M.S. in Global Affairs
Alumna, Class of 2010
Melanie Vogelbach, a graduate of Germany’s Dresden University, was attracted to NYU-SCPS because of the stellar reputation of its M.S. in Global Affairs, and because enrolling in the School allowed her the opportunity to live and to work in New York City. Munich-born and raised, Vogelbach had traveled widely prior to enrolling in the School, living in Michigan as a high school exchange student and spending her "gap year" before college as a volunteer in Ecuador and El Salvador. She also had traveled to Chile for her college year-abroad experience. In addition, Vogelbach had briefly worked at the German Embassy in New York. She realized that earning her master’s degree through NYU-SCPS would bring her back to New York, a city she loved. "If you are interested in international relations," she notes, "New York City is the place to be. The United Nations is based here and there are numerous NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) at which you can work and gain great professional experience. There’s a huge network to tap into." The practice-based approach of the M.S. in Global Affairs curriculum provided her with the real-world experience she sought. "Center for Global Affairs faculty members are former diplomats, successful business people, journalists, and NGO professionals. They make the coursework particularly interesting, they deliver course content in a way that is immediately applicable in the professional world."