wannabee

I was notified by email that I am an alternate.

Congratulations.

Actually I applied to both places for comparative politics with a middle eastern focus and I wasn't accepted at either of them. Of course, GW has the advantage of the location being in DC especially if you want to do government work. UPenn seems like a really awesome school and Philadelphia looks like a great city. If you are thinking of being an academic, I would say UPenn. Part of the problem with DC schools is that the professors often have a lot of other stuff going on like councils and think tanks and whatnot. You really can't go wrong either way. From what I have heard, Penn seems like a great place for political science and the grad students there seem happy. Good luck making your decision.

See this is what really bugs me. It seems like there is this total and complete separation between anything academic and anything policy oriented. I know that the PhD path trains you to be an academic. But the problem really is how can you do academic work in a way that applies to contemporary problems and teach as well. I think that the gap between academia and policy does not need to be as wide as it sometimes appears to be. I don't know if this is realistic or not but I have been thinking about it a lot. Is there a role for a public academic in a field like political science? I am not really talking about this specific instance, but wondering in general.

Yeah I can say that I took one political science class undergrad and I majored in Middle Eastern studies. I want to study comparative politics with a focus on the Middle East so my Arabic language knowledge, study experiences in the region, and knowledge of the region all helped me. I will be going to Yale to get my PhD in the fall. I think that these programs want people from different backgrounds as long as there is some connection between what you studied undergrad and what you want to study in graduate school. Hope this helps and good luck even if you are a Republican

Me too...except it came by email and directed me to the application, perhaps because I am in Cairo. An unfunded masters is not an option for me.

There was an acceptance listed yesterday at Georgetown (PhD). Anyone out there claiming this? I assumed they were only sending out rejections at this point.

Last year I received an offer of a half tuition scholarship for both the first and second year for the MA in Middle Eastern Studies at the Elliott School, GWU. Please note that this is more policy oriented.

Thanks so much for this info. I had mentally assumed this, but it is good to hear for sure. Just happy for this process to be over.

Mine apparently hasn't come yet either from WUSTL. The original email said one to two weeks for the mailed letter, and that was dated March 3.

Was this a typo? Did you mean you were denied funding at GW?

I am in a field far different than yours -- the comparative politics of the Middle East. But there is one thing I would want to know from the graduate advisors at Chicago....what has their record been in MA candidates getting into PhD programs. That would include the progam at Chicago as well as other universities. I recently asked this question of another department at Chicago that offers a one-year MA in IR. They were able to give me a real sense of what happened to those students who wanted to go on to the PhD in related fields...poli sci, IR, etc. They were completely understanding that I was asking this question. So I would definitely bring this up in a polite way, especially since so many dollars are on the line.

I did the CLS in Amman, Jordan for advanced Arabic in 2009. I have no experience with the program in Turkey, but ours required considerable work outside of class. My language skills definitely improved. Sorry I can't be more specific than that.

Many thanks, but no luck....still application submitted. I need to learn to be patient!

Congratulations on the acceptance! I would be careful about turning down a fully funded offer for the doctorate at this point. Things seem quite tight, not so much for the MA but if you are trying to get into a PhD program. I have heard horror stories about people who turned down packages for the PhD and did not get in the next round. At the same time, there are people whose results definitely improve. I can not speak with any knowledge about job placement from Cornell. If you have been admitted there, they should be able to address that...both in terms of examples of placement and rough figures for overall placement. Could you look up the credentials of the assistant professors? Do they have books coming out? That might give you some idea on the likelihood of tenure. Some folk have suggested that, in some cases, it is better to work with an associate rather than a full professor. An associate is still trying to make their reputation and will be more active publishing and in terms of other involvement. I am also interested in Egypt but will probably go the poli sci/comparative route once the dust clears.... But I am no expert in this area and perhaps someone else has more information.