My Name is Yon Yonson

I thought everyone who's been accepted to UCL can post on here, maybe stating if they'll be attending, the program they applied to, where they're from and what school they went to, and what their interests are.

So here's the deal: I applied to 17 PhD programs, many of which were well out of my league, and 1 MPhil studies (at Univ. College London). I was accepted by two PhD programs and also got into the MPhil program at U College London. The two PhD programs I got in to are top 25 programs, and are fairly focused in their strengths. Recently my interests have expanded to contain other areas of study -- areas that these PhD programs don't cover well. U College London, on theother hand, has an extremely great fit and encompasses my major interests along with my burgeoning interests which aren't covered as well by the two PhD programs. Here's some background: My undergrad was in polisci, and I just graduated with an MA in Humanities from UChicago and took all philosophy courses. If any of you are familiar with the program, it's a bit of a streamlined process and so my writing sample, while I believe it was fairly strong for my lack of a philosophy background, could have been better (especially since my paper was so limited in scope and negative in its conclusion). In addition, UChicago has some very idiosyncratic grad courses, which some schools might not necessarily see as providing me with the necessary, broad grounding in philosophy. Would it be best to go to the MPhil program and reapply to PhD programs afterward, since it would give me a much more solid, more well-rounded philosophical education (defining my interests for myself mainly) and, to boot, allow more time for a better writing sample? Or am I insane to even consider turning down a PhD from a top-25 program, even if it does not entirely mesh with my interests (mind you, there's some good strong areas of fit, but my areas are broad and changing and I'm young to philosophy)? Another question I have, for anybody familiar with the MPhil program at UCollege London, is about finding: Is getting funding a challenge? Some of the scholarships/fellowships are only open for me after I got accepted, which means I have to apply now and I probably won't hear before I have to make a decision on the PhD offers. I waver between thinking funding isn't the biggest issue (as long as there's some funding) and thinking it's dangerous to have to cough up some cash for something that won't guarantee me a job in the end. Thoughts?

I am trying to make a decision between two philosophy PhD programs (sort of.. the lower ranked school has me at the top of the waitlist). As a little background, my interests are (and these are in no meaningful order because they're all so interesting to me): epistemology, mind, modern philosophy, language, aesthetics, philosophy of religion. The first program is a top-15 program according to Philosophical Gourmet and is extremely strong in analytic philosophy and the philosophy of mind, language, and aesthetics; yet they are truly very weak on modern philosophy, philosophy of religion, and epistemology. A big plus is that it's located in a metropolis (I'm a thoroughbred city-boy). The second is a top-25 program according to the Gourmet. It is very strong in modern philosophy, moderately strong in philosophy of religion, and, to a slightly lesser extent, moderately strong in mind, language, and epistemology. It's located in Notreallyurbanville, and there's not much to do there, despite a small-to-moderate college town. If they accept me eventually, I'll likely get more money than the first school would grant me (not really a chance of negotiating that either). But it wouldn't be that much more and it's not my biggest concern right now. I'm so excited to have gotten into a top-15 program and I'm tempted to just accept their offer. But I'm worried that I won't have the flexibility in the program in case my interests change, e.g. if I decide I want to study Kant or philosophy of religion primarily. Do you think if I decided to study something only one or two people in the department focused on that on the job market I would be seen as weaker than most of my colleagues who study within the school's main strengths (all else the same)? I find myself thinking the answer is yes. And I also find myself thinking I would be seen as weaker than somebody who studied the same things I did and came from a lower-ranked PhD program with more peeps who studied in the area of his dissertation. Since the lower-ranked school has more fit generally, if, e.g. I decided to study Kant or philosophy of religion, I would have more people with similar interests to choose from for my committee. Conversely, if I decided I wanted to study mind, it would still be fairly easy to do so (althought not as easy as in the first program). But then again, it's lower ranked, and in the middle of no where. Any advice? I'm freaking out.... existential crisis here

I claim a Princeton rejection and I haven't heard from Columbia but I'm awaiting their rejection in the near future... congrats to those who are in Princeton and Columbia!

I myself am wondering the exact same thing. This state of purgatory is draining my focus... The longer the wait, the more (false?) hope and uneasiness I have...

Congrats once again to all the Princeton folk. *Crossing my fingers that they're still admitting theory*...... fml.

Re: Philosophy and/or Polisci...??? Postby natofone

I'd love to hear both polisciand philosophy majors advice on this. I was looking at applying for both polisci and philosophy doctorate programs (Im a polisci major), butI'm not sure what graduate programs in philosophy require in general from their applicants(in terms having a background in philosophy). After this next fall semester I will have taken a basic logic course (intro), metaphsyics and epistemology, philosophical writing, cognition and culture (a PNPcourse), and 'problems in philosophy' (sort of an intro history of philosophy). But.. Is this enough to be seriously looked at by doctorate programs? I mean, if I am not looking at focusing on political philosophy and am more interested in continental philosophy in general (and existentialism in particular) will I not be taken seriously as a polisci major? Help, anyone?

I would say philosophy just because all in all it's more flexible (please correct me if I'm wrong). With political science (theory in particular) you can't really hop around that much between areas within a field (say, classical and renaissance). Plus, lots of the PhD philosophy progs allow their scholars to use the polisci departments (I'm not sure how much can be said about the other way around). I know I've heard of both political science and philosophy professors teaching political and social theory, but I don't know how many polisci professors I have heard that teach philosophy courses (save for political theory in its most limited form). Have you looked into programs that offer a lot of interplay between philosophy and political science (theory) departments?

Hello All, A little background before my question(s). I am a junior political science major (GRad date: may 2010) but this semester I am taking 4 philosophy classes (3 mid/upper level) so I can apply to both polisci and philosophy programs. I am looking at doctorate programs now(for polisci: Mich state, Stanford, Yale; for philosophy: princeton, princeton, michigan ann harbor, CU boulder) ** [i realize these are extremely selective schools, so please save me the lecture on picking backup schools in this particular post ]. I am doin a thesis this semester and perhaps another independent research scholarship if I get accepted. I will be applying this winter for these grad school programs. I am very intent (wrongly or justifiedly - you tell me) on finding a schoolwith (1) a department that suits my desires to a good extent (for polisci, I am interested in political culture, democratization/democratic theory, and the MiddleEast; for philosophy I'm looking for variety and easy access to other departments... such as political science and literature, and perhaps some existence of an existentialist tendency within the department) **[no pun intended...], and (2) professors that I have similar but not identical interests. Two questions: 1. Does it make much sense to focus on these two aspects of grad programs?? 2. If yes, then should I somehow contact the departments (aside from the application process), i.e. contact a professor with interests closer to mine and ask them personally about the programs, or a department chair? Any advice is appreciated. -J