Should you pursue an MA degree in International Relations?

By Shaan Shaikh @ 2024-10-20T22:45 (+21)

I've thought about this question for a few years. Now that I've completed my own master's degree (SAIS '24), I feel confident enough to publicly opine on the matter.

The answer depends on one's academic and work experience, career objectives, reasons for pursuing graduate school, and scholarship opportunities. Everyone's circumstances are unique; however, the costs and benefits of pursuing an MA degree are relatively consistent.

International Relations (IR) graduate schools include the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Middlebury Institute of International Studies, among numerous others.^[1] They offer two-year, terminal MA programs in foreign affairs that prioritize practitioner over academic training. These degrees are often attractive to EAs interested in promoting good public policy via government, think tanks, or non-profits.

This post focuses on IR programs in the United States, although the advice should generally hold for non-U.S. universities and other terminal policy degrees (e.g. MPA, MPP). It summarizes my thoughts on good, okay, and bad reasons to attend an IR graduate school. It reviews common costs and benefits, and concludes with some general advice.

Good Reasons to Pursue an IR MA

• You've received or plan to apply to U.S. government fellowships. There are several great opportunities here, such as the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF), Pickering and Rangel by State, Payne by USAID, and McCain by DoD.
• You earned a full-ride scholarship. Money matters, and funding should be a primary consideration unless you're independently wealthy. If you receive a full or near-full scholarship, you can ignore most of the advice here. Take advantage and have fun.
• You want to pivot to a new career. I know a few people who used graduate school for for this reason—as a "career reset." They wanted to shift from consulting and public relations firms to a policymaking position at the U.S. Department of State, Defense, or otherwise. This is a smart reason to go back to school, but it can be dangerous if you don't have any experience in the policy field beforehand. Are you sure this is what you want to do?

Okay Reasons to Pursue an IR MA

• You need the MA credential for career advancement. This seems to be a common factor for IR graduate students. I personally fell under this category—as a think tanker in Washington, DC, I needed an MA degree to climb up the research ladder. It demonstrates that I'm committed to the field and have some (minimal) level of competence. The same requirement exists for some U.S. government positions. This is a costly, gatekeeping norm that I believe harms the public policy community. Nevertheless, it is an acceptable reason for pursuing graduate school.
• You want to learn specific research methods and tools. For those seeking to build up their quantitative skills, most programs nowadays offer classes on statistics, data analytics, and programming. Or you might be like me and want to learn how the U.S. Congress works beyond the Schoolhouse Rock-level. SAIS happened to offer a class taught by a former Senate staffer of 20+ years with a Harvard PhD who has written multiple books about the Congress.
• You want time to hit the books, think, and write. Maybe you've been grinding at work and want a couple years to think big thoughts. How can U.S. policymakers peacefully manage geopolitical competition with China? What are actionable, sustainable steps towards a clean energy transition? Graduate school gives you the time and space to think through these issues. This can be especially useful if your undergraduate degree was not in IR, political science, or history.

Bad Reasons to Pursue an IR MA

• You don't know what you want to do. It's a bad idea to spend ~$100k and two years on a degree that might not support your career. Relatedly, do not pursue an MA just because it's a socially acceptable way to delay or avoid working.
• You misperceive the value of the degree. For example, you think you'll be guaranteed a high-paying job, or impress your family and friends. For better or worse (I think better), IR graduate school is not like law or medical school with formal exams at the end leading to an established entry-level job or residency program. Instead, you'll come out of school competing with very smart people for fun, fulfilling, but limited opportunities that aren't particularly well-paid. IR graduate schools are also not very exclusive (even the top programs have high acceptance rates), so you won't find much prestige here either.

Costs

• It's expensive. The full sticker prices are absurd. I received a significant (55%) tuition scholarship from SAIS, along with a few external scholarships, but still chose to work full-time at CSIS to avoid falling into debt.^[2] If you don't have a flexible job like I did, you'll be out of the workforce for two years. That's a large opportunity cost that prospective students often neglect.
• You're back to student life. For some, that can be a welcome change. But if you, like me, have worked for several years and are already socially satisfied, you probably don't care to return to student life. Depending on your program, you may also have classmates who just graduated from college. These younger students are often very smart, but they lack real world experience, and it shows (e.g. numerous questions about grades, overconsumption of alcohol). That can get annoying.^[3]
• The mandatory curriculum can be silly. I studied "Theories of IR" and "International Trade" in college, but was forced to waste time and credits to retake them at SAIS.^[4] Fortunately SAIS's other core requirements like statistics and research methods were classes that I already planned to take, and our distribution requirements were also easy to satisfy. But I definitely recommend that prospective students examine their school's mandatory curriculum, elective offerings, and class evaluations before applying or accepting an offer.

Benefits

• Unique opportunities and experiences. In one class at SAIS, I and 12 classmates organized a trip ("staff ride") on the Battle of Britain for a group of 50 students, professors, and university donors. We traveled through Brussels, Dunkirk, Dover, and London over spring break. In another class on leadership and ethics, my professor put me in the hot seat for a difficult simulation that ended up being a Kobayashi Maru in which I was supposed to reject my assigned objective (find the leaker) in light of how damaging it would be to my team's morale (I failed terribly). I also attended a Senate hearing with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo; joined a DC police ride-along to study crime in DC's Chinatown; and wrote a thesis about early U.S. nuclear wargaming. These kind of experiences are hard to get outside of graduate school.

• Connecting with brilliant professors and students. Unlike college, your professors will be a mix of academics and practitioners. They offer a more diverse group of policy perspectives and pedagogy, along with better networks outside of academia. At SAIS, my professors included:
  - Six traditional academics
  - Three think tankers from CSBA and RAND
  - Former acting Secretary of the Treasury
  - Former Undersecretary of Defense
  - CIA analyst (with an Anthropology PhD)
  - Arabic language instructor
  - Defense industry wonk from Northrop Grumman
  - Former Senate defense and foreign policy staffer (with a Public Policy PhD)
  - Business school professor
  - Former bank president and a business professor

  Many of my classmates were likewise impressive. Following graduation, a large number secured positions across the U.S. government and policy community. To be sure, however, students at top IR graduate schools are on average less impressive than those at the best law, business, medical, or PhD programs.^[5] I believe some people therefore overestimate the networking benefits at IR schools.

General Advice

• Work before going to IR graduate school. It doesn't matter whether you work at a think tank, in government, or otherwise—just a few years of experience will make you a stronger applicant and help clarify your learning objectives in school. I think the optimal amount of work experience is 2-4 years. Less than two, you won't fully realize the benefits of the work force. More than four, you'll find it tough going back to school.
• Develop a clear mission statement. As you consider potential career paths, make a mission statement that explains how school will support your goals. For example, one SAIS student wrote "I hope to better understand the history of U.S.-Latin America relations and current U.S. policy towards the region. Additionally, I hope to learn from my colleagues that have worked or currently work in the U.S. government and my professors, many of which are also practitioners. This program will best prepare me for future assignments as an Army Foreign Area Officer in Latin America."
• Among the top tier, go wherever you get more funding. As University of Chicago's Chris Blattman says, "If your choice is between Harvard, Harris, SIPA, and SAIS then I would go where you get funding, because the difference in quality is not that different, and in my opinion even the Harvard brand is not worth $50-100k in debt. If you’re choosing between an elite and non-elite school, it could be worth the debt if you have some of the traits or interests above. It’s a tough call, and only you can make it."
• Plan out your classes. Many professors and alumni recommend taking classes outside of your concentration. I strongly disagree with this recommendation. In my view, college was the time for academic exploration; graduate school, on the other hand, should be focused on developing skills that will support your future career. You should therefore plan your class schedule with that in mind, in addition to considering professor evaluations.

1. ^{^}

   Foreign Policy publishes an annual ranking of the top IR programs. Also check out the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), an organizing body for these schools.

2. ^{^}

   The Wall Street Journal has a great database on the median debt-to-income radio of graduates across disciplines for graduates in 2015/2016. By searching for master's under "International Relations and National Security Studies" we find: NYU is ridiculously high (1.97); Columbia and Middlebury are high (1.29; 1.28); Johns Hopkins and Georgetown are okay (0.91; 0.82); Tufts, GMU, and  UT Austin are relatively good (0.70; 0.62; 0.58). The data is a decade old but it still sounds about right to me.

3. ^{^}

   I have a few friends who attended Johns Hopkins SAIS immediately after college. In case they're reading this: No, you're not included here.

4. ^{^}

   I raised this issue with a dean, who essentially told me to suck it up.

5. ^{^}

   As mentioned earlier, the top IR programs have far higher acceptance rates. Additionally, the requirements to apply to law school (LSAT), business school (GMAT and significant business experience), medical school (MCAT and pre-med courses), and PhD programs (GRE and significant research experience) are much stronger filters than a couple essays asking why you're passionate about world affairs.