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thestarter

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  1. Then why are you leaning UT? Seems like IU is more appropriate for you... As for me, I've finally made my final decision. Heading for UT-Austin for IR
  2. still has the same question I guess I'm leaning towards Texas as well (though I might change it at the last minute:), I'm still not sure. I have no idea about the American field. But as far as I remember UT has much more professors in your field than Indiana has (So the courses offered is probably more diversified as well. You can check it from their websites. I guess that is even more important than the overall department size.). What is your second field? I've heard that both Indiana and UT are the strongest in comparative (Indiana in Indian and Russian/Eurasian studies while Texas in mostly Latin American). In general IU has a better placement record and puts more emphasis on preparing grads as academics from the early years of the graduate program (like offering an opportunity to teach summer courses). But if I haven't got a wrong impression so far, I can say that both departments are highly respected and have a very good reputation in the US. As you probably know, they are also very close to each other in all of the fields in most of the rankings (Indiana is usually ranked between 20-25 and Texas 25-30). So I started taking other things into consideration (like the city, funding opportunities etc) You're right about the cost of living, but what confuses me is what I hear about Austin. Most ppl whom I've been in contact say that it's a great place to live:) Honestly the idea of living in Austin makes me excited Still I don't know exactly if I can afford to live decently by the funding aid that they offer.
  3. Any IR student who was in the visit days? Or anyone who met with IR faculty?
  4. Totally I couldn't apply to many solid programs (WashU, Cornell etc) just because I knew that my interests wouldn't match with those of the faculty.
  5. Wow, thanks for comments. They seem pretty insightful you're absolutely right. I guess you're right too. From what I've learned so far, it seems that Bloomington's strength is rather in Comparative. Still there are well-known IR scholars (like Rasler and Thompson), but the courses offered in IR (which I think is significant as well) are less compared to others. There are more options at UT-Austin not only because there are more professors teaching IR (and esp. security/conflict) courses but also they have very interesting courses offered both at undergrad and grad level. As for me, I guess I will be in a dilemma for the next weeks whether I should go to a (seemingly) more prestigious university in Pol Sci with a better placement record (IU) or to a university more still solid and more appropriate for my research interests (UT). It will be a tough one Any advice is appreciated - Both offer only partial funding - for the first few years. Should I consider other things now (like the cities. Is Austin a nicer place to live than Bloomington) Thanks for at least giving it a try That's actually what I was looking for. Even if we can't find a ranking of security studies in Pol Sci PhD programs, at least we can discuss what we think. First of all congratulations on UIUC. That is a very solid program (I don't know how I missed it during the application process. I didn't know it had many security guys) As to the ranking you suggested, I don't think that Cornell is the right place to specialize in security studies. As far as I remember there were only one or two security guys there (at least in the dep of Pol Sci). Their strength - with respect to IR - seems to be in IPE. In its place, there can be NYU (I don't know you missed it or not. But they have several faculty producing great jobs recently). They are even probably better than Illinois and UT-Austin. Maybe Georgetown can be ranked a little higher. Although their program is more policy-oriented, I think they have one of the most prolific and insightful security teams in the world. So in short I would say 1-Columbia 2-MIT 3-Stanford 4-Chicago 5-NYU 6-Georgetown 7-Illinois 8-UT-Austin 9-WUSTL 10- UCLA 10-UVA 11-Maryland 12-Emory 13- Syracuse
  6. what matters for me now is where UT-Austin and Indiana-Bloomington are ranked in the field of IR. That's why I had asked about a detailed ranking (Top 30, Top 50 etc) any ideas on their strength in IR (esp in security studies) ?
  7. What about current grad students? Could you have long talks with them? Are they satisfied about the program in general? Or any specific impression you got from your contact with them?
  8. Hey Niels, I am seriously considering Bloomington and any impression would help a lot Could you get any idea about IR field? It concerns me that grads are required to take 90 hours credit (30 courses) for 3 years. It seems a lot. Could you talk to any grad students and ask about their experiences and what they think about the coursework? I also heard that the program leans toward quantitative methods. Do you have any idea about that? These are specifically what I have in mind, but as I said anything that you observed and share here with us would help a lot. Thanks
  9. Hey everyone, I was wondering if any of you has the latest US News Rankings (or rankings from any other magazine, journal, institution etc) on International Politics/Relations. I saw that in one of the topics but it was only top 18 or sth like that. I would really appreciate it if you could post a detailed one (top 30 - top 40 etc) Thanks
  10. ...IR... I hear that both are solid in IR. But I'm concerned about the heavy coursework of IN (30 courses for 3 years) and the smallness of Bloomington. As to Austin, it is too far from the eastern coast (plus rumors that the department is very competitive and not as friendly as others). Any advice about these two? Btw, what about you flyingwalrus. Heading for UT?
  11. stuck between UT-Austin and Indiana Bloomington :? I never thought making your final decision would be as difficult as the whole application process and waiting for the results
  12. I think it also depends on whether you plan to pursue an academic or policy career. MIT is surely excellent for any future plans. WUSTL and Georgetown are pretty strong as well.
  13. Thanks tidefan. Yea I hear a lot about the campus. Still I wonder if it really makes up for the smallness of the city. I'm also concerned about the coursework. Students are required to take 90 hours of credit/30 courses for 3 years. Other universities that I was interested in had mostly 2 years long coursework which was also not as heavy as Bloomington. Has anyone heard any other program requiring 30 courses to complete the degree?
  14. Hey guys, Actually I'm new to the forum. Seeing that there are very useful comments on a number of issues so far, I just wanted to ask if anyone (esp American students) can comment on Indiana Bloomington Pol. Science Dept. (Its reputation and strength in general, the environment, anything that you know actually. Since I'm in IR track, comments on that field would be greatly appreciated) Btw, anyone accepted on the forum and considering to be there next fall?
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