afjackie

At this point given all of the other troll responses on the results page coming in all at once, I'm guessing the Northwestern one is fake too! But thought I'd check here just in case. Northwestern doesn't usually do interviews for PoliSci as far as I understand, but who knows with this crazy cycle.

Anyone claiming the Northwestern interview request with Ian Hurd?

Anyone waiting for UC Irvine check your portal! I just checked and had an acceptance letter waiting! Good luck to everyone out there!

There are a TON of UK PhDs where I work (major US policy/research think tank), but to be honest I'm having trouble thinking of any who did the UK PhD, US fellowship/post-doc, then US tenure track if that is what you are looking to do. I swear I've met some before, but I'm really struggling to come up with names. Mostly, it is what everyone told me over the last year (both US and UK PhDs) when I asked about the relative advantages and disadvantages. I'll keep thinking on it, though, and let you know if I can come up with any names of faculty at US unis who did this! BrownSugar is definitely correct, though, that US PhDs allow for more career flexibility. I'm not necessarily looking to go tenure track, so I've decided I'm willing to take a UK PhD that is a good fit over a US PhD that isn't. But if all things were equal on fit and funding between a US and UK PhD option I think I'd opt for the US PhD just to give myself that greater flexibility.

Hi there! I agree with BrownSugar, but with one caveat. I also am applying to a variety of UK and US schools (as well as Geneva), and thought long and hard and sought a LOT of advice from current professors and PhDs on the pros and cons. Even a few of the UK professors I interviewed with mentioned the downfalls of getting a UK PhD if I wanted to get a university position in the US, so the disadvantage is real. However, everyone I spoke with also said that if you get a UK PhD and then do a prestigious post-doc in the US, you will at that point be considered at the same level of competitiveness as those with US PhDs. As for UCL, I agree that it isn't as well known as a few of the other UK schools, but I don't think it will make that big of a difference in the long run, particularly if it is a really good fit. Seriously political science academics and professionals know it is a great school and program. So bottom-line, it depends on your career aspirations. I think you can make UCL work regardless, but if you might want a uni job in the US, you need to plan for a competitive post-doc in the US after your PhD (or a US PhD if you have that option). If you want to work in the US but say, at a research institute not a university, I think the UK v. US degree doesn't make that big of a difference. Not sure if that is helpful, but that is my two cents based on the advise I have received and my experience in the U.S. working at a large policy/research think tank. Good luck!

I can imagine! Unfortunately most of the programs in the US don't have rolling admissions decisions, so they don't even start looking at applications until after the deadline has passed ? At IHEID, I also am hoping to work with Keith Krause but also Lisa Prugl - I'm planning to look at bottom-up peace formation efforts in Africa while also critiquing colonialist and patriarchal tendencies of top-down liberal peacebuilding (with a focus on critical and feminist analyses). At Northwestern I'm hoping to work with Will Reno. Good luck to you on both and let me know if you wind up going to either. I hope you get some news soon!

Oh man, that is so frustrating! I was applying at the normal Jan 15 deadline for Geneva (I think I submitted it around December 27), so I am not expecting to hear until early- to mid-March unfortunately. I was kicking myself for not getting it in before the early decision deadline (Nov 15), but it sounds like it wouldn't have made a difference given your experience. I'm sorry you are having to wait so long, though! I'll let you know if I do hear anything sooner, of course. I also applied to Northwestern, but again didn't get that application in until closer to the deadline (I think I submitted Dec 1). Who are you hoping to work with at Geneva and/or Northwestern, if you don't mind me asking?

Ditto to you!! Let me know how things go with your funding, and if you wind up choosing Manchester! (Or Notre Dame as I am interviewing for that as well!)

Ooooh thanks for letting me knowI I think Geneva is my top choice so I will definitely be joining that group. And thank you!!!

Hey everyone! I got an official offer of admissions from the University of Manchester today - first confirmed acceptance! Won't know about funding until March, though... Accepted Interview(ed) Pending Rejected Northwestern, Graduate Institute Geneva, Notre Dame (Kroc/Peace Studies and PoliSci), Manchester, Edinburgh, U Denver (Josef Korbel/International Studies), UC Irvine.

What's your subfield/areas of interest if you don't mind me asking? I've been wondering if I shouldn't have applied to Boulder... Hope Irvine results come out soon! And Northwestern of course...

Cheers to both of these! And I'm totally with you, TheLifeofBrian, on both dreading losing my current salary but also knowing in the long run it will be worth it for my happiness. I think almost every prof I talked to leading up to submitting my applications was like...you are a real human with a real job...why in the world would you go back for your PhD now? Haha, but I know it is what I have to do!

Haha, yep, 38 here! I finished my master's when I was 29, and now looking to go back to academia after becoming disenchanted with the policy world. Glad to know I'm not the only one who won't be in their 20s!

I do after my masters program at Georgetown...I do not recommend, unless you plan to go into the private sector! I've been working on paying mine off on the public service forgiveness program but it is a never ending slog filled with uncertainty. That said, I would have never had the amazing career opportunities I've had without that masters, so I guess it depends a lot on your career trajectory. Happy to talk more offline!

I did the same thing but choose a Masters at Georgetown back in 2008 rather than a PhD from UConn! And yeah, the UK programs can be tough for funding. They opened up ESRC funding to international students this year, and there are a couple other niche studentships I've applied for that relate to the conflict/feminist nature of my research proposal, but I know I may very well get into Edinburgh and/or Manchester but not be offered funding. Seemed worth a try, though, since the professors from both of those programs are such amazing fits for my interests. We will see!

Despite having an MPP from Georgetown, good GRE scores, and 8 years experience at the State Department and the White House, when I applied the first time for the 2017 cycle I only applied to Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, and USCD - no safety schools, I didn't reach out to professors because I was living in Khartoum, Sudan, and was super busy, and not surprisingly I didn't get in anywhere. So this time around I was super focused on fit before ranking, talking to profs at every program, included a couple safety schools, and fingers crossed will do better this time! As you can tell from my programs I'm clearly an IR/Conflict Studies person Good luck to everyone out there! Accepted Interview(ed) Pending Rejected Northwestern, Graduate Institute Geneva, Notre Dame (Kroc/Peace Studies and PoliSci), Manchester, Edinburgh, U Denver (Josef Korbel/International Studies), UC Irvine.

Thank you so much for checking on Northwestern! I've been stressing hard about that one!!

I was invited to Notre Dame's Political Science and Peace Studies virtual week, and my understanding is they usually invite 12 people as finalists. I think the Peace Studies program admits around 6 students per year, and clearly not all of the 12 accept, so while I'm not taking it for granted, I think that as long as you do well on the interview and take the meetings seriously it is a very good chance you will receive an offer for admissions. I could be wrong, but I'm assuming the straight Political Science PhD is similar.

Hey everyone! I've been tracking this page for the last couple weeks and wanted to report that I just got an email to interview with the Kroc Institute at Notre Dame for the PhD in Peace Studies and Political Science. I also wanted to say thank you to all of the folks posting positive notes and support for one another. This is a really hard year for everyone, and I know all of our anxiety levels are at an all-time high with so much uncertainty in the world Fingers crossed for everyone out there, and thanks to others who posted their previous interview questions!