Doyle

Princeton WWS has a Security Studies concentration within the Public Policy PhD program. Johns Hopkins SAIS also has something similar. Both are fairly small programs (fewer than 5 admits per year). The Fletcher School at Tufts, is not technically a policy school but it has a similar focus and a well-regarded program--not sure how large their cohorts are. There may be others, but not many. A public policy PhD is itself not all that common. Moving from Public Policy departments to Political Science, you could look at the security specializations within International Relations at MIT, Columbia, Harvard, Ohio State, Texas A&M and a couple of others. Slightly different focus, but still doing policy-relevant work and well-regarded.

I don't think your professors were up on the latest SAIS program. According to their website, SAIS requires 3 comprehensive exams. WWS requires 2 one of which is the Politics Department IR general exam. I can't speak to the teaching requirements at SAIS, but at WWS the teaching requirement is most likely to be satisfied in a politics class. There may still be a perception to be battled in some quarters, but I think by the time it gets to a hiring committee, the specifics of the degree will carry weight.

While there is something to the notion that a "traditional" political science/IR PhD is easier to sell in the academic job market, much will depend on the specific school, the degree to which the policy program is integrated with the political science/IR program, and the specific advisors you wind up working with. I would disagree with the notion that a degree from SAIS would somehow be discounted in the academic job market because it is a policy school, for example. In my opinion, a security studies program at a top-tier policy school where you work with faculty who are well-known and well-regarded in the political science community (e.g. WWS, SAIS, HKS) will be just as competitive in the job market as an IR degree from a similar top tier school. If you look around, there are only a handful of programs that specialize in security studies at the PhD level, either policy or traditional IR. The choice between an IR and a policy program should be based on the particulars of that program. I think you'll get the best sense of that by contacting faculty at the schools you're interested in, describing your research interests, and getting a sense of how well that fits with each school.

A couple of other programs to consider: Harvard Kennedy School (esp faculty associated with the Belfer Center), MIT, Princeton WWS, Fletcher school, Ohio State Mershon Center, Texas A&M. If you're open to a British-style PhD, the Kings College London War Studies or Defence Studies programs are excellent, and both offer blended distance learning--or if your personal situation allows, you could live in the UK for a few years. If you want to teach in the US. the UK programs may be less helpful, as many U.S. departments will look for some significant methodological (read: quantitative) background, which the British-style program won't provide. (You could offset that with a quant-intensive or mixed-methods dissertation that demonstrates mastery of the techniques--you just won't have classes to point to, since the British program is dissertation only). The undergraduate GPA is certainly competitive. I don't know how the various schools would interpret the law school GPA but cum laude and published certainly help. Since you have some time, I'd recommend doing some background reading on the faculty at the various schools (CV/major work) to get a sense of who you might be interested in working with. Then reach out to them and see how they assess your chances. While they may or may not be on the admissions committee, many will give you a sense of how your profile and interests fit with the school.

Undecided2015, It seems to me that the Big Questions(™) are ones that you don't address in your original post: 1) Are you happy in the Army? 2) If you were to leave the Army, what do you want to do (other than go to school--what would you do with your degree)? I retired last fall after 21 years as a Naval officer and am now in the first year of Public Policy PhD, with the goal of teaching. I'm really loving it. But I also know that I am enjoying my program more because of the perspectives I developed commanding ships and leading Sailors. And I am very excited at the notion of teaching, since it offers much of the same satisfaction that I took from working with Sailors. Without that experience and sense of purpose, I don't think I would be enjoying it nearly as much. You've listed great public policy schools, and it sounds like you have good credentials to get into one. But the question of whether to stay in the Army or get out is much bigger than just which schools you might go to. Army FAO is a great program. And it's very different than a public policy degree. There are also options to do a public policy degree through the Army. But the real question is not: 'should I go to school or become a FAO?' It sounds to me like it's: 'do the things that I value about serving in the Army outweigh the things that frustrate me, or would I be happier out of uniform?' Once you have that question solved, it sounds like you've got the skills to be successful, whether in or out of the Army. Good luck in your decision. -Doyle