|
After Trinity
Considering
Graduate School
ACADEMIC
REQUIREMENTS:
Start with a solid academic record. Admissions councils
consider the following factors: Undergraduate GPA; GRE scores;
letters of recommendation; special skills in research, statistics,
computer applications, writing, and foreign languages; work experience;
internships and your purpose for pursuing graduate study in political
science.
CHOOSING PROGRAMS:
You need to think about what programs interested you
most. Which of the political science subfields are you interested
in focusing on? International relations, comparative politics,
political theory, public policy, U.S. Politics? Narrowing your interests
helps in choosing a program but know that most Ph.D. programs in
political science offer coursework in all or most of the subfields.
Lists of the best political science departments are available, though
each has strengths and weaknesses in its coverage of fields. Various
guides will give you lists of universities that have professional
programs in international relations/affairs, public policy, or urban
affairs for example. These lists don't exhaust your options since all of
the regional or area studies programs (e.g. Latin American studies,
Middle Eastern Studies) tend to be listed separately, though you usually
can pursue an area focus in major departments or professional programs.
The problem you face is too many choices. Narrowing down the list of
schools you are interested in involves several steps.
Define
Your Career Goals:
The first step is to define your career goals. Do they involve an
academic career in research and teaching? Or, do they involve working in
various governmental or non-governmental agencies or organizations
concerned in some way with political or social issues? How you answer
this question can help narrow down the schools you wish to look at.
Academic Careers:
If you are pursuing an academic career, you will look at schools with
Ph.D. programs designed for training researchers and teachers. You would
choose the program because it is the kind of place you would like to get
a Ph.D., as discussed below. A very few programs offer an MA option,
from which you could move directly into the job market or move on to a
Ph.D. program.
Careers in Public Policy, International Public Affairs
or Non-Profit:
If you are interested in pursuing a professional degree,
look at programs that specialize in, or offer substantial training for a
career in public policy or international public affairs. These programs
may be multidisciplinary, incorporating courses in economics, law,
business, and other social science disciplines. Public policy and
international public affairs are sometimes offered in a joint-degree
program (e.g. MA/JD). Many of these programs offer only M.A.s,
although some also offer Ph.D.s. Note: an alternative would be to
find programs that specialize in a policy area (e.g. public health,
education, urban planning, development, non-profit management) of
special interest. For more information, see "In
Praise of a Public Policy/International Affairs Education," by
Susan Carroll Schwab
Define
Your Regional or Thematic Interests:
Identify your regional or issue-area interests. Do you want to
specialize in a particular region of the world and/or are your interests
defined by issue? If you are interested in a particular geographical
region, you will want to make sure that you find programs (either
academic or professional) that are strong in that region. If a
regional interest is your main concern, you may want to look for
programs that are devoted exclusively to the study of that region.
If you are committed to the study of a particular topic/issue area, or a
particular theoretical perspective, you will want to make sure you find
programs that respond to your thematic interests (i.e., human rights,
electoral politics, international security, criminal justice, etc.) or
perspective (positivist, poststructuralist, neo-institutionalism,
realist, feminist, etc.).
Which of the Three Basic Types of Programs is Best for
You:
Professional Schools of Public Policy or International
Affairs
These programs offer professional training--some exclusively so,
although some are equally good at preparing researchers and teachers.
Professional training might lead to various careers in business, state
or national government, NGOs, or International Governmental
Organization. In general these public policy programs allow
graduate students to balance theoretical and practical concerns while
the international studies programs balance a regional interest with the
study of substantive issues. Some of these programs offer only MAs;
others offer both MAs and PhDs. For more information visit,
The Association of
Professional Schools of International Affairs
Political Science Departments
Every major graduate department of political science allows students to
specialize in any of the major subfields. These programs tend to serve
students intending to pursue a career as an academic, but (in the few
cases where this is possible) an MA from a good university might launch
a professional career as well. It is usually possible to combine general
training in political science with some specialization in a substantive
issue or geographical region, but departmental strengths vary as do the
theoretical perspectives dominant in the department.
Regional or Area Study Programs
If you are committed to working on a particular region, you may want to
look very closely at programs that allow you to specialize in a region.
Most of these programs would also allow (or require) you to emphasize
political or social science as a specialty within your region. If this
is a possible avenue for you, you should seek the advice of faculty who
are area specialists and would be familiar with such programs.
Develop an Application Strategy
Even if you narrow your search down to one or two of these
categories, it may still be far from obvious which programs are the few
to which you should apply. It is important that you narrow it to a few
(5-10), because of the time and cost of making applications. Three
factors are crucial in making these decisions: 1) the fit of the program
with your needs; 2) the prestige of the program; and 3) financial
issues. Specifically:
Take into account the match between your
interests and the program offerings. Most programs
attempt to give very broad coverage of subfields and geographical
regions if not intellectual perspectives, but often you can get a sense
about their strengths from the materials they send or department or
program web pages. Apply to programs that employ faculty that
support your research interest. So, do some research on faculty: look
for books and articles in your areas of interest and figure out if the
author is in a program that offers graduate degrees. S/he may be someone
you would want to work with. Sometimes faculty advisers can help you
sort this out. However, keep in mind that your interests may shift
somewhat after you get to graduate school and therefore the overall
quality of the graduate program is an issue.
Although it is not recommended that you make your decisions on
prestige alone, the prestige of the program is important because degrees
from some schools buy more or buy different things than degrees from
schools of lesser prestige. We should probably bracket the question of
whether the prestige is deserved or not, because when you are on the job
market that may be irrelevant. You also need to keep in mind that
prestigious programs get more applications and it may be more difficult
to get accepted into these programs. Various rankings of departments are
available online.
You need to consider your financial aid requirements. How much do you
need it and how much do you need? In your search for financial aid, keep
in mind some general principles (that may not fit every case): (1)
prestigious academic programs, with more competitive admissions, usually
(but not always) support those they accept; (2) less prestigious
institutions, with less competitive admissions, may or may not have
fewer resources (NB: second-tier schools that must compete for good
students often have quite generous funding for Ph.D. students;
third-tier schools often have less money available); (3) programs
emphasizing academic training concentrate their resources on PhD
students; (4) there is more financial aid for the training of academics
- teachers and researchers - than for professional training (in complete
disregard of social needs or market conditions); (5) financial aid
practices may treat citizens/permanent residents and international
students differently; and (6) look for other scholarship programs,
through your home-town organizations, major corporations, national
organizations, and the U.S. or other governments.
Note: some schools send information that will give you a
sense of their practices and your chances for financial assistance. In
other cases, you must guess. Sometimes a look at the department's
website or a phone call to an admissions director will get you a clearer
answer.
Finally, in devising an application strategy, you need to
think about how competitive your academic record is. You may want to
develop a strategy that mixes various kinds and "levels" of schools:
mixing more likely acceptances with less likely and mixing better
financial aid possibilities with less likely ones. Don't underestimate
your chances, but try not to hold unreasonable expectations either. Use
faculty advisers as a sounding board as you devise a strategy.
Implement Your Strategy
As a general rule pay
careful attention to details - don't give an admissions officer a chance
to reject your application because of some minor stylistic error, a
sloppy essay, or some other easily avoidable mistake. And get started
early. If you really want to get into your "dream" school, you really
shouldn't leave this very important process until the last minute.
Finally, good luck. And if you need any help or advice,
don't hesitate to contact one of the
Political Science professors.
For another very
helpful take on applying to graduate schools see:
http://www.macalester.edu/internationalstudies/faculty/gradschools.html
http://www.apsanet.org/section_419.cfm
http://www.apsanet.org/content_6947.cfm
Made available by
the Macalester College, Department of Political Science
|
