November 06, 2004

• I think the answer will vary depending on which country you want to work in. This is straight out of my butt, but for the US I think law school seems like the best option. You probably know much more about the technical side of things than you'll learn in any interdisciplinary public-policy program. Also I don't think non-lawyers are given too much respect in the public-policy arena. By the way, do you have any particular reason to be a 'hacktivist'? Any cause you hold dear?
• Thanks, fuyugare. I should add some more information. I am a permanent resident of the US and definitely want to study there. The schools, thankfully, are still among the best in the world. I cannot afford to fund my own graduate studies and my chances of getting a TA or an RA-ship are pretty good (considering my industry experience) in the US. I want to work in rapidly developing countries in East Asia when I graduate. I feel that in 4-5 years time these countries will feel the need to pass legislation governing technology and intellectual property which I want to hopefully influence. Causes I hold dear: Open Source, a healthy Commons, Collaborative community computing, Community Area Networks.
• ...I know that they are doing some innovative work at Columbia (NYC) in terms of studying the internet as a social/educational/cultural influence, and they do have a fine law school. I don't know if you could use those two intersects to create the kind of program/thesis you're looking for.
• Thaths- I highly recommend the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University. Check out their website and see if this is what you're after. The grads of this program go on to do some amazing things in public service. IU is also one of the most technologically enhanced universities in the nation. And I can't say enough about Bloomington. It's a beautiful little blue island in a sea of red.
• If you want power over legislation/regulation, go to law school. Just remember that you will have to take many courses that you're not interested in, it's a long haul, and it will be mostly (for you) US-focussed. At my law school in Canada, they did have an option of doing a joint law and MPA (Master's of Public Administration) degree, which may sort of fit what you want. I have to admit, when I saw your list of requirements, I thought - well sure, that would be nice, but as if! Still, one thing is as was suggested above - you may need to create your own program, by working with a supervisor and picking courses from different areas at one good school. If you feel bound by specific programs, I don't think you'll find what you're looking for. At law school, though, it's hard to be able to take external courses, mainly because there isn't time. Also, I don't know what qualifies as East Asia, but lots of countries have already passed legislation on the internet, e-commerce, trademarks, etc. For example, Malaysia started passing legislation in 1997, if I'm remembering a recent speech correctly. If you go to law school, or even take two years for a Master's, those "rapidly developing countries" will be mostly done, and just settling into normal constitutional routines about legislation. I'm not trying to be harsh, but I'm just wondering exactly how much research you've done into these desires. In essence, if any country has the Internet, they've passed some laws, and if they're big enough to be on the US's radar for any reason, then they've passed IP laws for sure, or are already being pressured to do so. Just something to think about.
• age being a major question for me. I'll be 40 by the time I complete a PhD So what? Unless there's some specific reason why you need to be working by then, don't let it scare you. Round numbers don't have any special significance except what we give them, if you're doing something you love it won't matter how old you are.
• Thaths, You may want to poke around at the AAAS Science and Public Policy site. I've been looking into their Science and Technology Fellowships as a possibility for when I finish my postdoc myself and although you do need a Ph.D. to qualify for those, they do appear to have many other programs to look into. Best of luck!
• NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program might be worth a look.
• Depends on what you want. If what you want is a more satisfying career, going to any policy school or school-of-the-environment should do. You're extremely unlikely to find anywhere that specializes in exactly what you want to do. Avoid schools with much emphasis on public administration. The *only* reason to go for a PhD is if you firmly intend to take a job as a professor. It is a professional qualification, nothing more. If what you want to do is make a difference, though, the answer is different and probably unfortunate. You'd probably make more of a difference to the world by staying in the business world and working on good projects. Being part of a team that develops a cleaner tech, or tech brings more news and ideas into Indian villages, or whatever, will make more of a difference than several careers worth of public policy professors.
• All of the topics you mention are themes at U.C. Berkeley's School of Information Management and Systems (and, to be fair, many other Information Systems graduate programs, but I can speak with more certainty about SIMS since I got my Master's degree there). SIMS emphasizes interdisciplinary work, with joint faculty and courses with the law, business, and computer science schools. From my POV, the best thing about SIMS is that you can really define your own direction; depending on one's temperament, that might be a bad thing, instead, but it sounds like it would work for you...
• Well, I quit my software job a couple of years ago and started a PhffD in economics because I was interested in globalization issues. I sort of agree and disagree with Xeny above. I think you'd have to be nuts to spend 4-5 years on a professional credential. It only makes sense if spending that long eating beans+rice slaving over your research sounds like heaven.
• I'm not sure that NYU's interactive telecommunications program would be what you are looking for. I got accepted there and it is fairly production based, as in producing interactive telecommunications. And since NYU is a private school, it is also ungodly expensive and Interactive Telecommunications doesn't (or at least 2 years ago didn't) offer assistantships of any kind. As far as IU's SPEA program, maybe bibliochick has more first hand experience, but over in my department (Communication and Culture at IU, where I went after I decided I couldn't afford NYU. Shoutouts to my IU peeps!) we sort of get the impression that SPEA is full of kids that don't get into the Business school. However, that is just my experience and what I've heard through the grapevine, so your mileage may vary.
• There are other jobs that come out of Ph.D.s than simply professorial - a world of research in both profit and non-profit non-unversity settings. Also public policy, where the research and writing skill of a Ph.D. is invaluable. However, if you desire to be a professor, a Ph.D. is now essential. Outside experts may be hired at some colleges or universities, but generally only on a part-time basis for token pay. However, depending on where you go, you may not be living on rice and beans. Support for Ph.D. students in the U.S. has been increasing at many schools, particularly private American universities; some now offer guarenteed support to all Ph.D. students. I know that I am eating better now and have more disposable income, on a graduate student's stipend, than I ever did before. Actually - don't do a Ph.D. in North America without funding - there are too many schools with good funding, and it's not worth the debt. Take a second (or lower) choice school if they offer funding and the others do not, because that will be what really determines how well you can do. Check the fine print on the funding - be careful of schools offering excellent funding for one or two years, and then no guarenteed funding. Find out the average time to completion, and see if the funding matches that, or at least close (ie 5 years funding for a 6 year program). Funding for masters or professional degrees is more difficult to find, though it does exist; however, these degrees are shorter, and thus less of a debt burden. Outside funding exists - you have to search high and low, but you can get it, especially for very contemporary, goal oriented research (though I think the digital divide interest would sell better than hacktivism). ---------- That all said, a Ph.D. is a research and theorectically oriented form of study. I know people who have begun a Ph.D. after working as activists or social workers - one said it was because she wanted to better understand on a theorectical level the issues with which she had been dealing. If your interest is in doing, a Ph.D. and being a professor may not be a good choice - that's what you would do if your interest is in learning and telling other people (but not too many, because no one listens to people who know what they are talking about) about it. If your interest is in changing laws, then law school would be very helpful - maybe essential? There are schools (such as Yale) which offer joint Ph.D./law degrees which a) make the law degree a bit cheaper (you save a semester's tuition, by taking it within the grad school for free), and b) allow you to mix the study of law with public policy, economics etc. However, what would your other field be? Disciplines are all different for preparation they require for a masters or Ph.D. student; history is easy to move into, economics would be less so, unless you already have some background. Generally, it's easier to move from a discipline to an interdisciplinary field.