Posts Tagged ‘MPA’

A few months ago, I wrote a post on my thoughts on the LSE MPA after my first term. Now that I have completed the year and am in the final stretch preparing for exams, I thought it’s time to do a bit of update on how I really feel. It’s admissions decision time, and I’ve received a lot of emails from people, so this is a good time to share.

I am pursuing a degree in MPA International Development, so this will be a more program specific post than the previous one. I came into this Program directly, less than two months, after my service in the Peace Corps. This is an important factor. I’ve received emails also from currently serving volunteers, and this is something I stress: being abroad for the 3rd year in a row may not be as easy as you think. I will expand on this later.

I must admit that a big reason why I did this program was the finances. LSE gave me money and in comparison to the other programs that I was considering (Columbia SIPA, Johns Hopkins SAIS), this was substantially cheaper. If I could do it again, would I still make the same choice? maybe, maybe not. But either way, I would have liked to know what I know now.

The Academic
Your first year in MPA International Development consists of 5 units of courses. 1/2 unit is a term. However, all exams take place in June. You are required to take four core classes, 3 of which every MPA has to take, and a development management core. I was concerned with the lack of choices, and it turned out to be a big source of unhappiness. I was stuck with these 5 classes for the entire year. Most other programs, you switch up the classes at the semester, giving you a fresh start after Christmas break. While the courses aren’t terrible, they are definitely not ones I would voluntarily take. I think above all factors, this should be your number one consideration. Something I definitely wish I had considered more. You will spend all day everyday working for these classes, and you want to make sure you’ll love it, or at least like it a lot.

The approach of these MPA classes in the first year is highly theoretical. For someone who did undergrad in a business school, this a difficult adjustment. I really did not value the practicality of my education from undergrad until I am here forcing to read all these theoretical academic articles that I am not sure how they apply to the real world. This is certainly a personal preference. The LSE MPA differs from others in that it has a dissertation component and is a gateway to PhD should you wish to pursue. If you like to really delve into a subject and know it really well, this is for you. If you want to survey a wide range of courses and know enough about each one but not to become a super expert, then this is probably not for you.

One little story to illustrate the theoretical-ness of this program: One day in my development management seminar, I was so frustrated with all the theory, I point-blank asked the professor, “With your experience working in the World Bank and the field, did you ever use any of these theories?” he said, “well, to be honest, you never use these”. He then tries to encourage us that this may be the last chance we can indulge in academics. The unfortunate thing is, MPA is suppose to be a professional program, and I didn’t come here to indulge in academic exercises. Side note: this development management and policy course is taught more like an intro to IR theory class. I feel we are trying to apply IR theory to developing countries, which I don’t find all that useful in solving today’s development issues.

Furthermore, it can feel incredibly frustrating when most other MSc students only take 3 full units of classes plus a dissertation in the summer, you are stuck with 5 units of classes. Something doesn’t seem to add up.

Finally, the UK system is bizarre and is a big source of stress. There is very little feedback and you need to be incredibly self-disciplined to on top of things (which I am really not). Essentially, there are few things that you have to do, but there is a constant looming dark cloud of exams hanging over your head. This is a big complain that I’ve heard from many, not only within the MPA, but other MSc students as well.

Dual Degree
The LSE MPA is in the Global Public Policy Network where students can apply to pursue their second year at Columbia SIPA, Sciences Po, Lee Kwan Yeu School of Public Policy in Singapore, or Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. The website makes it seem that it’s pretty easy to do this. In reality, it depends on where you want to go. If you are aiming for Columbia, competition is fierce and there is no rhyme or reason as to who gets in or who doesn’t. Since there aren’t any grades by the time you submit these dual degree applications, they base on your original application to the LSE and a few essays. SIPA is the only one that has multiple essays, four to be exact. The rest only requires one motivation statement. And for the other programs, it’s pretty much if you apply, you can go (Sciences Po may have a bit of competition, but not much).

Toward the end of my decision process last year, I was actually very attracted to SIPA. I didn’t receive the acceptance until very late in the process and by then, my mind was already set on LSE. When I didn’t receive much financial aid from SIPA, I didn’t bother to sway my decision. The truth is, SIPA curriculum fits me better. Luckily, I was one of 7 this year that received a spot at SIPA for dual degree (19 applied this year, usually about 1/3 chance). I am very fortunate that things work out this way. But I would strongly advice people to go to the school they’d most want to go to irrespective of the dual degree option.

The Professional
MPA is suppose to be a “professional degree” right? Well, the LSE MPA definitely has some work to do in this regard. I felt there was very little guidance in finding internships and becoming prepared for various professional settings. The LSE itself has a decent career service, but has a main focus in banking and consulting recruitment. Also it’s really far too small to serve the entire university. You have to book ahead for everything and it’s always a race to get a spot. I attended a few career fairs and they were more like a career zoo.

The MPA itself has a lady from LSE Career Service who is dedicated to the MPA program. However, she comes to the MPA office one day a week and you can book a 20 min appointment with her. Again, it’s always a mad race trying to get those appointments. The MPA itself has organized a few “professional” events, but they were all pretty terrible and pitiful. One alumni panel that I attended had 3 people – one just graduated, the other was a PhD student and I honestly can’t remember what the 3rd person did.

If you want a career in EU, then this is a good starting point. However, if you think doing this degree will help you stay in the UK after, think again. The new coalition government is taking away post-study visa starting next year. If you want to work in the US government, definitely consider SAIS or SIPA instead. They really don”t recruit here much. With that said, if you are trying to get into finance or consulting in Europe, LSE is one of the best places to be.

The Social Scene
The LSE doesn’t have much of a campus, and their residence buildings are scattered across London. This isn’t like a US school where if you live in university housing, you are usually near the campus. Trying to be cheap, I picked the residence that is farthest from campus. This also added to the frustration. Computing is not so fun when you gotta lug around a laptop and books. If you are someone who are most productive studying at the library, then live near the school. Otherwise, you will spend half your days commuting and feeling very frustrated.

Because this lack of campus, I find my friends living in different areas of London, making socializing that much more difficult. These are things that I never thought would really matter, but they do. When you’ve been stuck in your shoebox room for 10 hours writing a paper, and all you want is to hang out with your friends with a beer, it sucks that they live far away.

I didn’t really get involve with extracurricular activities, which probably adds to the frustration. In the first week of school, there is a fair for all the student societies and whatnot. Again, it was entirely too many people and incredibly overwhelming. I think the positive aspect with the other policy schools like SAIS, SIPA or Kennedy is that they are self-contained so the extra-curricular are targeted toward people within these schools. LSE MPA itself isn’t big enough to have such activities, but when you get lumped in with the rest of the LSE, it’s really overwhelming.

So, is there anything good?
Yes! The LSE student body is probably the most diverse that you would encounter. Befriending this dynamic group of people is really something. Let’s not forget the LSE name. It carries certain level of prestige that makes people go wow. If you discount the grading and the strange, archaic system, this is actually a good place to learn. If you want economics training, there is no better place. If you are someone who really likes to dig deep into an issue and learn a lot about a few subjects, this is the place for you.

London is actually a fantastic city if you can find time to enjoy it. While studying in Europe isn’t like studying abroad in Europe, there is still sufficient amount of time for you to take trips to wonderful European cities. This is a big plus about going to school here.

Post-Peace Corps
If you are a serving volunteer thinking about this program right after your service, I’d suggest that you think seriously about whether you can spend another year or likely two abroad. Coming from Cameroon, I thought, oh, London is a developed country, there’s running water, electricity, Internet all day long and I can get anything I want. I’ll be just fine. But what I failed to realize is how much I would miss being closer to my friends and family after those two years. Furthermore, there aren’t many RPCVs here at the LSE and the RPCV network in London is just beginning and isn’t strong yet. I wish there were more RPCVs around who I could talk to. I’ve lived abroad a lot even before the Peace Corps, but this reverse-culture shock was like none other. Take this into consideration when you make the decision. It affected me more than I had imagined.

All in all, you need to be disciplined, open-minded and find charm in gloomy London weather. My thoughts are mine, and it’s not a true representation of how everyone feels. There are those who really love it, but then there are those who hates it so much that they think it’s worth it to just drop out of the program. Like anything, there is a range of opinions. Take it for what it is, and good luck in your decisions!

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With one term under my belt, people have been asking me what I think of the LSE and the MPA program so far. So here are some personal insights on this prestigious institution and one of its many graduate programs.

The London School of Economics and Political Science is fancy, and there is a reason for that. This year, yet another Nobel Prize was awarded to a member of the LSE community, marking it the 16th Nobel Prize here. It is strange to think that the dude sitting next to me in the library could possibly be the next Noble Laureate. You never know. Given all these fame, it is no surprise that the academic is rigorous.

The MPA stands for Master of Public Administration. The easiest way that I describe the degree is that it is a MBA in the public context. Within the program, I have chosen to specialize in international development. The MPA program here requires first year students to take 5 unit worth of courses and lasts two years. Which, I did not realize until after I began my course, that almost all the other master’s programs only last one year and require students to take 3 or 4 units and to complete a dissertation in the summer. The extra work is often unrecognized in the job market so I am taking the liberty to hereby distinguish the LSE MPA from the other LSE MSc degrees. Just in case there are potential employers reading this! Again, you never know.

The Garrick - my favorite café on campus

The facts aside, what are my thoughts? Well, it is no doubt challenging. However, coming from a U.S. system where there are continuous assessment, I was used to some form of pressurized learning. It is thus very strange that an entire term has gone by, and I’ve only had two assessed assignments that counted for a small percentage of my grades. It takes a lot of self motivation to get the readings done and be on top of the material. The lack of feedback is very frustrating, and this seems to be a common concern among those who have done undergrad in the US or other similar systems. This system, however, exemplifies learning for learning’s sake, and not learning to pass exams. Much better way of educating in my opinion, but more feedback would be nice.

The Famous Houghton Street

You may think, well, then how are your grades determined? There are no doubt exams. For my classes, the one final exam counts for anywhere from 75% to 100% of the final marking. It’s pretty scary. 50/50 I can deal, 75% – 100%? That’s downright frightening. Another difference, while Americans are used to hyper grade inflation where getting an A is the norm, the LSE is not so. 70 or above is A, and those are few and far between. Most people fall between 60-70 (B) or 50-60 (C). Throughout all of my life as a student, it was rare to see anything below a 80. There is thus some serious psychological discomfort now when someone gives me a 60 and telling me that’s not bad. Whaaaat?

All the technicalities aside, I am enjoying being a student again and challenging my mind. Being at an institution like the LSE means I’m constantly surrounded by some very intelligent people (albeit some can be very very competitive, and easily stressed). The LSE has incredible resources in terms of research and very supportive Career Services. The faculty for the most part are interested in teaching and sharing their expertise. It’s taking me a while to get a handle on things (the system, the right way to tackle the studies, etc.) and feel complete ease in this environment. But, I think I’m doing well considering I came from a village with no running water! small small catch monkey! (Pidgin English for one step at a time)

The one difference I do want to point out, is that the Europeans are not used to paying a lot for school, while Americans are used to shelling out a ridiculous amount for university education. Recently, there were severe student protests because the UK government wants to increase student fees to £9,000 a year (approx. $13,000) for undergrads. The Americans have a hard time wrap our heads around on what the big deal is. In the U.S. $15k is the norm for most public universities and private universities can run from $20 to $40k a year!

At the LSE, while the quality of education is top-notch, it’s easy to see that you do get what you pay for in terms of facilities. The library is always packed and there is never enough space to study on campus. Everything from the technology facility in the classrooms to the student union, the gym, the food on campus, etc. all pale in comparison with most universities in the US. But, on the other hand, some may argue that you go to school to learn, so all the other extra stuff doesn’t matter. You win some, you lose some.

LSE Library by Day

LSE Library by Night

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I haven’t written much about the academic aspect of my experience thus far here at the LSE. To be honest, I really am still trying to figure out what is going on and what is the best strategy in tackling the course work and getting organized so I don’t seriously freak out come April. One thing for sure, I have been using my brain and drawing a great deal from two years of field experiences in the Peace Corps.

Last week, while attending the Wokai London Chapter launch event, I was cornered by Jono, a 2nd year Australian MPAer, into teaming up with him for the upcoming MPA Hot Topic – a debate series organized by the MPA Policy Forum. This round of debate topic was Is China the Security Threat of the 21st Century? I think the fact I am Chinese/Taiwanese and also America was largely the reason why I was targeted by Jono. I can rarely say no when people ask me favors as such, so I agreed.

Luckily, Jono had a good argument in place and all I had to do was strengthen some parts of it, add a few slides, talk for 7 minutes and answer some questions. Before the actual debate took place, I was tired and just wanted to end my day. But in the end, it turned out to be really fun. Our central argument was that there lacks an international institution such as the EU or NATO in the Asian region (note the recent incident between N. & S. Korea) will encourage China to gain hegemony power. Furthermore, tension with Taiwan is a major ticking bomb that in the unlikely chance of a major disagreement leading to conflict, US may intervene and the problem becomes a major international concern. There are also other factors such as lack of democracy in China (freedom of speech, press, etc), military spending, etc.

Prior to the debate, a poll was taken and 70% of argument took the stance of the opponent that Chinese is NOT the biggest security threat vs. 20% who were on our side and 10% who were indifferent. At the end of our compelling argument, we won the debate by earning majority support!

The Winning Team at The George

The whole thing turned out to be quite fun and we had a good laugh in some of the humors within the arguments. I also realized that my public speaking abilities have improved quite a lot due to two years in the Peace Corps. I suppose speaking English in front of people just isn’t that big of a deal after teaching and speaking to large groups of Cameroonians in French on a regular basis.

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First week of real classes came and went. The work load is quite intense already; it took me hours to simply put together the reading list for the term! At the same time, I’m being a complete dork and loving all of my lectures. I went to a few company presentations for consulting firms this past week and noticed a change in myself. Pre-Peace Corps, I was always very intimidated by these events and often become a bit edgy in making sure I make the best impression to recruiters. But post-Peace Corps, I have a brand new perspective.

At the BCG presentation, they walked through a mock example of how their firm handles a project. I realize all the steps I’ve taken alone in executing projects in the Peace Corps, and I did it all with shotty electricity, no running water, limited resources, etc. While sitting amongst a bunch of eager students trying to land a job, all I could think was, “I lived in a village in Africa for TWO YEARS. I got this.” It’s hard to make a big deal of most situations when you compare them to trying to manage basic survival.

Met a fellow RPCV who is in the 2nd year of the MPA program. Love the instant bond that Peace Corps provides. I think we made whomever talking to us at the time slightly uncomfortable when we started talking about how often we discuss the state of our bowl movements during service.

I relished in solitude today. Weather was foggy and gray out there, so not particularly enticing. The days where I can stay all day indoor all day and putt around doing what I like is now few and far between. Those days were norm au Cameroun, but now, they are rare gems.

Having a social life again is exciting; constantly meeting new people, having appointments for lunch, brunch, dinner, coffee etc. is at the same time extremely fun yet a little exhausting. The social expectation in the real world is something I’ve forgotten about in Cameroon. Last night, I felt bad for the first time in a long time because I was taking a long time to get myself motivated for a night out. That is not a feeling I ever had to deal with in Cameroon.

I’ve also been increasingly feeling a bit guilty for not taking advantage of all the art, culture, and fun that London has to offer. Going from a life where the only social activity is to drink beers with villagers on some wooden bench to a city that has everything to offer is a lot to take in. Baby steps. I’ve put in my fair share of socializing thus far and it was good to take a day for myself and realize it’s completely okay.

Just when I thought I was doing a stellar job moving right onto this next phase of my life, I realize there are many aspects of life that will take a long time to adjust. Try as I might, going from an African village to the capitol of UK is just not that simple.

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The past two weeks have simply been a warm up to the real deal. Today began the first day of graduate school at the LSE. It was, well, exhausting. The LSE is after all a city and an European school. There is not acres of green fields to spread out, and it feels that there are simply students in herds at every turn. Last week’s party was at “the Quad”, which actually refers to the enclosed indoor space that connects a few of the buildings. In the U.S., the Quad usually means a big massive area of green grass with buildings surrounding four sides.

Anyway, the London Tube Strike took place again today, leaving a lot of students new to London very confused and frustrated trying to get to their first day of class on time. You take away a major means of transport in a city of 7.5 million people can only lead to one result – total chaos. Even though the bus still runs, I didn’t even attempt the madness during rush hour time. Instead, I walked. 50 minute and a serious workout later, I got to class early with 10 minutes to spare. The walk along River Thames is less charming when you are booking it with a big school bag!

I spent my afternoon in the Library, and that place was pure insanity. It was the first day of school and you would’ve thought it was exam time by the amount of traffic and the intentness of people studying. This place makes my undergraduate alma mater look like pre-school. Let’s hope it’s just the first-day excitement and everyone is still very motivated, because I can’t take that level of madness at the library all year!

Today begins the first day of always feeling behind on my reading. The professors even tell you that there is no way you can read it all, so read strategically. Tell me that’s not torture. And in case you are really curious, these are the units that I will be expanding my minds in this coming year:

• Development Policy and Management
• Micro and Macro Economics (for Public Policy)
• Quantitative Approaches and Policy Analysis
• Political Science and Public Policy
• Regulation of Financial Markets

In addition to those wildly exciting courses, I’ll be taking an advanced French and a fast-track intro Spanish certificate course. I gotta uphold the polyglot name somehow!

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