I recently separated from the US Army and am working at a federal site as a contractor. I intend to obtain an MPA / MPP for future career growth and options.
Cost isn't a huge issue as tuition assistance from my employer and veteran education benefits will cover everything. I was concerned about prestige at first but am now more concerned about good faculty and coursework. Below are the two I am considering:
NIU MPA program - seems like a respected program especially for local government with good outcomes in producing city managers, a career field I would consider moving into. Also, I am an NIU alumni so I have some loyalty. I live in the Western Suburbs so if I take any classes in person getting there won'e be hard.
UIC MPA program - the coursework seems very aligned to my interests. Well known university in the area, but I have not hear alumni gushing about the quality (I may be wrong about that). The demographics of the program are a bit concerning to me, over 70% female is very skewed. Easy to get to via train or vehicle for any in-person classes.
Are there other programs I should consider? I considered Northwestern but didn't like that it was in the School of Professional studies. I know people who attended the Harris MPP and Evening Masters in Public Policy but being all in person and in Hyde Park would be brutal.
I could also do Indiana, Syracuse, or Ford at U Michigan but wasn't sure if the distance would hurt my education.
What do y'all think?