Michigan MAE (unfunded) vs Northeastern MA (stipend)

[SCarterGW]

Hi,

So after 12 applications (10 acceptances, but rejected by Duke and NYU), my decision boils down to:

 

Michigan MA in Applied Econ (1.5 years at 36k/year) or

Northeastern MA in Econ (1.5 years with a TA and stipend)

 

Michigan's reputation certainly has the edge on Northeastern, but finances aside, Northeastern has a Co-op program that is pretty intriguing. It seems that in years past, some of their MA students have worked 3-6 months at various research and govt organizations, including the Fed.

 

I don't intend to go for PhD after the MA, but rather to work at a research institution or teach intro econ at a technical or community college. Can anyone weigh in with any advice that could me with my decision?

 

Thanks very much!

[corolla09]

These programs are very different.

 

Michigan is certainly the better program with the MUCH better reputation. You should ask Michigan for a sample of where their student tend to place after the MA. Northeastern does have the reputation for having a lot of students do decent co-op/internships, however they aren't well respected in the Econ world. I imagine the MA at Michigan would tend to carry more weight.

[SCarterGW]

That is very helpful, corolla.

 

Does anyone else have anything else that they could add?

 

 

Thanks very much guys

[WishMeLuck]

Hey,,SCarterGW

 

Do you make up your mind? I got an offer from Umich too,so we probably see each other there.

 

Ps. I'm still waiting for NYU decision...hurrrrr!!

[GooniesNeverSayDie]

SCarterGW,

 

I actually did my MA at Northeastern so I may have some advice. The program is pretty good. Very applied, so if you are interested in working in consulting or Government then Id say it’s a good choice. NEU may not have the best reputation, but I think its still a great school (plus Boston is awesome!). I was able to get a good job after the program in consulting and I work with people that did their graduate work at schools such as Penn, Yale, Harvard and BU, so I don’t think people will look down on the program and its graduates. As for the Co-op program, a word of advice; The UG co-op is great, but at the grad level it’s really left up to the student to find a co-op or summer work. Other then that I think NEU was great school and I enjoyed my time there, plus it’s a bonus that they offer funding to MA students, something that a lot of other programs don’t do. If you have any other questions about Northeastern you can PM me.

Best of Luck

[wajihc]

NEU has a good and rigorous program in Industrial Organization. Faculty with Ph.D.s from UPenn, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, and Rutgers are involved with IO.

[sunnydays]

These programs are very different.

 

Michigan is certainly the better program with the MUCH better reputation. You should ask Michigan for a sample of where their student tend to place after the MA. Northeastern does have the reputation for having a lot of students do decent co-op/internships, however they aren't well respected in the Econ world. I imagine the MA at Michigan would tend to carry more weight.

 

Has anyone called the MAE program for a list of student placements? I was offered admission without funding to UM MAE program and full-tuition plus stipend at a nearby University.

[3ohto4oh]

I visited NEU because they were the first to offer me funding (PhD).

 

NEU confirmed my understanding that the program is currently configured to place students in good, but non-academic, positions. The program is still rebuilding after a hiring freeze in the late 90's that coincided with four tenured and tenure-track professors departing, and forced them to halt all PhD admissions. Only one student has completed the Ph.D. since they started offering this again in 2003, and she found a job consulting; two other students, both on the job market this and currently preparing to defend their dissertations, have not yet been placed. (I don't know when offers usually roll in, but I took this as non-good news.)

 

Their long-term department-building plan makes a lot of sense, and the university itself has a very good name, but they currently only offer specialties in I/O and labor, which do not speak to me. Maybe I would make a different decision in 10 years?

 

I wonder if any of this is useful for a MA student?