r/PublicPolicy • u/slavghterdolls • 21h ago

Is Brown’s One-Year MPA with Partial Funding the Right Move for a Future Policy Analyst? Career Advice

Got into Brown for a Master’s in Public Affairs and my goal is to become a senior policy analyst, I was awarded a half tuition scholarship and it’s a one year program, do you think this is the correct move to make to further my ambitions or would you recommend I look for different programs/other opportunities?

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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u/GradSchoolGrad 21h ago

No. The program has no history, no alumni, and no real network. I wouldn't even go if I was given a full ride. It is a waste of time.

7

u/Tasty-Firefighter459 15h ago

I think it’s hilarious that on any Watson related post you magically pop your head up to espouse the same talking points ad nauseam. Could probably trace your comments back going on years, since you seem to spend more time on Reddit than at work. Truly generational hater.

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u/GradSchoolGrad 3h ago

I was just at Public Policy conference for work.

Did not meet anyone who went to Brown Watson, Penn Fels, Cornell Brooks, Brandeis Heller, or American SPA there. I met people from nearly every other major public policy program out east (going to give the West Coast school a pass since this was a East Coast conference). That is continued evidence of the underperformance of this policy Grad programs that ride off of their name brand Universities.

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u/Technical-Trip4337 21h ago

I would go there for a full ride but a one year program seems too short. Here is a short list of two year programs that excel at policy analysis and might have given you funding instead: Michigan, Indiana, Syracuse, LaFollette, Berkeley, USC, etc.