PoliSwede
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Posts posted by PoliSwede
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What's this UIUC you speak of?
Oh wait. That'd be me. I'll take PMs (can't guarantee instant replies though!)
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Just to reiterate what everyone else said: The short answer is "Yes". If the programs you're applying to have funding available for graduate students you will, just like the American students, receive funding through research assistantships, teaching assistantship, and/or fellowship money. The offer will vary depending on the school/program and what your record looks like. It might also change during the course of yours studies. I'm currently on a fellowship but since it is limited to one year I will either receive a teaching or research assistantship through the department next year.
Good luck!
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A lot of things have already been said on visits to programs. The general answer that has been provided in this thread tends to be correct. Most schools offer at least partial reimbursement for travel expenses acquired when you visit the program (some programs have visitation weekends, others schedule individual visits). The more prestigious the program, the more likely you are to have all of your expenses covered, but most programs are rather generous. At some programs, those who they really, really want to recruit might receive full reimbursement for their travel while other students receive a bit less.
Oh, and these visits generally (as far as I am aware) happen before you make your decision on whether to attend the program or not. The visit is supposed to help you make up your mind about whether the program is right for you, get a feel for the department and its faculty, etc. I recommend going to as many visits as possible. If you really can't make the "visitation weekend" for some reason you should make sure to ask whether it is possible to schedule an individual visit at a different date.
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I'm pretty confident that most of the people who are hearing back are in other disciplines. No need to be anxious yet. Use the search function in the results database and you'll find that most schools get back to their applicants in late January to early March.Hello everybody!
I'm from Russia. I applied to all universities from my list (10) a month or 2 ago, and still waiting. Yesterday got notification from the last university that they've recieved everything and started to consider my application.
Feel very nervous because everybody gets interviews, e-mails, calls, and even invitations!!...but I got nothing so far.
I started to consider myself as a poor applicant with little chances.... but hope dies last!
Good luck to everybody!
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BFB: Although visitation weekends for all graduate students have many advantages, I'd also like to point out that individual visits shouldn't be frowned upon. In my experience, individual visits can be great experiences for admitted students. I appreciated being able to spend quite some time with the students already in the program(s) because it allowed me to get a sense of what the overall program is like (and not just my own cohort) and bombard them with questions for hours at end. The fact you might be the only one visiting at the time gives it more of a "rolled out red carpet"-feel as well. That said, I understand that it also may be stressful/chaotic for the faculty members.
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Hey Lemeard, how are things at UIUC, how do you like it so far? Also I vaguely remember talks of a methods subfield opening up at UIUC, do you have any news on that front?
I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. The collegiality among graduate students and the availability of the faculty are some of the things that have stood out to me (it did so during the visit as well). Even though all students are assigned two first-year advisors, you are still able to approach any member of the faculty to ask questions/discuss research/etc. Last weekend I walked into the office of our acting head and got stuck there for 45 minutes and ended up walking out with two books...
Due to timing of when I entered the program my first year is mostly spent on methods (depending on whether you want to consider 'formal theory' to be methods or not). Unless they have neglected to share with those of us currently in the program, I don't believe that an official methods subfield is opening up. However, all students are required to take a substantial amount of methods courses and almost everyone takes more than the required amount. We have at least one advanced student who is specializing in methods as a compliment to their primary subfield.
If anyone has specific questions about Illinois, or general questions about this wonderful process, I'm happy to reply via PM or here in the thread! Good luck to all of you!
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New DGS. Might affect the speed at which they get back to applicants.Last year Urbana-Champaign started announcing second week of January. Don't know if I'll be applying yet.
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Hey there TMM.
Not really all that nervous to be honest. I am more excited/eager to actually get started. The cohort seems really friendly/nice and we've managed to arrange/attend a few get-togethers already.
I think some nervousness is natural/to be expected though. A professor I know described starting a PhD program as "being tossed to the wolves".
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The first thing you should know is that it's going to be hard (if not impossible) to find PhD programs that will allow you to only take qualitative methods. I didn't specifically look for them when I went through the top 50 or so when I applied, but that was the sense I got from my survey.
Now, there are some departments that will allow you to substitute some of the quantitative training for qualitative training. In the book "Perestroika" (edited by Kristen Renwick Monroe) where Pelegrine Schwartz-Shea conducted a survey of graduate programs in an attempt to investigate what departments were more friendly/specialized in qualitative methods.
It was a while since I read it so I don't exactly recall the method she used. However, it did for example look at the number of courses offered in qualitative methods. This study was published almost a decade ago, so keep that in mind. A lot can change in a department in ten years.
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Wow. That's a tall order/a bit unusual on your first day of class as a first year. I have a few pieces of advice:
1. You are (most likely unless you have public speaking experience) going to talk too fast. Remember to slow down.
2. Have a plan for what you want to/will do during the 50 minutes/whatever you lecture for. Just a simple outline is a great aid.
3. Ask the students questions and try to engage them. Most students enjoy classes more when they don't just have to sit there but get to be active.
4. Depending on the size/nature of your class you might want to consider one or two activities that they can. Think-share-pairs are usually easy and effective.
5. Have some sort of hook/interesting puzzle in the beginning. It will catch their attention (hopefully)
Good luck!
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Agreed with the person above. They're not very likely to care much about your gap or exactly why you had it. If you feel like mentioning it I'd limit it to one sentence that you drop in passing.
As long as you spend time carefully crafting your SOP I believe that you will be a competitive applicant. Remember that the application committees want to see that you've thought about a problem/issue enough to be able to propose future research within that area. Also keep in mind that what you put in your SOP doesn't necessarily have to be your dissertation down the road.
Good luck!
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In Political science (my field) one applies to the program that you want to study in and there's usually a committee that decides on whether they will admit or reject students. That doesn't mean that one shouldn't pay attention to the faculty in the department (which probably is the main reason why're applying there) but you don't need to find a specific professor with a research grant that will fund you.Hello, I have a somehow urgent question:
About "faculty accepting students" - this only happens in science departments, or in the humanities too? In Portugal, one should contact specific faculty for tutoring perspectives before applying.
But I have contacted some professors asking whether they are currently accepting students, and they answered that the program does, not specific faculty.
If some can please clarify how it works, i'd be grateful.
Thank you
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Not sure what you're asking. If the question is whether you would get into a program that's on the list I'd think that it is very likely that at least one of them will accept you.
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If you can find a fully-funded Masters program then why not, but most schools use Masters as cash-generators, I am afraid.
I think you're more likely to find funded fully-funded Masters' programs at schools without a PhD program. I don't really have any empirical evidence, but that's the sense I get after looking at schools/programs for my own application(s)
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Essentially the same users on the new board, so you get the same crap.
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I've tried to get into both baseball and American Football. But dear lord, it's just so incredibly boring. I'm glad the NHL exists or I'd be stuck only watching football/hockey from Europe on awkward times in the middle of the day.
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This happened to me, for the first time, on a flight out of the UK in October 2012. The check-in attendant weighed my hand luggage (a wheelie bag), said it was overweight but asked if I had a laptop, asked that I remove it, weighed it again and because it was under the 7kg limit she said it was fine. I thought it was a bit strange (the bag was still overweight?) but was grateful!
Isn't the standard 8kg?
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Interesting. It's not happened to me yet. What airports?
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So, my house is nearly empty now as I've consolidated everything I own into what can fit into my car. I've lived in my place for almost 5 years and this whole next step hasn't felt feel real to me until about 3 days ago, when I started coming home to an empty living room.
As I continue to mentally prepare for what's next, I just wanted to stop by and say how much I appreciated this community during the past year. The advice and support of everybody here was invaluable to me during the application/waiting process. This past year was a very difficult one for me for personal reasons unassociated with grad school applications, so having this place as a resource was all the more helpful for me during that time.
Thanks everyone! Whether you are headed off to start your programs in the next few weeks, are preparing to apply for a second cycle, or applying for the first time, I wish everyone the best of luck in their next stage!
Right back at ya!
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I'm sure that you stand a good shot at getting in to a program (at least if we go by how you defined reputable). Your professional experience is going to be valuable and your GRE scores are acceptable for most programs (except perhaps the top ones).
I'd use a ranking, like this one, and find programs that interest you. Most programs usually have some information on their website about how qualified their applicants are, and you can also use the results database here on gradcafe to get an idea about what type of credentials that people have when they get accepted to various programs
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I'm going to assume that your interest is in religion and American politics? As IRToni indicated your subfield will probably matter quite a bit for what programs that will interest you.
Anyway, it's not really my area, but I'd have a look at Ken Wald (University of Florida) and Elizabeth Shakman-Hurd (If you don't mind constructivists. She's at Northwestern)
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Passed through customs yesterday. I had no problems at all and it was just like it's been the past three years.
I wouldn't worry if I were you
- Andean Pat and Porridge
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I had a faculty member at a visit weekend mention that I was a frequent poster on gradcafe while we were eating lunch.
How'd you react?
Welcome to the 2014-15 Cycle
in Political Science Forum
Posted
Of course, that can be said for a lot of programs whose faculty are attractive to more prestigious/wealthy programs.