soulgroove

In Emory, we have 7 this year. 2 Comparativists, 2 Americanists, 3 IR.

The default situation in Oxford, as with most UK universities, is that students are not offered funding. In the application process, you will be considered for university-wide funding such as the Claredon Fund and the Ertegun Fund, but those are extremely competitive and hard to come by. Oxford statistics (http://www.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding/prospectivegrad/scholarships/) say that only 17% of taught masters student receive full funding. Global Governance and Diplomacy (GGD) is a taught masters program. For what its worth, when I was in Oxford from 2010-2012, I don't think I've heard anyone on the GGD course being on full funding. Most paid their own way.

If you are focused on what you want, and if you can find a good supervisor at LSE, then by all means pick LSE. There should be no problems about that. I only recommended Oxford only if you can find a better supervisor, and if you needed time to do coursework and consider your research proposal. In my mind, research proposals can twist and turn over many years of "stewing". 

If you follow the rules, internal application for the DPhil is a piece of cake. The only problem is if you want to ask for flexibility.... then the administrators are not likely to be very flexible. I didn't end up finishing at Oxford because I lacked a great supervisor who was interested in what I was doing (i.e. Southeast Asian mass politics). My Masters thesis supervisor was good and nice. Not great. As to what the both posters above have said, yes there is probably not much that separates Oxford and LSE in terms of the overall reputation of the departments SUBSTANTIVELY, but I believe that there is a PRESTIGE IMPRESSION difference. I got this response a lot when I was working part-time in a consultancy in London and around academic circles. Whether this is important to you is only something you need to figure out. Again, if you like quantitative comparative politics, econometrics and political economy, then even Essex might be a better "fit", that is if you can find the right supervisor. In Oxford, I can think of Raymond Duch, James Tilley and David Rueda. They all use quantitative methods to a large extent, but only David Rueda works vaguely on political economy.

I did the MPhil in Comparative Politics form 2010-2012, so I think I can address some of your concerns. While there are no statistics available on how many % of MPhil students successfully move from the MPhil to the DPhil, my impression is that most students who make the application are successful. Every year, there will be a briefing on the standards expected and the administrative work involved for making the transition, and typically there is some flexibility involved in terms of appealing at the first instance if one is unsucessful. If you don't make the cut, you can also always go somewhere else for the direct PhD. In my mind, an MPhil will prepare a person better for both the PhD and the job market than an MSc. Both the MSc and MPhils take similar first year courses in research design, methods and comparative politics. In the second year, MPhils take more substantive courses (I took Japanese politics and Comparative political economy), and focus on writing their Masters thesis. Taking more substantive courses is good because you have some breadth of knowledge which future employers might like, and the Masters thesis almost always forms a few chapters of the DPhil anyway. So your 2nd year writing the Masters thesis is not wasted, and can serve as a platform for giving you time to think deeply about your DPhil research question. There are 3 reasons why you should probably choose Oxford over LSE (I also got an offer from LSE in addition to my offer from Oxford): (1) Oxford is just more "prestigious". Almost everyone in academia from the East to West is snobbish like that. (2) Does Oxford have a potential advisor you want to work with more than LSE? Advisors are king. They can provide you with research and funding opportunities, write letters of recommendation for any type of application, and give advice about career paths. If you have a lousy advisor, prepare for a nightmare. Let me know what is your area of interest and who you are interested to work with. (3) College life in Oxford is great. Whether it is more great or less great depends on which College you get into. Downside to Oxford: By default, students get no funding. You have to find funding on your own.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Non-American Unranked Young University Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science Undergrad GPA: 3.80 Type of Grad: Oxford, St Antony's College Grad GPA: Nil GRE: 160 V 162 Q 6.0 AW Any Special Courses: Letters of Recommendation: One from tenured prof at undergrad university (senior thesis supervisor), one from tenured prof at Oxford (masters' thesis supervisor), one from untenured prof at CHYMPS uni. Research Experience: 3 working papers (including one R&R), RA work Teaching Experience: 3 semesters of TA Subfield/Research Interests: Comparative political economy of Southeast Asia Other: RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): Emory ($$) Waitlists: 0 Rejections: Everywhere else Pending: 0 Going to: Emory! LESSONS LEARNED: (1) Apply to many schools to boost your chances. (2) Fit is terribly important. If there is one ounce of uncertainty in the SOP, or if the question which you want to work on is unclear, most likely to get rejected. (3) Contacting POIs ahead of time may or may not be useful. I got into Emory without a POI, but got passed over elsewhere even though POI in the department was very encouraging about my applicaiton.

Hi Emory folks, I'm headed there too this fall and like everyone else, I'm quite concerned about accommodation as well, particularly since I'm an international student who has no idea how the US housing market works. Could anyone share a tip or two with regards to the entire process of viewing, negotiating and renting? With regards to neighbourhoods, I've been speaking to some current graduate students and they really suggest Decatur because (a) it is near the MARTA train station, making it easier to get around, ( there is a free shuttle from Decatur to Emory. Otherwise, houses along North Decatur Road and Clairmont road are the usual places.

Congratulations to everyone who got an offer! My best wishes to the rest and whatever you will do next. My cycle is over as well. Only got offered by Emory and rejected everywhere else (strangely, I have not had an official rejection from Harvard at all, but I should be right in assuming the worst). I've been talking with and emailing the DGA, DGS, POI, former and current graduate students in the program to try to come to a decision about whether to go or not. There are so many push and pull factors..........

Yes Cornell is done. A finalized list of admits has already been circulated within the department. Not sure if they have contacted everyone though. I got a rejection email a few days ago.

Woke up from my sleep over here in Asia. Found out I also got bumped at both Cornell and UChicago. At this point in time, I'm just shrugging my shoulders.

Hogwarts? Defence Against the Dark Arts PhD? Notification via Owl? What a troll.... Ha! Either that or this waiting game is seriously making many of us lose our minds.

Also rejected at UMichigan. Sighs.

Claiming the Emory admission! Email from DGA. I think I'm a good fit, but am unsure about going there as I've not heard from any other schools, Michigan and Berkeley included. >_<|||

I just try to have a good sleep at night. And then panic once I wake up.

Terribly gutted at not hearing anything from UChicago. Like many, I thought I was a good fit too. It was my first choice. My stomach feels all empty now. Don't think I can be happy for the rest of the day.

You can email the Emory admissions personnel - Denise Brubaker. All the best!