Martha, 2022 Summa Cum Laude in International Economic Policy

Coming from Germany, Martha Fiehn graduated Summa Cum Laude in International Economic Policy. She is currently a research assistant at Harvard University in the Economics Department. 

What skills and/or strategy helped you to succeed at PSIA? 

Be intentional with how you structure your time. In general, I like to get as much as possible done at the beginning of the semester. In my fourth semester, however, I knew that I would still be writing my thesis for much of the semester, so I clustered the deadlines I had influence over (e.g., presentation dates) until after I knew I’d be done with the thesis. That semester, I also stacked my classes so that I only had to be on campus Monday-Wednesday, meaning that I could focus on my thesis Thursday-Sunday. This kind of strategy can also be helpful if you’d like to have a part-time job or internship. Time management is key. 

>What part of your PSIA experience do you think will be of great help in your career?

I am pursuing a career in academic research. PSIA, and in particular, my academic advisor Cécilia Baeza Rodriguez, provided me with the institutional environment that allowed me to pursue this career trajectory: over the summer after my first year, I worked as a research intern at ENS Lyon, and for the whole second year, I was a research fellow at Harvard. Because I had found my new passion in the economics of taxation through these research experiences, I was able to change my thesis topic and advisor just before the start of the third semester. In this way, PSIA is structured to allow students to pursue their interests and career goals. 

What advice would you give to current and future PSIA students?

If you are interested in doing something, just ask. Send cold emails to professors, internships, events, and jobs that interest you. If there are courses that interest you in other schools, ask your academic advisor and see what could be possible. Always ask – you never know what kinds of opportunities might be open to you! 

A concrete piece of advice is to choose your project partners carefully. Pay attention to who is engaging with the course material and asking thoughtful questions, and once you have a sense of who these people are, ask to work together with them as soon as possible. If you work on a project with someone and you work well together, don’t hesitate to partner with them again. Choose people who are reliable and who challenge you. 

Lastly, engage with French people and French culture! PSIA is incredibly international, which is wonderful, but it can also mean that you mostly interact with people in English unless you make a concerted effort to speak French. I learned much of my French through my summer internship. Take every opportunity you have to travel and explore the country – there is more to France than Paris! SciencesPistes Cyclables organizes a 2-week, all-levels bike trip every summer. To get around otherwise, there are great deals from the SNCF (national train system) for young people, for example the Carte Advantage Jeune and the TGVMax Jeune. During the summer, there are also great offers for TER trains, such as unlimited travel throughout the country for only 40 Euros.  

• About the Master in International Economic Policy