opal32496

You might also want to look at UC San Diego's website - they have a special sub-department of poli sci called IR/PS (School of Intl Relations and Pacific Studies). IR/PS is an extention of, and its faculty are fully integrated with, the poli sci dept, and, as you can tell from the name, specializes in your region. UCSD has a really strong general program, comparative dept, and Asian specialty... trifecta?!

UR has a very distinct and strong poli sci program; their PhD graduates place very well, and their undergrad grads are looked at as strong candidates in PhD admissions. If you think you might want to do a Poli Sci PhD, I would suggest considering majoring in Poli Sci as opposed to an interdisciplinary major, or, if you do do the interdisciplinary major, play up the poli sci aspect and your experiences within the department (aka UR poli sci department is a brand/affiliation that will be a strong asset to be closely associated with). For profs that are very well known in what you want to do (i.e. their recommendations would pull a lot of weight at other poli sci depts), if possible, take courses with Stone, Goemans, Powell, Signorino in IR/Comp/Methodology training, and Johnson for Poli Thry. (That said, these aren't the only people you should look to for recommendations - if you hit it off with a prof who is younger or less well known but can speak very highly and personally about you, that is better than a generic from someone in the list.) Also, take lots of methodology in both formal and statistics. Show interest to professors in order to be invited to complete a senior honors thesis. In terms of going straight to grad school or going into the Peace Corps, I would do the following: 1) If you have a professor that you have a repoire with, set up time to speak with him/her and ask about the profession, how competitive you'll be as a candidate, and elicit his/her suggestions, etc.; 2) take the GREs and see how you do. If you don't do amazing, you'll probably be a more competitive candidate by distinguishing yourself through real world experience, whether it's in the Peace Corps or otherwise; 3) If your heart is set on doing the Peace Corps, do it, and then see if you still want to get a PhD. Once you start/finish your PhD, you won't have the option of doing it. Also, the experience will probably help you a) decide if you really want a PhD and help you clarify what your research interests are (sounds like you're already specific, but some varied experiences will either solidify it or change it). Hope that helps...

I emailed grad housing a few weeks ago; they replied that new students will be emailed (via your princeton email address) housing assignments mid-summer. To me, the question is how to set up your email address...?!?! I keep meaning to call IT, but haven't... Do you have any info on that..?

I'm attaching the link to the IR Rumor Mill (I'm in IR, but there are links on the site to the American, Comparative, and Political Theory Rumor Mills). Having just finished visiting and selecting a program, it was a great resource for me to begin to understand the job market (both with an eye towards being there 5 years from now, and to understand continuity issues of current profs) and the kinds of comments that are made within the profession... Hope you might enjoy... http://irrumormill.blogspot.com/.

Just wanted to note that the Poll of Polls is missing NYU!

Can Realist, AnotherRealist, etc. provide insight about the most productive way to spend the summer between yrs 1 and 2 of doctoral studies...? Have you heard anything about Michigan's quant camp, ICPSR? [http]. Are there other similar programs? Are these valuable to network with people from other schools (in addition to the additional technical training) and to diversify training and exposure, or is it better to purely stay at your department over the summer to involve yourself in an RA position, etc? I'm interested to hear...

There are 2 schools that (from my perspective) are known for generous funding. It's one of them. I'm interested in a forum brainstorm, though, on the "extras" beyond fellowship/TA/RA that might arise and you'd want to have your eye on upfront. To me, that means summer activities and conference attendance. What are productive summer activities? Has anyone heard anything about Michigan's ICPSR? [ http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/sumprog/ ] Are there other summer activities like this, or is it more productive to stay at your department and prep for quals or conduct research, etc? Are there other professional expenses that anyone anticipates?

I had 4 offers that varied significantly: top-10 public school in midwest, college town: TA-based, $15k/yr top-10 public school in major city: TA-based, $20k/yr, yr 1, $16-17k/yr yrs 2-5 top-10 private school in college town: Fellowship, $27k/yrs 1&2, $25k yrs 3-5 top-15 private school in major city: Fellowship, $22k/yr So far, I visited 2 schools; at each, there were certain things that are not included in the package but are sources of funding that are pretty standard depending on the program and which faculty member you work with... At one school, multiple professors stated that they fund the costs of conference attendance, assist in research costs, etc. At another, summer funding is standard for yrs 1 and 2 but is not formalized in the package, etc. Therefore, through the rest of the recruitment process, I have a 3-part mantra: (1) leverage current students' knowledge about how to work each school's funding and bureaucratic idiosyncracies, (2) ask up-front, (3) everything is negotiable (as long as you are tactful!). Once I select a school, I plan on setting up time with the DGS to go over the final offer to make sure everything is clear and to formalize anything that isn't in the package. Hope that helps... Please post if anyone has further insights!