Michigan or Northwestern?

[moda]

Okay, so I'm feeling really naive about making a decision. I'm currently living overseas and could not attend any visit days. I am very fortunate to have these offers, but have no idea which school I should pick.

 

I have been researching in China on a Fulbright fellowship for the past 8 months doing qualitative research. However, I am not interested in continuing qualitative, international research. I am hoping for a program that will train me in quantitative methods and also be supportive of my interest in continuing to focus on China.

 

Both schools are fantastic. I do not really understand all of the job placement data. Is there a huge difference between a T-5 school and a T-10?

 

I was also accepted to Indiana University, but I'm not sure if I should consider it at this point. I've heard such positive things about the program, but I'm not sure if it would be wise to turn down a T-10 school for Indiana.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[avatarmomo]

Yu Xie at Michigan might interest you. Congrads!

[seekingsun]

Yu Xie is a superstar among superstars in quantitative sociology, particularly those working on China.  Don't know what your options are at Northwestern, but hard to imagine that he would not boost your training and profile.

[gretagarbo]

You should get in touch with the possible advisors (professors who train quantitative methods or better, who study China) in both universities. I am sure you'll make the most informed decision after asking your questions and getting to know the possible advisors more personally. I believe it is super important that you can get along with your advisor, he/she is a nice, supportive person who takes interest in your research, and perhaps more importantly, wants to learn from you.

 

As a foreign student who plans working on societies outside the US, I must warn you that it is a great advantage if you  find someone closely studying/knowing about the Chinese society  (preferably a Chinese professor) in the department you'll attend . However, it is also possible to work with a professor as such as a reader of your dissertation, meaning you could do your Phd in Northwestern and while writing your dissertation, get help/guidence from Yu Xie as your reader. 

[faculty]

You have three (I would not rule out Indiana) great choices. It is hard to go wrong. That said, DO NOT choose a program based on one professor.

[moda]

You have three (I would not rule out Indiana) great choices. It is hard to go wrong. That said, DO NOT choose a program based on one professor.

 

Out of curiousity--why shouldn't I discount Indiana? I hear great things about the program, but I still don't know much about it. Indiana has told me that their job placement is better than Michigan, but I'm still a little confused about that.

Edited April 3, 2014 by moda

[C.Kleiber]

relay Indiana, the overall training is better at Michigan and arguably Northwestern as well.

 

Given you are interested in China, as am I, it's unlikely that you would find someone at Northwestern who knows 'closely' about China (this is why I didn't apply though it is very strong in comparative-historical studies in which I'm interested).

 

As you also want a solid training in quantitative methods, Xie is your guy and potentially your advisor (it of course depends on your speciality). If you want to go back to qualitative research somehow, Steinmetz (his 'Devil's Handwriting' touched upon Qingdao) and Zubrzycki will suffice.

 

In short, Michigan.

 

My two pennies anyway...

[hpa87]

I just visited both these programs. If you are SURE you want to do quant research, go to UMich.

 

Both are excellent departments, but while Northwestern's qual training is very strong/recognized in the field, their quant training is just not as strong. This is something I heard from every student doing quant work at Northwestern. UMich on the other hand has known quality quant training and resources.

[moda]

It's difficult because I know that Northwestern is recruiting me to do Comparative Historical.

 

One of my confusions over Michigan has been that students have such different funding packages. Does that create jealousy among students? Some have so many extra fellowships that they don't do any teaching. Does that impact how well they do on the job market if they spend all of their time researching?

[hpa87]

@moda I didn't realize students had such different packages--that is to say, it wasn't something that came up while I was on my visit, both from folks in the accepted cohort,or folks who are currently in the department. Where did you hear that the packages were so different? Either way, it didn't seem like this was a big issue or that students were competitive or jealous, since it wasn't something that came up or was a visible/obvious tension. The department and the grad school also seem to have a lot of pots of money that students can tap into, which is something that a lot of people highlighted as an important/attractive resource. There were some folks buying themselves out of work responsibilities by winning outside $$, but at the same time there were people who were purposely taking on teaching work so that they could get more experience, so that didn't seem to be an issue either.

 

Of course you typically see the best sides of a department during their visit days but overall, it seemed students were happy/content and adequately supported, in this respect. 

 

I would contact UMich for their average time to completion and for a placement list so you have an idea of where grads are going.

 

BTW, don't want to sound like I'm down on Northwestern. They were an awesome department too, as friendly/supportive as everyone says they are! And, if there is any part of you that thinks you'll want to do comparative historical, ethnography, or other qual research, then you should definitely strongly consider them because this is an undeniable strength of theirs.

[moda]

I have declined my Northwestern offer. I spoke with a few professors and the fit just wasn't there. I still love the program though (and their funding package:) Thank you for all of your help!

 

Interestingly, I still haven't turned down Indiana yet. They've been placing very well lately and I'm wondering about that?