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[carebear]

I've been reading the fora for a while, and one of the things that has struck me has been extreme reluctance of many here to advise their students to pursue graduate school or academia.  In light of the job market for most disciplines, this makes sense.  As I approach the end of my undergraduate program, and consider the possibilities of grad school, I find that I do not want to enter academia or teaching, however, I still find a graduate degree highly desirable.  To give an idea of the field that I am talking about, the other option that interests me is a Fulbright--I want to gain a deeper understanding of the region that I study, as well as language proficiency, before beginning non-profit work or government service.  The knowledge gained is the important thing for me, rather than the need to publish copiously and land a tenure track job.  Does this change the way that I should evaluate, apply to, and choose programs? 

[scampster]

Make sure you apply places where the faculty can actually advise you on these alternate career paths. My advisor is an excellent advisor for me because I plan to go the academic route and he knows how to mentor me to do that. His last student graduated a tad bit disgruntled because he really had no clue how to mentor her well since she didn't want to go into academia. He had gone straight through from undergrad to grad school to postdoc to faculty position. So it's a bonus if there are faculty who have taken less direct paths who can give you advice.

[madhatter]

Besides that, look for programs that have ties with the kind of places you want to work. If the program can get you an internship with the agencies that interest you, so much the better.

[expatinuk]

There are TONS of graduate programs that are not designed to prepare you for an academic life.

[prof_smartypants]

Most public policy, urban planning, or international relations masters' degrees will be geared toward non-academic work of the kind you describe, and typically have very strong internship programs. PM me if you're interested - hubby and I both went to grad school in similar fields and have a ton of friends/associates who did regional studies or public policy programs.

Without knowing more about the specific field you're interested in, I can't really suggest programs.

[charlesr]

Getting a terminal master's may make sense in your situation.  A PhD probably isn't worth the additional time.