Whanauer

Hi everyone, I was hoping maybe some of you could give me some advice. I'm currently debating between getting my PhD in History, my undergraduate major, or Pol Sci, as I have my MA in International Affairs. My specific interest is the history of suicide terrorism, on which I wrote my MA thesis. Essentially, my thesis attempted to refute the assertions made by Robert Pape in his 2006 book Dying to Win, which basically stated that suicide terrorism is ultimately a logical and effective strategy. However, I was hoping to explore these issues more from a historical perspective than political, and was wondering if any one knew of History Programs which might match my interests? As far as I know, most terrorism experts work in the political science arena. If it helps, my qualifications are as follows. I currently possess a BA in History with a 3.957 GPA (4.0 Major GPA) and a minor in French. However, it was from a small college in NY (St. Francis), and therefore I'm not sure that GPA carries much weight. I also have my MA in International Affairs from CUNY Brooklyn College with a 3.966 GPA, and passed Brooklyn's language exam as was necessary (short translation sans dictionary, basically). My GRE was taken approximately three years ago prior to my graduate work, and my scores were 690 V (96%), 580 Q (52%), and 6.0 writing. While I realize my Q is low, I've received grades of A in numerous courses such as graduate stats and macro/ micro which should help alleviate some concerns. Also, over the course of my BA and MA I've written three theses (2 undergrad, 1 for major and 1 to satisfy an Honors graduate, and 1 for my MA. LORs should not be a problem. Therefore I feel my strengths are my language ability, proven graduate record, GPAs, and strong writing skills. My weaknesses are the fact that I did not attend a top flight program and had a relatively low Q score.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, it's most appreciated. As it stands I'm probably going to apply to a few of my top choices and keep programs such as the CUNY Graduate Center as a "safety," though quite frankly from my own personal view it appears as if they do a relatively good job of placing their candidates at positions within the CUNY system for invaluable experience. I'm hoping that since I'm applying as a Political Theory/International Relations Theory guy my Q might be slightly more forgivable, or at least the competition might be less fierce in comparison to the comparative and IR programs.

Hi everyone, I'm a new poster and am planning on applying for a PhD in Political Science for the Fall 2011 semester. However, given my background, I'm unsure as to which schools I should be aiming for. Perhaps someone with more experience or knowledge of the admissions process could give me some advice. I currently possess a BA in History with a 3.957 GPA (4.0 Major GPA) and a minor in French However, it was from a small college in NY (St. Francis), and therefore I'm not sure that GPA carries much weight. I also have my MA in International Affairs from CUNY Brooklyn College with a 3.966 GPA, and passed Brooklyn's language exam as was necessary (short translation sans dictionary, basically). My GRE was taken approximately three years ago prior to my graduate work, and my scores were 690 V (96%), 580 Q (52%), and 6.0 writing. While I realize my Q is low, I've received grades of A in numerous courses such as graduate stats and macro/ micro which should help alleviate some concerns. Also, over the course of my BA and MA I've written three theses (2 undergrad, 1 for major and 1 to satisfy an Honors graduate, and 1 for my MA. LORs should not be a problem. Therefore I feel my strengths are my language ability, proven graduate record, GPAs, and strong writing skills. My weaknesses are the fact that I did not attend a top flight program and had a relatively low Q score. Therefore, what would be a realistic school to apply for? As of now, I'm interested in the likes of Brown, Emory, U Minnesota, U Michigan. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.