sixfoxtrot

Juju, thanks very much! That definitely helps. The research focus is precisely what draws me to a PhD specifically at IHEID - I have a practical/professional MA, but my interests lie in going back to (applied) research and merging the two for a research-focused career. For the type of research I want to do, there'd be no better place than Geneva, and no school with better fit for me. Regarding contacting scholars - I was hoping to do that, but on the website it says not to... ? Is there a policy for/against it? I don't want to waste anyone's time or come across as being unable to follow instructions. Sorry if this is too forward, but what are your post-IHEID plans? I notice your profile says "French/Comp Lit" - are you going in a different direction?

Obviously the people who post online about how unhappy they are are going to be a self-selecting group. I have nothing but anecdotal evidence from three friends in poli sci programs - one at a top-10, one at a top-30, one at an unranked program, so their predicted outcomes are vastly different. The one in the middle hates it the most, but it's either finish or go back to his/her home country. The other two seem quite content. The "hypothetical happiness" argument is an interesting one because, as far as I can tell, very few poli sci PhD candidates have significant salaried work experience beyond academia, whether in policy or a related field. They don't actually know what the other side looks like - they may have loved it, they may have hated it. Some people ended up in PhD programs because it was 2009-2010-2011, law school was too expensive, and the alternative was sixteen unpaid internships in DC in a row - these people would have undoubtedly been hypothetically happier in a paying job from the getgo. Others ended up in PhD programs because they desperately wanted to devote their lives to academic research - these people would hypothetically be miserable in anything else. Yet others chose PhDs with a clear non-academic goal in mind - thinktanks, NGOs, government, what have you; my guess is these people aren't the ones posting about fierce competition for TT lines at the University of Northeastern Nebraska. Of these three groups, my top-30 friend falls into the first, my top-10 friend falls into the second, and my unranked friend falls into 1 & 3. Take from that what you will - maybe that group 1 is always going to be unhappy and that group 2 is always going to be happy?

Don't worry about "littering" the forums, I think many people naturally come to the poli sci board looking for info on international politics/policy, so it's probably quite beneficial to have this thread here. I'd also ask over there to get more perspectives. Re: balancing out your GPA - it's going to be a combination of everything. You want everything to be as strong as possible for all of the programs you listed. I know this isn't really helpful, but just shoot for the best you can do on all components. A stellar letter from a lesser-known person beats an okay generic letter from a Congressman or something, btw. While Columbia and Princeton are obviously excellent schools, I would advise leaning toward SAIS or Gtown just because of the location. You can work while in school, at least part-time, and you'll save yourself the stress of job-hunting trips/interviews just by being here and playing your cards right. It is absolutely possible to graduate with a job in hand, and your "transition" will simply be showing up to work the day after graduation. Many people from DC-area schools have hard offers on the table even before their last semester. Based on your interests and background, I'd recommend breaking down your field options into three broad groups: DOD, intel, and the Hill (handling national security for someone, armed services committees, etc). I would strongly advise against DHS - it is apparently the worst agency to work for in the govt, and everyone I know there is absolutely miserable. You could also do some cool stuff with NATO. The private sector is a curious beast right now because Afghanistan is winding down - lots of places are cutting staff for lack of money, contracts are petering out, and it's flooded with recent returnees. I work in the private sector (we do not, as a matter of policy, go for govt contracts, even though the exec suite is ex-gov), and we got - no joke - 200 applications for a security consulting job, the vast majority early 30s ex-mil. What it'll look like 3-4-5 years out is anyone's guess, depending on whether we put boots on the ground somewhere else. There are lots of private security companies that don't focus on defense contracting and work all over, but their bread and butter has been Afghanistan/Iraq, so whether they'll refocus or close up shop completely is anyone's guess.

Ondeau, thank you for your service! If you're looking at MA programs, you'd probably be better served in the Government Affairs forum next door (under Professional Programs) - that's where most of the IR MA discussion is. That said, I did an IR MA with a focus on global security and worked in admissions, so here's some info to get you started: 1. All of the programs you list are excellent, but Georgetown would probably be your best bet with your focus. 2. What's the end game? You don't have to have a specific job in mind, just a general idea - government? If so, which branch? Private sector? PhD? Georgetown will prepare you well for any of these, but think about what you want to do with it once you're out. Do you have a regional interest? Languages? Interest/specific experience in tech (e.g. GIS)? 3. Your experience will set you apart from many students coming straight from undergrad, but there are quite a few ex-military applicants to all of these programs every year. This doesn't mean you won't do well in the application process, though. 4. You don't need to find faculty with similar research interests at the MA level for IR - that's for PhD applicants. You won't be going in to work with/under a specific professor, that's not how these programs are structured. All of the schools on your list will offer strong security courses by solid faculty. Most will ask you to define a secondary focus, kind of like a minor, so you can start thinking about what that might be (e.g. a region, US foreign policy, development, etc). E-mailing professors won't accomplish very much because most of these programs are professional, not research-oriented. You can still do a full MA thesis if you'd like to keep the option of a PhD open down the line, but many programs will offer a capstone project instead. 5. Your GPA may be a little low for some of the schools on your list, so I would balance it with a strong CV and statement of purpose. By "strong CV", I mean not just listing what you did, but really thinking about which accomplishments you'd like to emphasize. Bear in mind (I've read many ex-military CVs) that military-specific accomplishments (e.g. honor guard) may not translate well to all members of the committee. Don't leave them off, but add more analytical and judgment-focused things to both your CV and your SOP. Take care to avoid platitudes ("I was driven to serve my country") - explain why. Hope this helps!

This is a fascinating discussion to drop in on because I'm one of those few (?) crazies who's actively considering a PhD after half a decade in the private sector for love of a) my topic/field; research/writing. My hope is to combine research/fieldwork with practical training and move into a job outside of academia - e.g. international organizations, where PhDs can actually be quite valuable. ***As a tangent, I'm surprised no one's brought this up - maybe it's harder to see outside of, say, DC, and especially if you've never been outside of academia, but with sufficient quant training, a strong newly minted PhD would be a shoo-in at the World Bank, for example, especially if there's a facet of your research that fits well (development, IPE, trade, education, etc). If you're going "yeah, but how many of those jobs are there?", the answer is tons - don't forget that DC is flooded with MAs, but PhDs are a little harder to come by. If you're looking elsewhere, the OECD heavily recruits PhDs, including through their YP program - some YP positions require one. I know of a number of people who got into large NGOs after their poli sci PhDs and make $120+k 8-10 years out. $120k won't buy you a palace in DC, but it beats $40k in Nebraska for most people, I'm assuming. These people also know how to write project proposals, so when Google/Gates Foundation/Macarthur/etc come knocking, they can score big $$ for their orgs and everyone wins. Regarding opportunity cost - hard financial calculations aside, opportunity cost can be measured in non-financial terms, and there can be an opportunity cost to not doing a PhD as well. Again, this goes for outside of academia: say you hit mid-career with a Master's and then realize that everyone at the next level up has a PhD or a JD. And you're 35 with a family, kids who may be going to college in the foreseeable future, a mortgage, etc. Then you're kind of screwed...

Hi everyone, I'm returning to this forum after a long hiatus - TGC helped me through my MA application cycle many moons ago, great to see that it's still here! Does anyone have any experience with HEI Geneva, particularly the PhD program? How feasible would it be for an HEI ABD student/graduate to transition into the UN? I have an MA in IR and 6 years of work experience (1.5 NGO, 4.5 private sector) in DC. The NGO work was primarily conflict-related, following which I moved over to the private sector (sanctions and threat finance) before joining a security consultancy. I love my company, but I'm stuck in a rut, and I really want to get into humanitarian crisis management - there's some tangential relation at the moment, but not enough. Most importantly, I miss thinking and writing thoughtful things. I've also maxed out DC, if you will. My ultimate goal would be UNHCR/OCHA/ICRC/MSF - I have an application pending, actually, and if it works out I'll be the happiest person alive, but I'm told that the UN is under an external hiring freeze at the moment, so I'm not holding my breath. In this vein, I'm looking at a handful of programs, including a quick and dirty "executive"-style crisis management MA in France and the HEI PhD. Stats are as follows: 3.92 UGPA in poli sci, 4.0 GGPA in IR, two NGO publications, some fieldwork with refugees in a place no one goes to, some work with (but not for) the UN, a couple UN speeches/presentations, some mediation/diplomatic CR work, and a whole lot of gusto. Two UN languages at the native level, fluent in French. Stats, quant & qual methods, all the bells and whistles. RAed for my quant professor, hope to get really solid recs. I didn't do a formal Master's thesis, only a capstone research paper - that's my only concern (it was 74 pages, though, so maybe it counts?). I love how flexible the program is, there's plenty of faculty I'd love to work with, and the Geneva location can't be beat. I'm hoping to merge thinking and practice (these days I have a lot of automated practice, not a whole lot of thinking), so I'd try to get into the UN and complete my dissertation while there, based on actual practice. Is HEI geared largely toward research and teaching? Is this plan even feasible? Am I going to end up overeducated and unemployable? So many questions. Would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!