International student needing general directions

Graduate School
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Hi y’all,

I am studying in Canada at McGill university and currently am an undergraduate in year 2 (one and a half year to go). I am absolutely passionate with US politics and American history and wish to continue my studies related to the former field in grad school. Yet, I am an international (French) and this is somehow uncommon to study American politics and history. The one main reason I am not studying in the US at the moment is because…it is too expensive!
But it is ok because McGill has a lot of undergraduate classes in US history and some very good political science ones related to the US.
For the moment, I prospect, but it appears that the cost of education in master’s degrees are also extremely expansive, and even worst, universities offer not many scholarships.
Here are a few things about me to help me better:
-I have no fixed career plans. I just love American politics and would like to work in a field related to it. So my master choice are:
-MA in US politics, or in political science in general
-Master of Public policy
-Master in political communication/communication.

Those are equally costly, and I cannot pay more than let’s say 20k a year in tuition. (so let’s say around 35k a year all included…).

My questions are, do you have any recommendations (precise or not) for what is possible to do? any general guideline? Can you recommend any good school that usually offer good scholarships to international? or any fully funded ways–in exchange of something? maybe a particular state is offering something to international in exchange of some sort of work?
in any case, just propose something that is on your mind so I can look into it more in depth.

in a sense, I know that getting into grad school is hard, but if the likelihood that I get in is (relatively) “high” it is worth looking into it. otherwise, I’ll have to find another way to study what I like.

Thank you very much!

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Where do you plan to use this political science degree? Will you be teaching political science in Canada?

The US is not lacking in students with political science degrees.

If you are hoping to, perhaps, immigrate to the US to teach political science, or work in an area of political science, immigration officials, may not see that as a dire need in the US.

There aren’t a whole lot of jobs, and there’s no immediate need in the US. So the question becomes what do you plan to do with a degree in political science?

If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars in this area, it would be good to know what your plan is going forward.

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First of all, McGill is a very good university and is well known and well respected in the US.

Yes, universities in the US are expensive. Master’s degrees are frequently unfunded. I have heard of some students getting partial funding for a master’s degree, but I think that this is rare and I do not know how to go about getting this.

Immigration to the US is difficult to do and also somewhat difficult to predict. If you get a master’s degree in the US, that does not allow you to stay in the US after graduation. You will be expected to leave the US and return to your home country after graduation (although immigration to Canada seems like it might be possible).

Also, there is a good reason to be cautious about getting either a permanent resident visa or citizenship in the US. The US feels that it has a right to tax Americans regardless of where in the world the American lives and works. Also, US taxes are horribly complicated (I have described our annual tax return as “a small book” – I might need to amend the “small” part). Also, US taxes are even more complicated if you live outside the US. You probably should not want to immigrate to the US unless you are quite confident that you will want to stay here for the rest of your life. Coming here temporarily as a student on a student visa does not carry this risk, as far as I know.

I agree with @aunt_bea that, at the risk of an understatement, the US not lacking in students or recent graduates with political science degrees. You need to think about what you would do with this degree before you spend the time and money and effort to come to the US to earn it.

The US is obviously full of people who are going to understand US history better or at least in more detail compared to those of us who grew up outside the US (I was reminded of this while watching a TV quiz show called Jeopardy recently). However, having grown up outside the US will give you (and me) a different perspective from what a US-born citizen might have.

If your long term plan were to teach US history and politics at a university in Europe, then I could see how getting a graduate degree from a university in the US might be compatible with this plan. How to fund it would be a different issue. A master’s degree from McGill plus a PhD in the US might be one option, and PhD’s are usually funded in the US, although admissions is very competitive in general and probably even more competitive for an international student, and PhD’s take a lot of time and effort.

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I would like to either be a journalist or work in a think tank. Another plan was to work in political communication.

Those are the two/three things I have my eyes on at the moment. But I agree, the reasonable things would be to “plan” more, yet I’d want to know what my possibilities are or if anyone could enlighten me with what experience–as an international–he had.
I just love American politics, I guess pretty much anything would please me as long as it is the topic. And the idea is to be able to spend (literally…) my future academic years doing more of it so I also can meet people, hence specify a possible employment route. This is somehow paradoxical with the very (very very) high cost of these studies.
I have time and am at the very beginning of the research. If to your knowledge you may have something that can help me, I’ll take it. Thanks for your answer(s) by the way.

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That’s nice. Personally, I’m totally sick of it. But to each his own.

The challenge is, to be employed in the US you need an employer who will sponsor your work visa, and eventually your green card. Employers typically do this only if they cannot find qualified US citizens for a job (and as @aunt_bea said above, there is no shortage of political science graduates in America). Alternatively you might be hired because you are the eminent expert in the field, but that’s really hard when you’re a fresh college graduate.

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There is absolutely no dearth of journalists or those seeking work in a think tank. Zero.

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Absolutely agree!

Not only that, my former students who graduated with degrees in political science, are working at insurance companies, or as assistants in offices. They are not well paid.

My former students who graduated with degrees in journalism are doing piecemeal work, unhappy, and are in low paid positions.

Your previous posts, from a couple of years ago indicated that you are a French citizen who likes all things American, and your goal was to reach and be admitted to an American university. Then, I understand that you couldn’t afford to pay the universities tuition and fees.

If your goal is to ultimately live in the United States, that’s going to be very difficult because you need a sponsoring agent.

A degree in political science or journalism is not going to do it. Too many journalists and political scientists, in the US, at low-paying jobs. The employers won’t be “chomping at the bit” to sponsor you, when there are plenty of US citizen applicants who don’t need the sponsorship but need the jobs.

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That’s fair. Very interesting to have crucial insights now rather than later, too late. In the process of finding an internship at the moment, the realization that the US (market) did not need me came gradually, that’s why I am not surprised by your comments. I guess I will have to pursue a more “realistic” project.
I also knew the job market for professor was bad, I contacted one last year who told me it was dead in the water…
In any case, those are all great comments to start with (not ironically! it’s better to come down to earth per se). I’ll look into it.

I did not know about taxations @DadTwoGirls, it is also something that indeed is good to know.

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One thing that goes with this: (to the original poster) Be very, very cautious about taking on debt for your education.

I understand the value of taking on debt to be a medical doctor. A small amount of debt is okay if you need to take it on along the path to getting a degree in computer science, engineering, or nursing. I would be very wary of taking on any significant amount of debt for a degree that does not obviously lead to a good career.

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yes, never would have @DadTwoGirls except a few thousands maybe if necessary. The amount mentioned at the beginning is the maximal amount that can be “invested” but considering the job market and chance to get employed after and a myriad of factors, it is more than stupid to even think it’s a good idea now…
Did not know the job market for think tank was that bad… that is crazy. The US is giving STEM visa at the moment, I should have been good in that instead ahahah.

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So your ultimate goal, initially, was to settle and find employment in the US?

I am really sorry that you assumed that majoring in something, very American, like political science would lead you to your goal. That’s a hard lesson to learn when you’re on this side of the pond with lofty expectations.

I always tell international students, who are very happy when accepted into American universities, that they will be educated, but then they’re expected to return to their home countries.

A number of students don’t think they will return home and assume that an acceptance into a US university means they can now reside in the US for the rest of their lives.

When they’re getting close to graduation, and have had internships, but no job offers, they post here and wonder why they won’t have jobs, the day after graduation. It’s heartbreaking because they’ve made really poor assumptions.

Outside of farming communities, and very rural areas, the US is an extremely expensive place to live. Our taxes are very high, because we fund public services with those funds Including in-state universities.

As for universities in the United States, who have scholarships for international students these are rare.

I don’t know of any of my local universities (UC schools and California State’s are funded by the states’ taxpayers so no funds there) who have scholarships for international students seeking MA’s in political science.

You are searching for money, from strictly budgeted universities that would have an extra $40k to $70k a year, to sponsor international students. Where would that money come from? It’s not a high-paying discipline.

I think if your plan is to return to your country and teach US political science, then maybe you’ll get some return on your investment, if they’re willing to pay you a decent wage.

As for the US, I don’t think you’ll have a shot at a livable wage, if someone were willing to sponsor you.

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It’s possible to find funded programs through graduate assistantships, but the stipends are usually pretty meager. So even if you are funded there is a big opportunity cost because you aren’t able to start working your career. Very few careers require a PhD.

Generally, it’s easier to find funded PhDs than MAs. Search through universities that interest you. Funding opportunities can sometimes be different depending on department.

Btw, you can go straight from undergrad to PhD.

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OP- get your degree. Go home, apply to the Foreign Service (with whatever qualifying exams are required) and since English is one of your languages, and you are passionate about the American political system, apply for any and every consular, embassy or civilian military posting in the US.

That gets you here with the legal right to work. You may or may not need a Master’s-- but log on to the Foreign Service website and look at the positions that interest you and figure it out.

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