MYF and PhD

Even as our focus is fixed on wrapping up the Early Notification process and preparing for the applications that will greet us on or before January 10, there’s another deadline coming up on Sunday, December 20.  That’s when we’ll receive two very different sets of applications:  for the PhD program, and for Map Your Future.

Many years ago, we moved the PhD program deadline from January to December so that we would have extra time to let the process run.  There’s a committee of five professors and several staff members who review the applications, and need time to do so.  In addition, dissertation proposals are shared with members of the faculty to ensure there’s a good match between the applicant’s interests and faculty expertise.  All of that takes time, and kicking off the process ahead of the January rush has served us well.

When we were considering the application process for the relatively new Map Your Future pathway to admission to the MALD or MIB programs, we decided that the December 20 deadline would work for these applicants, too, though they could hardly be more different from those who apply for the PhD.  Map Your Future is for students currently in their last year of undergraduate study (or six months post graduation) who, if admitted, will enroll at Fletcher in two years.  So the applicants we’ll consider this month will finally start their Fletcher classes in September 2017 (if they are 2015 graduates) or September 2018 (if they are 2016 graduates).  This path works well for applicants who want the security of a graduate school admission offer, but who also want to pursue professional experience before starting their graduate studies.

When we consider MYF applicants, we are really looking for indications of potential.  We like to see a strong academic profile and some early professional and international experience.  Of course, your typical 21-year-old will not have the experience of our average student admitted directly to the MALD or MIB program, but (in a sense) we make a bet that our admitted MYF students will accrue a lot of great experience in the two years before they enroll.

The MYF application is pretty much the same as for students who apply directly to the MALD or MIB.  Any tips that I might give to a MALD/MIB applicant would be appropriate for an MYF applicant, too.  It’s only the review process that differs.  Now that the second group of MYF admitted applicants has enrolled, we are happy to see how well this option is working.