TakeMyCoffeeBlack

This. I realized I mixed that up after I responded originally.

Reach out to the program (find a program director's name, perhaps?) and explain that this seems to fit your research interests perfectly, but that you're interested in an academic career. But It's a partnership between GSAS and HKS, so I don't think it would hold you back at all. Plus, you'd have a Ph.D. from Harvard, which sets you up well for an academic future.

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/socialpol/intro/intro.htm Social policy is housed in HKS. Read through the intro page to get a good idea of what people do after getting the degree. Edited: Said Government was in HKS.

I'm just a Buffalo native, but... The official name is State University of New York at Buffalo but we all (Buffalo natives and UB students - my brother and mom went there) call it UB or University at Buffalo.

Or, if you're set on a Ph.D., do the MA first and develop specific research interests.

Same here. Although I did .5 space a few of them where there were no specific outlines, with the eyes of the readers in mind (because it didn't bring it to any extra pages).

Right on. I've heard mixed reviews about the Middlebury programs, though (namely that the teachers they hire aren't necessarily individuals with exceptional language competence, say B2 instead of C2). In any case, Fulbright and DAAD are both exceptional opportunities.

Megan, es gibt keine Garantie, dass ein PhD dir die Möglichkeit geben würde, die deutsche Sprache zu beherrschen. Der Schwerpunkt des "Doktortitels" (mindestens in den USA) ist Forschung, nicht Sprachkompetenz (das gilt nur als notwendig in Bezug auf die Forshungsmöglichkeiten). Es wäre auf jeden Fall besser, dich nach Deutschland oder Österreich einzuziehen, oder vielleicht ein Masters zu machen, das um die Sprache und Literatur geht.

Best bet is to shoot the programs an e-mail (better yet, professors at the program). There's a chance that English/Humanities programs might not look at Q scores at all.

Could be, not sure. So it's more like 1 3/4 pages single spaced? I won't speculate too much, but I'd guess that's okay. If it were 3.5 pages single spaced... haha

Out of curiosity.. single spaced or double?

Hey, sounds like we study some similar stuff and are applying to a few of the same schools. I'm pretty much done with mine, but I'd be happy to exchange anyway (some last minute feedback). Shoot me a PM with your SOP!

If you've got an exceptional hook then it might make sense to do something elaborate in the beginning, but otherwise getting right to the point is good. Example of an exceptional hook: you want to study the causes of genocide, and the hook is: you're a survivor of a genocide, and that's what brought you to the topic.

In some ways it's too bad they're not just looking for a well rounded student like in undergrad.

Could work. Why not "I would like to pursue a Ph.D. in X at University Y exploring [topics] A, B and C." And elaborate from there. You can get creative in how you describe your research interests and background, but you don't want the committee getting caught up in an opening paragraph that is taking up space more than selling you to them.

I would suggest talking about specific and general research interests (so that you seem focused but still open to other ideas). As for mentioning POIs, you can name more than one (though of course don't name the whole department).

Most likely, just scrap the introduction. Your (1) research interests and (2) goals should open it up. e.g. What you want to study, generally and specifically, and how that will help you achieve your goal of...

It was a term used last year at some point to describe them ().

Healthcare.gov haha

Hear hear! I imagine I'm not the only person with the unreasonable expectation that one of the universities, upon receipt of my full application, will contact me right away (had the same delusions last year...). Yeah, no real back up plans... I got lucky with a fellowship abroad as a "back up plan" (although I'd likely have taken it even if I had a full funded offer) for this year. Next year it's find a cheap apartment and a job paying above minimum wage?

I have a lot of anxiety about the whole process... Back up plans suck.

Aka the "mafia"

Don't sweat it too much. I believe it's in faculty perspectives that one of the faculty explained that they will pass off applications to other fields - sometimes which sub-field you're in depends on who's teaching at what university.

Non-American programs?

Interesting perspective. And at times CP is just IR with state/regional comparisons. And sometimes CP, AP and IR are just PT in practice. I guess that's why in the end we all study PS...