flyers29

lbjane nailed it.

Well, keep in mind that 5-6 years includes the time it takes to write your dissertation, which you don't necessarily need to be present at the university for. You can usually finish coursework and comprehensive exams in 2-3 years, and they may even grant you some credit for your previous graduate work. Probably best to get in contact with some of the programs you're interested in and see if they could give a rough timeline given your background.

I always thought starting salaries were in the 40s or something--then I heard that an Asst. in my dept hired this year started in the 70s. I was shocked, thought not as surprised now that I read this.

Uh, what caused you to shift to a completely different field? The two fields might not be as close as you may think. What are your research interests?

Why not just take the UMass offer and leave open the possibility of just taking the fully-funded MA there (and then go elsewhere for the Ph.D)? Yes, the academic job market is tough in general, but I also think the "you'll never get a job if you go to UMass" argument is overblown as well. The lack of fit is a valid concern though, which is why it might be best to consider the first option I mentioned.

Those are all strong programs, so I don't think you'd be killing yourself by choosing based on geography. Of course, do UCB/UCLA have people working on what you want to work on?

I'm at a not-terribly-prestigious institution in a moderate cost of living (at least for housing) city. I'm at 19k...figure that's about the median.

Well Gtown/GWU are pretty competitive too. I'd put American, Denver, Pitt, and Syracuse below that.

Depends what exactly you're looking to do, as a master's is pretty much the minimum requirement in some areas of the IR field. I personally do think that it's better to get some work experience first though...having gone straight from college I would have done so if I could do it again.

Never underestimate the petulance of academia, but even then this thought never would've occurred to me. Probably not a big deal.

I'm an alum in the Int'l Security program. Tuition is higher though lower cost of living than DC can balance it out. Thought the education was good, but post-grad networking sucked. Latter point would be a drawback for me if I was looking into programs.

There are like 100 schools that offer a Ph.D in poli sci/IR in the US. Pick one that is a good fit for you? Really hard to help you unless you discuss your specific interests/ profile.

I agree in general, though I see why OP is asking this question. I can think of some programs off the top of my head, but none of them are from outstanding schools. If OP is just looking to check a box then it might not be a bad idea.

Sorry if I'm the only one missing the obvious, but are you looking for a department with scholars who study Marxism/critical analysis or departments in which many scholars actually promote those theories? If it's the latter then I'd agree that you'll have trouble finding more than a token scholar or two in any given American department.

Wait, are you going to be a full-time student? You shouldn't be having to pay anything if so. And regardless, 120k for a degree is NOT worth it.

All of the above minus Putin?

Take this from someone who is not a quant type at all: it's quite possible you'll have to do something in your career that will require you to have a base in quantitative methods (or at least using programs like SPSS). Having to come up with an antonym for "obdurate" on the spot, not so much. And what specific programs are you applying to that you're quick to dismiss all of this? If you do anything on the econ/public policy side then using and understanding statistics (if not knowing formal quant modeling) will be a regular part of your work.

There's a PSJR thread called "Are rankings that important after the 60s?" that has the NRC rankings on the 1st page. It comes up easily in Google (are we allowed to link to PSJR here?)

I don't think it matters on the whole. Only thing I'd recommend is looking at programs that offer opportunities to take courses in quantitative methodology if you're going into a field that requires a good basis in that.

And for the record, "most" departments will offer funding to a good portion (if not most/all) of accepted individuals. General rule is no funding, no go!

What are your research interests? Are they things you could frame within public policy vice political science?

Nothing wrong with getting your master's from a policy-oriented school before going on to the Ph.D, I did that myself. I guess I made some incorrect assumptions about your intentions. As for why you're having trouble finding programs with your exact interests, it might be because you're framing them too much in "real-world" terms for academia (this coming from someone who has the same interests as you). Not to say that there aren't people who don't do these things and/or you won't be able to do them yourself, but a lot of them are probably selling it more as broader security/strategic studies. Just a few scholars that might be your speed off the top of my head: Robert Pape (Chicago), Peter Feaver (Duke), Dale Herspring (Kansas St), and Andrew Bacevich (Boston U).

Wait, inflation isn't rampant at other professional schools? Looks like I went to the right professional school then.

Probably better answered in the Government Affairs forum. Also, the first 4 are more policy-oriented...I wouldn't recommend going the "MA in political science" route if you're not looking to go on to the Ph.D.

Guess the admins forgot to renew the domain?