Eddie45

Might be of interest: http://chronicle.com/article/PhDs-From-Top/136113/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Average time to degree for Polisci is around 7.5 (? going from memory) years nationwide. APSA released a report on this last year if you want to google search. Also, note that most people will be "on the market" more than one year, so pulling data from people's CVs that are on the "for hire" page isn't especially useful. Often, candidates will go on the market on the early side (say, after year 5 or 6) to a couple "dream schools" only to go out "for real" in year 6-7. It's not uncommon at my program for most students to be "on the market" for at least two years. Also, time to degree varies by subfield. Americanists are more likely to get out in 5. IR and Comparative are closer to 6-7 years. I'm not sure about theory....

Dear prospective students, I know this will sound harsh, but as I now near the end of my PhD program at a top-20 I look back and realize there are lots of things I wish someone had told me. A couple things come to mind: 1. ***You probably won't get a tenure-track job in academia*** You'll likely think right now that you'll be the exception (didn't we all) but the truth is that attrition rates are 50% (on average) in PhD programs for polisci. I'm at a great department, but even here with the people who finish the degree we can't place everyone at TT jobs. Maybe we have 5 people on the market in a given year...all with shiny CVs and glowing letters from top scholars. Of those, 1 person will get a decent job in an urban area. Maybe 1 more will get a job in the middle of nowhere and hate it. 1 more will bounce from Visiting AP jobs and the rest will leave academia (usually not be choice, but because they can't find academic jobs). And this is from a really good dept. If you're in a less stellar dept, you've got even less of a chance. 2. Related to #1, be careful during your prospective student trips. Grad programs lie about placement all the time. Figure out how many people struck out on the market from these schools, not just the few shining starts who placed well. All departments will tell you they're on the up-swing. They're probably lying. Get the hard data before you commit to a program. 3. Nobody will hold your hand in grad school. Frankly, even your advisor will probably not even care if you finish your degree or not. If you're not a self-starter, stay away. This isn't a good business for people who need external motivation. 4. You cannot finish your PhD in 4-5 years. When you go to admit day, programs will promise you 4-5 years of funding. Ask them what average time to completion is and then stand back and be amazed. If the dept isn't willing to support you for 6-7 years, don't go. Finally, don't take out any loans for a PhD program. This isn't a MA degree and you likely won't make enough money in the future to support much debt. Maybe not worth much, but wish someone had told me these things... Good luck!