MA in Politics - is it worth it?

pow wow

So, I am pretty sure I never want to be Taoiseach or anything close to it, but politics really interests me (my undergrad is History & Politics) and I've been thinking about doing the MA in Politics at UCC. Secretly I've been hoping/praying to get a place on the Political Sociology masters at LSE but I doubt my undergrad classification will be high enough to wow LSE into accepting me and giving me a scholarship, so I can't really afford that one.

Now political sociology is geared more towards getting a job at the end of it, especially in London and especially at a uni like LSE where people come to recruit you. Much as I would hope Cork has a good reputation it's not quite the same so there is less of a chance that a job would follow from the degree. In actual fact in Ireland I can't think of many jobs that would make an MA in Politics worth the money and time from a career benefit point of view. I'd do it primarily because I enjoy it but I have already had my careers advisor at uni almost laugh in my face because...clearly...I'm never going to be a politician

My real question is, does anyone know anyone who has done a politics or related Masters and what are they doing now?

m1ke

I did an MA in Politics (UCD) and really enjoyed it. I also know an awful lot of people who did one too and by and large everyone has been quite successful. So what sort of jobs? Lots of journalists of varying success - actually - if there is any field where an MA helps your career, it is journalism. Quite a few people also ended up as political advisors, assistants to politicians and civil servants (some temporary positions, some EU positions, third secs and AOs). Many (around 40/50%) went on to further training (PhD, solicitor and barrister were some of the more popular routes).

Of course, many of my contemporaries have landed really crap jobs that they hate (call centres, clerical work and random temping). It is very important that you get working on your career from the day you start your masters. The big mistake that most people made in mine was that they didn't do anything for 12 months and expected that they would just land in a great job.

So an MA can be very good - it opens some doors but it can also close others. For instance, it can be difficult to get work experience or an internship after a masters because this is normally done after undergrad. It can also be difficult to get in at the bottom of a company such as a bank or a government job. It is often easier to get in at the bottom and work your way up to mid-level management and get them to pay for you to do a masters, then to expect to land immediately in a mid-level job.

pow wow

Thanks for that m1ke. I gave up a finance job to go back to college so always have that to fall back on (God help me if I ever end up crunching stats again!).

I want to work abroad afterwards and was kinda concerned too about the rep (or lack of) that UCC would have overseas, plus anyone I've asked has no idea about the quality of the course (my own current lecturers included!). I guess it'll be fingers crossed for LSE at this stage.

dory

I too would love to go to the LSE (different course don't worry!). What scholarship are you talking about?

pow wow

Outside of the hardship stuff there are a few scholarships unique to each faculty, including Social Sciences. If you look at the website there's a list of all of them, there aren't many though...hence the extreme unlikelyhood of me getting one!

CamillaRhodes

Hi ellscurr, if you're willing to consider studying International Politics and would move to the UK, you could consider the Uni of Bradford. I did my MA in IP there last year (it's actually International Politics & Security Studies, though you can slant your MA to be more security based or not - I wrote my thesis on more 'human security' aspects, i.e. development / socio-economic issues)

Anyway, Bradford has a good reputation in the international political field, if you're interested in working for international NGOs or governmental orgs like the UN. I can't say it ranks as highly as LSE, but it certainly is well known and your professors will be invaluable contacts in getting work afterwards. If cost is an issue, it's also significantly cheaper than LSE, plus living costs in Bradford are so much lower than London.

Of my Uni colleagues, those who are working got jobs with, e.g., the UN, the MoD, various think tanks, international radio stations, etc. I got my current job almost immediately (before I'd even finished my thesis) which had always been somewhat of a 'dream job'.

On the other hand, I think those who walked into jobs also generally had some experience under their belts already, e.g. volunteering with NGOs, or internships, or some sort of 'base level' work. Those who did not have any experience, such as those who came straight to their MA from undergrad, have struggled to find employment. For me, even though I got my current job immediately, I am now faced with a situation where I have to look for another job (likely that my current organisation will close) and I'm actually finding it very, very difficult.

So, there are no hard and fast answers in this. I think, in general, having an MA in this field is very useful. However, getting some experience such as an internship or volunteering is also crucial. You might want to consider taking a year out to do this, and then returning to your MA?

Also just a word on the hardship scholarships on offer - these generally go to students with real, proper hardship, e.g. either coming from a third world country or a war zone. I think it would be quite hard to justify giving the scholarship to an applicant from Ireland unless you are unfortunate enough to be really, really long-term impoverished (and able to prove it - just being skint from having been a student for four years wouldn't cut it). Best to try for academic scholarships rather - for Bradford, you might look into the Rotary Fellowship scholar programme, which will pay your fees and living expenses. BTW Rotary also fund Peace related politics programmes in other countries around the world.