Polisci Grad School
August 19, 2005 7:20 PM Subscribe
Political Science Grad School Filter
I am getting ready to apply to graduate school for political science (PhD). I am a pretty good candidate, so I'll be applying to most of the top schools. I am familiar with most of these schools and rankings, but I was wondering if anyone had insight into how certain programs treat their grad students and/or interdepartmental dynamics. My interests are comparative politics, IR, political theory (especially critical theory).
I am getting ready to apply to graduate school for political science (PhD). I am a pretty good candidate, so I'll be applying to most of the top schools. I am familiar with most of these schools and rankings, but I was wondering if anyone had insight into how certain programs treat their grad students and/or interdepartmental dynamics. My interests are comparative politics, IR, political theory (especially critical theory).
Other thoughts:
Most good programs will fly you out for a visit after you're accepted. The current grad students there will usually be reasonably forthright about this sort of thing.
Assuming you haven't missed the deadline, apply for the NSF fellowship. The application is free, and it's a sweet ride and a good feather in your cap.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:29 PM on August 19, 2005
Most good programs will fly you out for a visit after you're accepted. The current grad students there will usually be reasonably forthright about this sort of thing.
Assuming you haven't missed the deadline, apply for the NSF fellowship. The application is free, and it's a sweet ride and a good feather in your cap.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:29 PM on August 19, 2005
It depends what you want to do. If you want an academic job, you need to go to a great school and have a great (well known) supervisor and a star committee. Those people get all the good jobs and grants.
Political theory has very few jobs. For Comparative Politics and IR it will depend on the part of the world or thematic area you are interested in.
Do not go anywhere without a good funding package- the funding they offer you is an indication of how they will treat you once you are there.
Make sure you talk to as many current grad students as you can at any school you are considering. Also ask very pointed questions about placement rates if you want an academic job. How many people got tenure track jobs? Where?
What size of program would you like to be in? Some great schools only admit a handful of people every year- are you comfortable with being in a very tiny group (potentially isolating since 2/3 will drop out, but potentially more access to funding and faculty). Big programs mean lots of potential friends/colleagues but possibly more competition of money/attention and more people who have a similar profile as you (eg same committee etc) applying for the same jobs.
Yes, feel free to ask more about specific schools or areas of specialty you are considering.
posted by cushie at 2:01 PM on August 20, 2005
Political theory has very few jobs. For Comparative Politics and IR it will depend on the part of the world or thematic area you are interested in.
Do not go anywhere without a good funding package- the funding they offer you is an indication of how they will treat you once you are there.
Make sure you talk to as many current grad students as you can at any school you are considering. Also ask very pointed questions about placement rates if you want an academic job. How many people got tenure track jobs? Where?
What size of program would you like to be in? Some great schools only admit a handful of people every year- are you comfortable with being in a very tiny group (potentially isolating since 2/3 will drop out, but potentially more access to funding and faculty). Big programs mean lots of potential friends/colleagues but possibly more competition of money/attention and more people who have a similar profile as you (eg same committee etc) applying for the same jobs.
Yes, feel free to ask more about specific schools or areas of specialty you are considering.
posted by cushie at 2:01 PM on August 20, 2005
If you want an academic job, you need to go to a great school
If you don't want an academic job, getting a phd in political science would be a nearly pointless thing to do.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:07 PM on August 20, 2005
If you don't want an academic job, getting a phd in political science would be a nearly pointless thing to do.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:07 PM on August 20, 2005
I'm a graduate student in an different field (philosophy), so I'll keep my advice fairly general.
1) You are absolutely certain that you want to do this, right? You can't imagine yourself doing anything else. It sounds like our fields have one thing in common: a lot of new PhDs and comparatively few positions for them. Which means you are likely to spend a lot of time and effort to get your degree and end-up with only a small chance of getting hired somewhere (even if you do get into a top school). Graduate school can be really trying and difficult, if you have any other skills/interests I would really suggest exploring those options.
Please note, this is not a concern about your ability to succeed in graduate school. (I have no doubt that if you are good enough to be accepted you are good enough to succeed.) But, unfortunately, success and happiness do not always go hand-in-hand.(I couldn't tell if you have an MA already, I'm sure you are already aware of all of this if you do.)
2) Contact the graduate students at the schools you are looking for. I've been contacted by a number of prospective students and I've always been 100% candid with them. Graduate students have no particular reason to lie to you (assuming they aren't right bastards who want to keep competition at bay).
posted by oddman at 5:33 PM on August 20, 2005
1) You are absolutely certain that you want to do this, right? You can't imagine yourself doing anything else. It sounds like our fields have one thing in common: a lot of new PhDs and comparatively few positions for them. Which means you are likely to spend a lot of time and effort to get your degree and end-up with only a small chance of getting hired somewhere (even if you do get into a top school). Graduate school can be really trying and difficult, if you have any other skills/interests I would really suggest exploring those options.
Please note, this is not a concern about your ability to succeed in graduate school. (I have no doubt that if you are good enough to be accepted you are good enough to succeed.) But, unfortunately, success and happiness do not always go hand-in-hand.(I couldn't tell if you have an MA already, I'm sure you are already aware of all of this if you do.)
2) Contact the graduate students at the schools you are looking for. I've been contacted by a number of prospective students and I've always been 100% candid with them. Graduate students have no particular reason to lie to you (assuming they aren't right bastards who want to keep competition at bay).
posted by oddman at 5:33 PM on August 20, 2005
It sounds like our fields have one thing in common: a lot of new PhDs and comparatively few positions for them.
Not really. A new comparative or IR PhD from a good program, who is presumably doing good work in an interesting area, has an excellent chance of landing a tenure-track job in their first or second year on the market. Not necessarily their dream job, not necessarily exactly where they want to live, but a job.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:43 AM on August 21, 2005
Not really. A new comparative or IR PhD from a good program, who is presumably doing good work in an interesting area, has an excellent chance of landing a tenure-track job in their first or second year on the market. Not necessarily their dream job, not necessarily exactly where they want to live, but a job.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:43 AM on August 21, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
Do remember that top programs doesn't necessarily correlate to Ivy League or otherwise big-name programs. Depending on what you want to do, you might find your best home in a big state school in the midwest. At the same time, there's always a slow trickle of students from Ivy programs who just plain aren't very well trained. I don't mean that you shouldn't apply, or go there if you get in, but do keep your options open.
I got my degree from Duke. They treat their grad students well, you're not likely to be used as a pawn in inter-faculty disputes, and the faculty get along reasonably well.
What do you want to do in IR/comparative? I can't promise to have useful information as I'm an Americanist, but I'll give it a shot. What are the top programs you're considering now?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:35 PM on August 19, 2005