me. Compared to D.C., New York’s arts scene is drastically larger. There’s Broadway, hundreds of music venues, thousands of art galleries, and enough museums to rival the Smithsonian. The food scene here is much more diverse, with cuisines from every country and culture you can think of. The bureaucratic culture of D.C. also tends to bring similar people whereas New York’s multifaceted job market brings a plethora of different kinds of people to the city. The diversity and options of New York are unparalleled.

Overall, I know I made the right decision with coming to SIPA over my D.C. options. I’m still gaining the career network I was hoping for while feeling fulfilled in my creative exploration and personal interests. Come to SIPA and experience the same.

Watch: The 43rd Annual SIPA D.C. Career Conference

Ana Guerrero MIA ’19 gave a micro view of the SIPA D.C. Career Conference; check out the video below for a macro view. More than 220 SIPA students took part this year, joined by over 200 SIPA alumni throughout the Conference’s panels, site visits, and networking events from January 16-18, 2019.

Read the full recap here.

A recap of the 2019 SIPA D.C. Career Conference

SIPA’s 43rd Annual D.C. Career Conference & Alumni/Student Networking Reception was held on January 16 – 18, 2019.

My name is Ana Guerrero, and I am a second-year MIA student, concentrating in International Security Policy and specializing in International Conflict Resolution. I am originally from the Dominican Republic but I grew up in Brooklyn. I had a myriad of jobs before SIPA, and I am hoping to use my degree to pivot into the Security sector.

For that reason, I was really looking forward to the 43rd annual SIPA D.C. Career Conference, so much so that I successfully applied to be the panel coordinator for the Security & Political Risk session. (I couldn’t attend last year because a group of classmates and I organized a relief trip to Puerto Rico to help clean up after Hurricane Maria.) Needless to say, for someone who doesn’t have direct work experience in the field, I felt that I couldn’t miss the D.C. Career Conference *Don Corleone voice* on this the year of my graduation.

I am very glad I made the most of my time at the conference. I had two coffee chats with SIPA alumnae in D.C., and I managed to make a connection with each of my panelists. My favorite panel – aside from my own – was the Foreign and Civil Service session, where we heard from people from the State Department, the FBI, and a former CIA employee. Their insights into government work and the fellowships to apply for were invaluable.

Panels aside, the site visits are another excellent resource because I got to see the workplace and talk to people I otherwise would not have met if I just attended the conference day’s events. I went to the National Counterterrorism Center, Elizabeth Warren’s Senate office, Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG), and led the site visit and panel of State Department employees. At the ASG session, a human resources representative talked about internship and employment opportunities to look out for in the coming months. Additionally, the networking reception on the last night allowed me to follow up on connections I had made throughout the week. THIS is why you attend a conference like this!

My one piece of advice to prospective students is to absolutely attend the SIPA D.C. Career Conference if they are open to working in Washington D.C. And if you want to work in D.C. and can attend both years as a SIPA student, do it!

Summer Recruiting Events

The blog has been focused mainly on incoming students recently but I did want to take a moment to highlight some opportunities for prospective students to gather more information about SIPA.

Next month SIPA will be participating in five different recruitment events.  If you are a prospective student and are available it would be great to meet you at one of these events.  Details on each event are below.

First, SIPA is participating in the Aid & International Development Forum taking place in Washington D.C. on June 8th and 9th.  The forum is free to attend and you can view the schedule and register by clicking here.

Second, on Monday, June 13th in Washington, D.C. SIPA will join four other policy schools for an evening reception featuring admissions representatives, alumni, and current students enrolled in our programs. The event will be held at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

The doors will open at 5:30 P.M. for registration. The main event, featuring alumni and representatives from the schools, will take place from 6:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. The event will start with some brief presentations followed by mingling with drinks and light hors d’oeuvres and should conclude around 8:00 P.M.

There is no charge to attend the event, but you must register to attend. You can register for the event by clicking here or by pasting the following address into your Web browser:

http://irgradschools.com/?page_id=3&event_id=76

Third, SIPA will have a table at three Idealist.org graduate school fairs in San Francisco, New York, and Washington D.C.  Full details are available via the following links:

San Francisco Idealist.org Graduate School Fair – June 16th from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. at the San Francisco County Fair Building

New York City Idealist.org Graduate School Fair – June 22nd from 5:00 to 8:00 PM
at Fordham University

Washington, D.C. Idealist.org Graduate School Fair – June 23rd from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. at American University

Please note that we also host information sessions at SIPA each Monday at 6:00 PM and each Friday at Noon, with some exceptions for holidays.  Registration is required and you can contact our office anytime to reserve a space.

Representatives from SIPA travel extensively in the fall and as our travel schedule firms up we will post updates to this blog so stay tuned.

A Few Reminders

I am happy to say that we are down to the 1% mark in terms of applications that we need to finalize decisions on.  If you are in this last group that has yet to receive an email from us welcoming you to view your decision, this is the week.

I also wanted to provide a few reminders for recently admitted candidates.  First, we hope you will make use of an internet based message board to interact with one another and with admitted candidates.  The log in information for the message board is on the Welcome Page referenced in your admission letter.

Next, there is an event admitted students are welcome to attend in Washington, D.C. this weekend.  The original deadline to RSVP was March 25th but we have been offered an extension.  If you have been admitted and wish to attend this event, please visit the Welcome Page as soon as possible for details on how to RSVP.

Finally, Admitted Student Day April 12th and registration information is also on the Welcome Page.  If you can make it we would love to see you.  For those unable to make it resources are provided on the Welcome Page.

"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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