victorydance

There is nothing wrong with saying that if you are looking to go into the academic market then getting a Ph.D. from a top university in the US is a much better approach to achieving that. However there is something wrong with stating completely wrong and ignorant things about a country. I mean saying that Canada isn't an independent country because it doesn't have a president...lol...first of all it is constitutional monarchy not a republic, and secondly, it is completely independent. Also there is no evidence to suggest that the US is "stronger politically and economically." Canada and the US are both some of the more stable democracies in the world and have quite strong GDP per capita among the world.

Man, this is just so wrong I don't even know what to say. Don't offer an opinion on something you have no clue about please.

My definition of having my "shit together" is a lot different than popular culture. I don't care about starting a family, owning property, or having a stable job and/or income. So maybe I don't have my "shit together" but those were never my goals anyways.

Pretty good. Program and department looks pretty good. Met a bunch of profs and they all seemed quite nice. City is decent as well.

- Continuing to master my second language. - Studying for and taking the GRE again. - Get manuscript to acceptable level before program starts. - Make the move. That's about it.

No, it is not true.

I just got back from UT Austin.

I haven't decided yet.

Feasibility of getting into a top 10 Ph.D. program from a Canadian MA program: yes if you are a strong applicant. Likelihood of getting something published, in a reputable polisci journal, as an undergrad or MA student: fairly low, even for MA students. In political science we don't have the advantage of working in a lab and getting published as a co-author on a project. The really only time, unless you are an all-star student, pre-doctoral students get published is as a co-author with a professor. This does happen but it's not incredibly common either. Some people get published on solo works or with other graduate students but this is even rarer than with a professor. To get an RA position in Canada isn't really that much different than any university in the US. The biggest difference is usually R1 universities in the US have more funding and bigger faculties so the research opportunities are greater. That's it. I had one at a Canadian university over a summer as an undergrad, but it was at a top 2 university in the country. You want to do a few things: one, get in classes with professors who have similar research interests. Secondly, go to their office hours a lot (with intelligent and useful questions to ask) and do well in their classes. Look for assistant professors (because they are pushing more research out to get tenure) or profs who are extremely productive research wise because these are the people who hire RAs. You can also poke around the faculty to see who hires the most RAs, there are always one or two profs who do big projects or commonly hire undergrads or junior grad students as RAs. Once the prof gets to know you and you prove somehow you are a promising and interested student begin to ask them about their research and/or ask if you can get involved in some way. Other methods to get to know profs better are independent research courses and/or honours theses/masters theses. And yes, you should take some methods classes because it shows your aptitude for this type of study to admission committees. I suggest doing at least a year sequence of quant methods in the political science department, anything more than this is bonus. Of course there are other options such as more traditional math or statistics courses or courses from other departments (econometrics for example).

Could not agree more.

I don't think I'll accept the offer.

U of T masters acceptances are out.

Yeah, that was the exact moment I decided to give up as well.

I know it's a little late in the game...but just a heads up for people who are interested in UT Austin's Spanish/Portuguese Ph.D. program. One of the professors I met today (Arias) said the department is looking for applicants in two primary and broad areas: indigenous and afro-american studies (particularly Mesoamerican) and immigration in the Iberian Peninsula. He said that these are the two streams of scholarship that the department has really been moving/focusing towards (and hence, building a more cultural studies program) rather than a more traditional literature based program.

^ Not to mention one top 10 could be drastically better than another top 10 in certain areas or subfields.

Then be satisfied with nothing. That's the bottom line. You think you are entitled to things without making sacrifices or commitment. This isn't how things work in the real world.

I am not trying to disparage you, far from it. But the simple matter is that lots of people jump through these hoops but you seem to be reluctant for whatever reason. For one, countless students do internships while not having a lot of money. You could take a basics statistics class no problem at a community college. And I am sure that you could find someone to do an independent research course or thesis in your faculty if you modify your research interests. You could also finish your undergrad and study languages either independently or abroad if you save up some money and/or get a job. These are just a few examples. I mean, put it this way...I actually didn't cultivate my three letters of rec until my senior year (and even the last semester at that). I worked as a RA, did an independent research class with a prof, and did an honours thesis all within 4-5 months before I graduated. Senior year is actually the time where these types of opportunities really open up.

ITT I see a lot of excuses and not a lot of action. Everything that is pointed out to you, you seem to reply back with some form of a caveat. For example: - history has language requirements - political science and other social sciences require quant training - internships don't pay - can't do X and Y because not in an honours program. Sounds like a lot of excuses for your lack of motivation and/or laziness. Seriously. If you want something you have to jump through hoops and get the necessary skills and experience to get there. You are not entitled to anything. Personally, I have had to jump through a lot of hoops to get where I want to be academically, like learning languages when I am not particularly skilled or quick at them, taking and willing to improve my quant skills to succeed in political science, going to office hours countless times when talking to professors was once very intimidating for me, coming from a very untraditional and unacademic familial background and rising to the top of my respective cohorts on effort, ect. Life isn't all roses my friend, you need to do what you got to do to succeed if your desires are even somewhat ambitious.

Abysmal.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/earth-sciences-rankings http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2014/environmental-studies#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=

Yeah, but let's be serious here...no one actually reads every page that is assigned in their courses.

Not really. Highly depends on the discipline.

Because every program or department is run differently, either by staff differences, how much money they have available, different time-tables, ect.

^ Agreed. Also, find out just how closely you can work with the political science department at Columbia in that area studies program, sometimes area studies programs in the US are quite balkanized.

Stanford's recent placement record is actually quite poor: https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/academics/graduate-programs/job-placement Here is Princeton's: http://www.princeton.edu/politics/graduate/placement/