Poll: the results of our citizenship survey

Last month we held an online poll suggested by one of our readers, Diego Tiziani.

Diego was interested in other readers' views of citizenship, and more specifically what constitutes citizenship. He said his interest was whetted by his own experiences abroad and by debates in France and Italy over immigration.

Clearly immigration and its effects on politics, economics, societies and international relations are crucial to what is studied at SAIS. Human rights, conflict management, trade, economic policies, internal politics, even monetary policy -- all can be affected by immigration flows.

In a post on December 12, we asked readers this question: What should be required to obtain citizenship of a country?

Although it was not stipulated, readers seemed to understand that the question aimed to focus respondents on the minimum requirements for citizenship.

Here are the results of the survey:

Live a minimum time in the country, prove fluency in the language	30%
Have at least one parent with citizenship in the country	20%
Be born in the country	17%
Live for a minimum period in the country	16%
Be married to a citizen of the country for a minimum period	14%
None of the above	3%
	100%

The results are interesting. First, the largest number of respondents felt that it should not be necessary for a citizen to be born in the country or to have "blood ties" to the country. In fact, nearly half of the respondents felt that a crucial criterion to be a citizen should be to live in the country for a minimum period of time, with two thirds of those saying fluency in the country's main language is also necessary.

A third of the respondents felt that a citizen should be born in the country or have at least one parent with citizenship in the country.

Finally, 14% of the respondents said a person should be able to obtain citizenship by being married to a citizen of the country for a minimum period of time -- the way I acquired French citizenship, after nearly three decades of marriage to my wife, a French national.

I'm not surprised by the results of this poll. Many SAIS students expect to move around the world during their lives and to learn different languages. It would be natural for them to favor a relatively flexible standard for citizenship.

I'd like to thank Diego for suggesting this poll. (He has already received a SAIS Bologna tee shirt for his labors.) If anyone else has an idea for a poll, please send it along to admissions@jhubc.it.

Nelson Graves

SAIS students on SAIS

SAIS students put out a special publication in April that offers prospective applicants a window on our graduate school.

The SAIS Observer edition includes a range of vantage points: accounts of trips by students to China, Sri Lanka, Spain, Panama and Costa Rica; articles on life at SAIS Bologna and at Hopkins-Nanjing; descriptions of concentrations and student clubs.

There is a tongue-in-cheek piece on dating at SAIS: "Dating at SAIS or rather within SAIS is like dating in 9th grade except everyone is taller and the acne is gone."

In a note to prospective students, the three editors wrote that "the best way to predict what SAIS is like is to continue talking to current students and alumni and to be vigilant about reaching out to departments, professors, leaders and others."

Sound advice.

Mia Warner, writing about her year at SAIS Bologna in 2009-10, said "the really fascinating part was listening to my fellow classmates' questions and comments. I was in awe of the range of perspectives that other students presented."

If it's true that students are SAIS's best ambassadors, then we offer up this publication as a very good way for prospective applicants to learn more about what makes this program different.

Nelson Graves

Diversity and careers

Our recent poll gives me a chance to discuss two of SAIS Bologna's distinctive features.

The poll asked readers what they thought was best about SAIS Bologna. Here are the results:

Diverse student body - 36%

Career preparation - 26

Camaraderie - 18

Courses & faculty - 10

City of Bologna - 5

European perspective - 5

That means that more than one third of the respondents consider "diversity" to be SAIS Bologna's key asset.

"Diversity", of course, can mean different things to different people, and it can work in unpredictable ways.

(I have landed two jobs in my life in large part because I happened to be a "diverse" candidate. In one, I had an advantage over another candidate because I did not speak the language of the country where the job was located and so could ostensibly bring an impartial eye to a post that needed it. In another, I was a male applying for a job at a company where there were predominantly women, and the hiring managers wanted more gender balance. Some irony in both cases.)

I think the diversity that respondents to our poll were thinking of stems to a large extent from the range of nationalities. This year we have 43 nationalities (48 including dual passports), up from 34 last year and the largest number of nationalities in the Bologna Center's 57 years.


View SAIS Bologna 2011-12 class in a larger map

With 43 nationalities among 200 students, everyone is in a kind of minority. Even our U.S. students, who make up 44% of the class, are in a minority because they are outnumbered by non-Americans and, of course, are living in a foreign country.

This sense of being in a permanent minority is part of the SAIS Bologna learning experience. One is constantly confronted by different points of view. One's assumptions are regularly challenged. You cannot hide behind conventional wisdom because in such a place, it is neither conventional nor necessarily wisdom.

Students who thrive at SAIS enjoy learning from and about others. They are willing to give of themselves because they understand that others want to learn about them, too. It is one important reason why SAIS students are expected to participate in classes -- because so much of what is learned here comes from sharing experiences from such a wide range of backgrounds.

Of course with the diversity of nationalities comes a mix of religions, beliefs, languages and economic circumstances -- all part of the learning experience. Some of our students have been in the workforce for some years, others are coming directly from undergraduate study.

I'm delighted that our readers recognize that diversity is part and parcel of what makes SAIS Bologna special.

A word on careers: It is true that SAIS considers itself a professional school. Most of our graduates take up jobs after finishing a SAIS master's (but by no means all -- check out the number of SAIS professors who continued studying and got their Ph.Ds at SAIS). Who wants to invest in a graduate school without the prospect of landing a good job afterwards?

While SAIS does not guarantee graduates will get the job of their choice, our students do very well. We like to think that a SAIS education prepares students for a wide range of careers throughout their working lives. You'll see many SAIS graduates during their careers move between the public and private sectors, from one industry into another,  from a multilateral institution into an NGO.

If you are considering applying to SAIS Bologna, think of it as a long-term investment, one that will bring you benefits throughout your working years. Certainly our alumni see it that way.

Nelson Graves

This week's grab bag: an updated map, missing DVDs, visas, and our survey

Before we turn to some housekeeping details, I have updated the map showing where the incoming SAIS Bologna students come from.

Currently the class of 2011-12 has passports from 51 countries. Two dozen of the students have dual passports. They have declared 45 countries as nations of first nationality, plus six others as secondary nationalities.

If you click on the placemarks on the map below, you will see the name of the country plus the number of students coming from that country.

This past year we had students from 34 nations (not including dual nationalities). So there will be one third more nationalities this coming year. We have students who have enrolled from four countries that have never been represented at SAIS Bologna: Bahamas, Mongolia, Qatar and Zimbabwe.

With the ebb and flow of enrollment, these figures can change in coming weeks. But at this point we are looking at the greatest number of nationalities at SAIS Bologna since it was founded 56 years ago.


View SAIS Bologna 2011-12 class in a larger map

MATH DVDs


We have tried to make sure that all incoming SAIS Bologna students have the math DVDs that are useful for preparing for the economics courses. Eventually each incoming student should have two sets of DVDs:

- One set entitled "Interactive Pre-Calculus Course" with 4 DVD disks inside covering 52 modules;
- One set entitled "Interactive Basic Calculus for Economists Course" with 3 DVD disks inside covering 34 modules.

If you have one set but not the other, please send an email to admissions@jhubc.it.

Please keep in mind that it takes some time to work through either set of DVDs, so if you have one but not the other, you are not out on a limb yet.

The DVDs reflect the importance of math in learning economics. Students taking the Online Math Tutorial will have a chance to prove their understanding of pre-calculus and calculus. If a student has not passed one or the other of the exams in the Online course, they will have a chance to prove their understanding during pre-term in either Washington or Bologna.

A student who does not pass the tests either during the Online course or in pre-term will have a chance during the first class of microeconomics.

Keep in mind that while each student is encouraged to pass both the pre-calculus and the calculus exams, one is not required to pass them to proceed with economics. But economics sure is easier with a solid foundation in math.

VISAS

Questions about visas have tapered off. We hope that means that everyone is making progress. If not, be sure to contact us.

SURVEY

A total of 77 readers have completed our little survey. Thank you to those who have taken time to do so. Already it has provided us with very useful feedback and ideas on how to improve our work. As promised earlier, we will provide a summary of the feedback, along with some data on readership, in a post later this summer.

If you would like to participate in the survey but do not have the link, please send an email to admissions@jhubc.it, and we'll send it along to you.

OTHER

There must be other things people need to know, but I've run out of issues.

Your thoughts?

Nelson Graves

Weekly quiz

The 2011-12 SAIS Bologna class has emerged almost fully from the lengthy admissions process. We can now say that students with passports from 51 countries have enrolled. This map shows the countries:


View SAIS Bologna 2011-12 class in a larger map

The countries include 5 newcomers to the Bologna Center, which in its 56 years has graduated students from 110 countries. The new countries are the Bahamas, Madagascar, Mongolia, Qatar and Zimbabwe. Congratulations to the trailblazers from those nations.

We plan to start cutting back on the frequency of our blog posts starting next week. Initially we will be posting three days a week -- Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. As the summer deepens, we will cut back further as our readers leave their computers and hand-held devices behind for a few weeks. We'll pick up again in the autumn when a new batch of potential applicants start looking into graduate programs. We'll be counting on the incoming class to help us convey what SAIS Bologna is all about.

Soon we will be circulating a brief survey asking for feedback on this blog, which will be 6 months old in mid-June. If you would like to participate in the survey, please send an email to us.

Next week we will provide a short video capturing some of this year's students talking about what they will be doing this summer. We'll also have a post on a student project that was presented to an international renewable energy competition. During the following week, we plan to run a slideshow of photographs from the Bologna Center graduation, set for May 28.

Now, on to the quiz question.

But first, we've decided to wait until Monday mornings to reveal the answer to the Friday weekly quizzes. That gives all time zones a chance to participate. Now there is no excuse for not participating.

In what region, other than North America, did the greatest number of SAIS students from the most recent graduating class go to work after finishing their studies?

Prize: a SAIS Bologna tee shirt

Nelson Graves

Where the SAIS Bologna class of 2012 comes from

Candidates with passports from 51 countries have accepted offers to attend SAIS Bologna in 2011-12. We have plotted place-marks on the countries in the map below.

The geographical sweep underscores the diversity of the Bologna Center, which is committed to exposing students to an educational experience that stretches their horizons.


View SAIS Bologna 2011-12 class in a larger map

Nelson Graves

Where our admitted candidates come from

You've heard us say time and again that we welcome feedback and suggestions. We want to be true to our word.

On Monday, Góes posted this comment on last week's quiz: "Could you make a map like the one in this post featuring where the students admitted to the Center this year come from?" I promised we would do so.

Below you will see a map of the world showing the countries of the candidates who were admitted through our office in Bologna for the 2011-12 academic year. Keep in mind that this map does not include those admitted through our Washington Admissions Office, which handles applications from U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Some of you may remember a post in January with maps showing where this year's students come from and the 110 countries of our alumni.

All of this, of course, underscores the international character of SAIS -- one of our most important characteristics. And we hope a drawing card for our admitted candidates.



View Admitted candidates' countries in a larger map


Nelson Graves

Your assumptions challenged

You won't find it in the curriculum, the library stacks or the course catalog. But it's very much part of the SAIS experience: the diversity of the student body.

The multiplicity of nationalities, languages and cultures makes for a special experience, wherever you are from.

The diversity enriches life inside and outside the classroom, as students share their experiences, opinions and knowledge. Beware: even your most deeply ingrained assumptions can be challenged.

As Amina and I sift through the applications that have arrived at via Belmeloro, we are impressed by the number of nationalities represented among our candidates. We are confident the SAIS Bologna class of 2012 will be as global in background and outlook as its predecessors -- if not more so.

Below is a map showing our candidates' countries of origin. Consider that many of them have lived in several countries or are currently living overseas. It makes for a dynamic mix.


View Applicants in a larger map

Our more alert readers may have noticed that yesterday we did not offer up the post we had promised on democratic development. Instead we focused on the next steps in the admissions process.

But next week we do intend to publish the post on the Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development, one of SAIS's partners in Bologna.

Tomorrow: Weekly quiz

Nelson Graves

Where do we come from?

We've already talked about diversity at SAIS Bologna in several posts. It was at the heart of our weekly quiz last week. Prof. Mahrukh Doctor discussed it in her post and her video yesterday.

So how diverse is SAIS Bologna?

Diversity comes in many forms. Today we thought we would focus on geographic diversity.

Having students from around the world enriches our program in many ways: they bring different points of view and experiences to the classroom and the Center; students learn by associating with individuals from other parts of the world; our program in international relations becomes truly global thanks to the multiplicity of ethnicities, nationalities, languages and cultures.

Here is a map showing where the 204 students who enrolled at SAIS Bologna for 2010-11 come from. (We have included MA, MAIA, Ph.D and MIPP candidates.) You will see 34 different geographic origins. If you click on the pointers, you will see how many students hail from that location.

(You can zoom in or out of the map by clicking on the "+" or "-" signs below the arrows.)


View SAIS Bologna Current Students in a larger map

We've also discussed the importance of alumni in this blog. Alumni help ensure the future of SAIS Bologna by spreading the word, supporting the Center financially and helping recruit students. Alumni are also an important resource for students scouting for careers.

As of last July, we had 6,511 alumni from 110 different countries. About half of them (3,232) are from the United States, with the rest (3,279) from 109 other nations.

On this map, you'll see where these alumni come from:


View SAIS Bologna Countries in a larger map

Note that SAIS Bologna has seen some important geopolitical changes around the world since it was founded in 1955. The redrawing of national borders can wreak havoc with map makers and data collectors. In this case, how do we classify graduates who came from (then) Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR or Serbia-Montenegro? We have tried to note as much on this map.

(As any student of international relations will tell you, there will always be disagreements over nationalities,  national boundaries and country names. I have no intention of offending any readers or alumni with these maps; any errors are mine. The maps are meant to illustrate the geographic diversity that has characterized SAIS Bologna from the start. But we would welcome any relevant comments.)

I'd like to thank Adnan Muminovic, one of the followers of this blog, for suggesting the idea of these maps.

Tomorrow: Weekly quiz!

Nelson Graves

Weekly quiz!

It's that time of the week.

We've tackled some pretty serious topics this week: languages at SAIS; financial aid; GREs and GMATs, and speakers. Some of this is pretty heavy going, but we know it interests at least some of you. We receive lots of questions on these topics, and our readership statistics show that these posts are being read.

But all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. (No, the answer to today's quiz is not the origin of this proverb.) It's time for our quiz.

Last week it took NVM seven minutes to identify the SAIS Bologna terrace, where we have a webcam scanning the city's skyline. Eva W. was quick on December 21 to identify Kenneth Keller as SAIS Bologna Director, and the week before that Ilektra named C. Grove Haines as the founder of the Bologna Center.

It's clear we have to toughen up our questions or risk irrelevance. So here is today's quiz. There's an important innovation: it's a two-part question, and the winner needs to answer both parts correctly. The first part is multiple choice.

PART ONE

SAIS Bologna has produced 6,511 alumni since its founding in 1955. From how many countries do SAIS Bologna alumni come?

• 80
• 90
• 100
• 110
• 120
• None of the above

PART TWO

How many nationalities are represented among this year's SAIS Bologna class?

Remember: the winner gets a free lunch at Giulio's Bar at the Bologna Center. The runner-up gets a free cappuccino there.

Diversity comes in many forms.

Enjoy!

Next week's posts:

- Monday, January 17: The finish line for applications

- Tuesday, January 18: Communications

- Wednesday, January 19: Being a faculty member

- Thursday, January 20: What counts most in an application?

- Friday, January 21: Weekly quiz

Nelson Graves