Choosing between Master’s Econ w/ Pol Econ + Dev + Econ Hist Interest (Oxford MPhil and Bocconi ESS)
I know there’s some other posts with similar admission inquiries (so apologies) but I want to be ultra-specific on what I’m looking for and hear from people who are actually familiar with the programs, not just what can be found online.
From the title, I’m deciding between Oxford MPhil and Bocconi ESS. My undergrad was an Econ minor from a t10 school in U.S. and worked for last 2 years in a social sciences research org, mostly education and workforce (including for context for those who are interested). I also applied to M1 APE at PSE and got rejected.
My interests are mainly in political economy, economic history, and development and I want to stay in academia. My ideal path is to get a PhD in the U.S. at a prestigious university that will open connections for either teaching or working at an international agency.
I’m not coming from a math-heavy background (farthest I’ve taken is linear algebra and multi variable calc). I know both programs are academically rigorous, so I’ll be spending some time reviewing materials over summer.
What I want to know is what would be the best program for my goals of getting a PhD (in the U.S. ideally) and getting valuable research opportunities in my field. I’ve seen some quite conflicting stuff on the subreddit that Oxford > Bocconi and vice versa, so would really appreciate clarification on it. I’m also curious as someone not from Italy or Europe whether there can be disadvantages at Bocconi.
I know there are differing opinions, but based on what I’m looking for hopefully there’s a clearer option.
Thank you! And happy to answer questions in the comments.