So, now that I have my BA in Political Science (emphasis on International Relations), I’m fairly settled into life as a part time debate coach and helping out at our family business. That said, like a lot of you probably can relate to, the idea of no more formal intellectual enrichment sort of. . .well, it bums me out.
Will I ever pursue a Poli Sci career? Maybe, I do love it. Right now, though, I’m more or less happy with where I am in life and it works for me in the present. My point is: if I go back to school for an MA, it’ll be in my spare time between my two jobs and entirely for me- not because I have some International Relations career goal in mind. Hey, extra education is never bad, right?
My issue is that my schedule is a bit crazy and since there are no universities around my terrible little town that offer MA in Poli Sci, I would need to take online classes. If the school was in California or Nevada, I suppose I could do one of those programs that are mostly online, followed up by a one week in person period or something of that nature. Probably not to exceed a couple of weeks max.
Any ideas? I like International Relations, as opposed to American-government focused stuff. Philosophy is always interesting, but I even enjoy the actual science side of poli sci- studies, journal reviews, etc.
The most common program I’ve heard of is the American Military University, but I suppose I’m just not sure how this program looks. I don’t want to pay $50k a year for a diploma mill, because my goal is actual education-- if that’s possible in an online format.
To avoid sketchy stuff just do an online degree from a good school that has a real campus. These days most schools have a part of their website on their online degrees.
For example here are the online degrees for the UNC system
Any examples? It’s hard finding brick and mortar places that offer at least mostly online classes.
I’m on the phone with George Washington U and they offer absolutely no scholarships, tuition assistance, or grants to their online only program. The price isn’t bad, but that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
That said, I’m hard pressed to find another mostly online program.
Where does the OP reside? First of all if you love something and want to study it as opposed to just because it’ll help you get a raise, it’s WORTH doing.
If you like political science and enjoy it, think of the money spent not as an investment but as entertainment. Instead of going to movies, watching cable, going bowling etc etc, you’re using money to ENJOY studying.
I understand you don’t want a diploma mill type thing, but start with a local school offering a BA in what you need. Make sure the online courses are transferable to mainstream universities and go from there. As long as the course will transfer, it doesn’t matter where you stop and start your study.
I thought as much. Why don’t you give it a year or 18 months? Maybe you could move away from Bakersfield to L.A. or the Bay Area? Or even just buy a copy of Foreign Affairs if you’re looking for intellectual stimulation (although, ultimately, that will require moving away from Bakersfield, so that should always be at least on the back burner).
School’s great and all, and reading is cool, but sooner or later, school is over and you go out and hold a job and it’s not as much fun as school was (but on the other hand, you do get paid) and that’s a shock at first, but then you put another six months or a year behind you and you start to make your peace with it.
Also, and I mean this in love, a master’s degree in Political Science is a colossal waste of time and money. Even if you got it at HKS, much less if you got it from someone’s IR Etsy store.
I think those fields don’t lend themselves to an online degree unless perhaps you are already working in the field and need something you can do from various postings around the globe. Those are fields where networking, campus experiences, and internships will be a huge part of actually getting something worthwhile out of the program.
On the off chance you want something that will just be interesting and make you a slightly better qualified high school social studies teacher, without actually aiming for a career in politics/IR, an online program from a bricks & mortar school might be OK.
For what it’s worth, I earned a MA in political science in 2004. I am a well-compensated statistician for a fortune 50 company, where I have achieved considerable success and seniority. I am thankfully returning to finish my PhD in two months since I am good and sick of the private sector.
There are many MAs in political science that are in fact complete wastes of time and money. If you want to use this degree to pursue a particular career, the degree needs to do at least one of two things. It should give you hard skills in game theory and econometrics. If you don’t want to hack the “science”, then the degree absolutely must give you access to a badass rolodex.
If your degree really is going to be for shiggles alone, then it probably doesn’t much matter where you go.
I think a few recent graduates of English PhD programs would take issue with this. That’s something of an extreme case, but yes, if the cost is much higher than the benefit, extra education is bad. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to do an MA in IR for about $25,000. Is personal enrichment worth that kind of cash to you? Will it be worth it ten years down the line?
There’s a recent series of articles from the NY Times discussing the value of a master’s degree that may be of interest to anyone following this thread. While the intangible aspects of an advanced education are very real and need to be considered, the same goes for the financial aspects.
Find a copy of the newest edition (2008, I think) of the College Blue Book, volume 6 (Distance Learning Programs). It’s too expensive to buy, but you can find a copy in the reference section of any college library and most good public libraries. It should list all the online and distance degrees (undergraduate and graduate) offered by the political science departments at all respectable accredited colleges in the US and Canada.
It won’t tell you which programs (if any) are worth the trouble and expense of pursuing, but it will give you a start.
FWIW, you’re not going to find very many online schools that offer much in the way of financial assistance, so unless you’re prepared to bankroll all of this yourself, you’re going to have to borrow heavily. Since the student loan market has also tightened, you may find it a challenge to find a lender.
