The Value of Maxwell Degrees – The Competitive Edge Employers Are Looking For

Laura McArdle
Maxwell School’s Center for Career Development

I am pleased to share the following Guest Blog from Laura McArdle of the Maxwell School’s Center for Career Development.  Thank you, Laura!

Value of Maxwell Degrees: The Competitive Edge Employers Are Looking For

This week, our office released our annual employment statistics for the most recent class of MPA and IR students, graduating between December 2015 and August 2016. It is an exciting time when we get to gather information and follow up on all of the wonderful students we worked with the year before. To see recent graduates employed at places they targeted and dreamed about just months prior is a great source of pride for the Center of Career Development, and all of us here at Maxwell.

The students that come to pursue a master’s degree at Maxwell have a wide range of experiences, from years working in the public sector, to students who just crossed the stage at graduation a month before. Students with either of these profiles, and all of those in between, find great success upon graduating from our program.

While at Maxwell, students build a skillset that employers value and seek out to run projects, programs, cities and more. Quantitative and data analysis skills, management and economics, democracy and policy, budgeting and statistics are among the core concepts our MPA students master and leverage into exceptional careers in public service. While refining these skills in the classroom with faculty, students are also often sharpening these tools with local community organizations, assistantships, as well as research and leadership opportunities.  These experiences culminate in the last few weeks of the program when students complete their Capstone Projects. This real-world, intensive project not only an opportunity to truly demonstrate all that was gained over the course of the year, but to also make excellent professional connections (that have sometimes led to fulltime job opportunities) and add concrete consulting projects to a growing resume.

Our MAIR students similarly join Maxwell to gain the competitive edge in the international job market. Courses in management, leadership, quantitative skills, and research create the foundation on which students develop their focuses in complex international and regional challenges. In addition to the issues, areas, and strategies explored with our faculty in the classroom, students launch into the world of international affairs through our Global Programs. Whether students enter the program with years of international experience, or none at all, they finish their program with global internship experiences at competitive federal agencies, international organizations and more. Our MAIR statistics highlight a selection of organizations where recent graduates interned, as well as where students landed their permanent positions following graduation.

You have a team of faculty, staff, and your friendly Career Development team who will work with you to package your professional experience, no matter how much or how little, for the next step in your career.  Our office’s strategy sessions, career talks, employer events, and network are just a few of the tools at your disposal while you are here at Maxwell and for the rest of your life as a proud alum. Be confident and excited for the career ahead of you as you experience our programs and leave this school even better than you found it.

By Laura McArdle, Assistant Director, Maxwell School Center for Career Development, March 2017.