On options and choosing...

This weekend I had my first weekend full of studying since at least half a year, I can't say it went as easy as I wanted to, but I do feel like I'm in the right place choosing this Master programme.
Already during the introductory meeting last Wednesday when we went through the programme of the courses in this Master, I felt that way. In fact I think I might even missed the 'academic' challenge.. Let me tell you a little bit about how I chose to enroll in the Master Economics of Public Policy and Management.

In the first place I really like the subjects teached in this specific master. During my bachelors I chose to do a minor in social sciences as well as political sciences and followed a track in Economics and Politics. In specifying myself in this field a little bit I found that subjects of public policy interested me the most. I find it challenging to look at problems at the public economy level, where it is interesting that there are several stakeholders to consider when thinking of a solution. And where the issue of politics and political views, who ofcourse all offer their own solution to the problem, adds another dimension. The Netherlands does not have a lot of options for studying these subjects, USE does offer this opportunity.

The masters at USE might be more theoretical than programmes at other universities, but I like that fact. It gives me a solid basis to build on and the practical issues of work I can learn while actually working. I'm not studying here to learn how to write a policy nota, I'm studying here to learn where to base a policy nota on.

As you might have guessed from my earlier post, I liked studying in Utrecht and at the Utrecht University School of Economics the years before. I know most of the teachers in my masters and I know the way they teach. I know that they have a great knowledge of different subjects and that a lot of them are more than eager to help you get you through their courses and make sure you write good papers. All of this makes that I become even more enthousiastic about the subjects they teach, which makes it way easier to put effort in my studies. I think the teachers that will teach my courses coming year are the major reason for choosing this master.

Next to this, I like the fact that the Master at USE is kind of specific but not too much. It specifies in public economics and public policy, but it goes over different subjects in this field. I believe this still leaves me a range of options at jobs next year, where I hope the different labour market oriented activities of the studyassociation ECU'92, the university and other parties will show me my range of options.