What to expect when you’re expecting (to matriculate into Maxwell!)

• by

Hi friends!

It’s hard to believe that the MPA students are officially halfway through their coursework. As you’ve probably read about, our MPA program is only one year long: we begin at the very end of June and we finish at the very end of June. How do we fit 40 credits into one year? Great question!

Summer: Over the summer, you’ll take a one week orientation-type course called Colloquium. Ours was led by Dr. Ross Rubenstein (Professor and Chair of the PAIA Department), but we had a wide array of alums come back to speak about how amazing their Maxwell experiences were, how much they learned while taking courses here, and how cool all of their jobs are now. You’ll then dive into two different three-week intensive courses: Public Budgeting and Public Administration & Democracy. Both are fast-paced, participation-intensive, and crucial to your understanding of public administration.

Fall/Spring: You’ll then need to take 9 courses throughout the next two semesters. For many students, they’ll choose to take a 5 course semester and a 4 course semester. Sometimes students choose to hold off on their 5 course semester until spring after they have acclimated to the hectic life of graduate school and sometimes students (like me!) choose to dive right in to their 5 course semester in the fall, so they’ll have extra time to look for a job in the spring. And then some students take 1 course during the optional winter session (so they only have to take two 4 course semesters). Have I confused you yet? My b, let’s take a look at my schedule:

Fall Semester

  • Introduction to Statistics
  • Economics for Public Decisions
  • Public Organizations and Management
  • Financial Management in State and Local Government
  • Education Policy

See! 5 classes. The classes in bold are part of the core curriculum – all students must take them (unless you’re a superstar whizkid and can pass the waiver exams for statistics or econ. Then you don’t have to take those courses – you can take more cool electives instead!) Soooo…I took 5 classes in the fall, did not take any classes during the optional winter session (they’re really interesting and a cool opportunity, but I was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro instead…), so how many classes am I taking during the spring semester? 4! Nailed it! You must be looking into grad school or something, smarty pants.

Spring Semester:

  • Quantitative Analysis
  • State and Local Government Finance (different than the course above, despite their strangely similar title)
  • Urban Policy
  • Forecasting for Policy Analysis and Management

Summer Round 2: After you finish the spring semester (in early May), you’ll then complete a 5ish week MPA workshop. You’ll be assigned to a group (based off your preferences) to work with a real organization on a range of policy issues. There are something like 20-25 organizations to choose from and, based off their needs and interests, you’ll have the opportunity to work to utilize your newly developed policy analysis skills and provide recommendations. You’ll end your Maxwell MPA experience with one last class entitled Executive Leadership & Policy Politics. I’d give you more information on it, but I haven’t taken it yet, so you’ll just have to hang tight!

You’ll be a busy kid when you’re earning your MPA at Maxwell, but let’s be real…what else would you expect from the top ranked MPA program in the country?

Deloitte Challenge

• by

Hi friends!

Last week, approximately 30 graduate students (including yours truly) participated in the Deloitte Case Challenge. Though intense and a liiitttle bit stressful, it was certainly a very cool experience. But let me back up just a little bit:

1. What’s Deloitte? Deloitte is one of the “Big Four” professional service firms in the county (thanks, Wikipedia). They offer an extensive variety of services to other organizations, ranging from audit and tax services to risk analysis and consulting.

2. Wait, what’s consulting? Great question. Management consulting is sort of a nebulous term that essentially means approaching a business question from multiple angles to help provide the most decisive course of action to achieve sustainable results (see more at:http://www.deloitte.com/us/consulting#&panel1-2)

3. Oh yeah! I have a whole bunch of friends who began working for Deloitte after they graduated from college! Aren’t those all jobs for the private sector, though? I want to work in the public sector. That was my first thought, too! While Deloitte is a private sector company, they provide consulting work for both the private and public sector. This allows you to provide consultation and strategic advice to a wide variety of government and public organizations.

4. Ok, I got the idea of Deloitte and the idea of a consultant. So what is this Deloitte Case Challenge? According to the very user-friendly Maxwell Center for Career Development website, the challenge “…is an opportunity for students to learn what it’s like to be a management consultant through a ‘hand-on’ simulation based on an actual Deloitte Consulting public sector project. Deloitte Consulting professionals present a case study and a series of problems to students who then work in teams to analyze the situation and develop and recommend solutions” (see more at https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/career.aspx?id=107374183061). Don’t get me wrong, I promise I was there – they just synthesize what we did so much more concisely!

So here’s what happened during the Case Challenge:

We all started at noon on a Thursday. Here we met the real Deloitte consultants who came to facilitate the challenge (many of them Maxwell graduates!), our groups (of 4) were assigned, and our case was released. Though I cannot tell you the full details of the case (I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise in case they use a similar case when you’re here next year), we were assigned to help the fictitious Federal Railway Commission. We had 11 hours (12pm-11pm) to analyze the case, think about the stakeholders, craft a detailed and strategic action plan for the FRC, and create a 15 minute presentation to deliver to a panel of judges for the following day. The next morning were presentations. Presenting anything to a group of people can be nerve wracking, but when you’re doing it in business formal attire and three inch heels? Oof, talk about difficult! Though we were all a little bit nervous and we, of course, wanted our presentations to be the best, it was fascinating to watch others present. The Deloitte Team had told us from the beginning that there were no right or wrong answers, which is certainly true. It was just so interesting to see how other minds worked out an entirely different solution to the same plan.

Of the 8 original groups, 4 finalist groups (which included mine!) were chosen to move on to the second round. The finalists were essentially given a twist in the case – for us, it meant that four months had passed and the Federal Railway Commission wanted to know what to do next. We had three hours to craft a somewhat new presentation and present again. Let me tell you, three hours flies by when you’re in a time crunch!

Winners were announced at a reception, hosted by Maxwell and Deloitte, complete with amazing finger foods, open bar, and the opportunity to chat/network with the Deloitte representatives. Unfortunately my group didn’t win, but it certainly provided me with some insight into the work of a consultant and what life could be like working at Deloitte.

Did I enjoy the experience? Let’s just say my resume has already been submitted for an open consulting position.

new_deloitte_logo

Doing Good Well

• by

Hi friends!


IMG_0764My name is Alison Lubin (on the right in the orange sweater!) and I am a current MPA student at the Maxwell School. My studies are focused on public management, state and local finance, and I have a special interest in education policy.

The short and sweet bio: I am originally from Trumbull, CT. I went to Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where I majored in psychology, with a minor in political science. After graduating in 2011, I moved back to Connecticut and began working for Elm City College Preparatory Middle School, a charter school in New Haven, CT.  Though I was quite good at dressing as Batman (something an adult can only do when she works in a middle school), I was clearly not made to teach 7th and 8th grade science. After realizing this, I found myself drawn to
IMG_0237policy programs. I applied to several, but ultimately knew that the Maxwell School was the right option for me. I began the MPA program in June and have loved it so far. The students at Maxwell are entirely committed to doing good in this world. We do good well. Really really well. 

Other fun facts about me: I love rock climbing, my favorite book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and I have a bad (great) habit of binge watching TV shows on Netflix.

I am excited to share my experiences at Maxwell as the year progresses, while also answering any and all questions y’all may have about Maxwell, life in Syracuse, application process (essays!), classes, campus, or anything else you can come up with!

IMG_0813