Zahar Berkut

Many programs completely disregard the GRE writing section, though I suppose you'd want to look into your specific ones. In any case, it seems a writing sample should be able to offset any concerns about your ability to write-- the program will see exactly what you can do through that. Being able to spit out two essays in about an hour-- not hugely indicative of scholarship promise. But if you want peace of mind and can afford the rescoring, you can give it a shot. Then you can tell the forums whether or not it helped. All you've got to lose on it is waiting time and money.

I am glad you brought regional studies up, Penelope-- when evaluating these degrees, how important is it to see a large number of polisci courses? Area studies are, of course, interdisciplinary, but one of my hopefuls seems to emphasize history and literature/culture as much as or more than political science. Would such a mix matter greatly?

This is unfortunately true (though I expect it works this way in certain other countries, too). In addition to U Toronto, Aberystwyth is a UK school that has a strong reputation in at least the IR subfield, though I can't speak for the others. If your French is excellent, Sciences Po is world famous. And of course, don't forget LSE.

I'm very curious to see what a ranking by verbal scores would produce, and whether the two together correlate at other to program prestige.

This is a bit of a niche topic, first because it's primarily polisci and IR types who look into this, and secondly because it's a tiny competition-- meaning maybe two dozen people get interviews before the final 10-ish are chosen. But has anyone here gone through it before? Want to offer any words of wisdom to hopefuls? University nominations are done, of course, and everyone will just be sitting for interview notifications at the end of February.

Your GPA is not bad-- it's impossible to say whether your readers will only care about your excellent cumulative or not, or whether they would see the low film grades as a read flag (my gut say no, but it's impossible to say). In any case, you still have a chance, and you will of course want to do as well as you can on the GRE's and other parts of your app (just as even people with higher cumulative GPA's would). So be comforted knowing you have not been precluded, and study like hell for the GRE.

I too fully endorse living your life like Machiavelli, rather than, say, Socrates. So long as you don't care what other people really think of you, or how many will show up to your funeral, or whether anyone will go out of their way to help you when you're in need. And no, this is only de fact related to the political science profession.

Teaching at a service academy sounds like a pretty good setup. I've talked to some prof's about the job market, and while in principle it's true that academic job vacancies fluctuate and come in waves, it's very hard to predict when these things might come around. There are also fewer theory spots across the board, and the competition will likely be fierce even with a relatively large number of openings. So fingers crossed that this is indeed a good time to start. You've got me very curious about your research interests (theory/IR is a big part of mine). Feel free to PM me.

Most theory candidates know it's the subfield with the hardest job market. But I don't expect it to die entirely, and with the way the discipline changes every so often, a revival can never be ruled out. Besides, "normative theory" is only one thing theorists do. History of ideas and teaching canon remain staples, and I (without much evidence I admit) doubt that will die. And interest in non-Western political thought, especially Islamic and Eastern, may grow. So it's enough to know that you're subjecting yourself to some torture, and to plan ahead for an abysmal job market. Also bear in mind when dissertation comes around what your potential employers might want to see in an application.

I'm curious to know if there's a rationale to the poll, aside from spittng out rankings based on nothing more than reputation. If you choose not to answer, the poll allows you to provide a fairly detailed explanation for why you haven't ranked a school. But as it stands, the selection of some universities is bizarre, and the poll does not seem systematic at all. As an aside, what do you think are the most underrated schools (for PhD programs)? In terms of quality of instruction, faculty strength, and respect (though I guss respect and reputation are supposed to correlate?).

As I prepare to hit submit to my MA programs (academic-bent), I wonder how much of the statement should talk strict political science/research interests and how much should discuss my reasons for applying and future plans. Right now it's about 50-50, with the reasoning that it's not a PhD program and the most I'm expected to do is write an article-length master's thesis within the one year of the program. But then, the guidelines are very vague, so I wonder if it really should deal more with "interests." Can anyone with experience applying directly to an academic terminal MA (especially CIR or MAPSS) comment?

Ditto. Your info definitely qualifies you, so from here on in it's up to the fates. If it calms you, my completely unsubstantiated gut feeling tells me you will get into at least one of those schools.

Also on a Fulbright right now, though not teaching. If you're making yourself miserable, your personal health should come first. If anyone asks, you explain that you had to leave for health reasons having to do with your situation in that particular country/city, and most people will understand. But have you tried resolving the issue at all? I mean, do you think if you spoke with your country's Fulbright office, or with the university where you are teaching, or with IIE, that you might be able to adjust your teaching load, or see what might be able to be done to help? If it's simply the act of teaching that's bothering you maybe there's no way around it, but it sounds like your situation is a bit more stressful than other ETA's I know.

If you want to apply research and then teach, consider doing the public policy MA followed by a PhD program, too. There's an unfortunate bias in academia to frown upon those who do not immediately make it to a tnure-track position, and working following an MA can help you avoid that. It will also help you decide if you even want to go on to the PhD. Plenty of national security organizations should have an interested in someone with network analysis expertise. I don't know how the academic field works for public policy PhD's. But if it's between PoliSci and Soc, my gut tells me the security studies subfield in PS will be more open to letting you take whatever approach you prove useful to work on national/international security problems, no matter where the literature comes from. You should definitely get an opiniion from someone who knows the soc field, though.

I don't want to press you on something personal, but I couldn't help but notice from your blog: "What I wouldn't give to go back in time to April 29th, 2009. All I had to do was mail in the MAPSS card and say I wouldn't be attending." Is there anything you would want applicants to Chicago's 1 year MA's like MAPSS to know?

Mostly agree-- I must add, having questioned what to do with gap years, that sorting out your personal business is the best thing you can do with the time. Try things out, see if you discover something that you actually enjoy doing, and especially NETWORK to get a better sense of what you could be doing outside academia (if that's a question for you still). Mastering language skills will help-- especially Mandarin in your case-- and it would be even more helpful if you choose a different route than academia. It "could" be of more than marginal benefit-- IF your program is choosing amongst candidates interested in East Asia, and IF you can credibly claim to be able to conduct research in language early on, and IF you show yourself to be more capable or familiar... a lot of if's, all dependent on variables you probably won't be able to ascertain. So just know that it's at least marginally helpful. You should be competitive at least somewhere with a 3.70, and you might even be competitive at a top program if your GREs are up there. When considering the Asian MPhil, think about opportunity costs-- what else could you be doing? And maybe it won't impress many programs greatly, but I can't see it hurting-- especially if you justify it as part of your growing interest in the region and as a means of gaining in-country experience, research interests, and language skills. In other words, I think you can present it well as part of your personal development, if others here correctly voice concerns that it won't mean much academically. But what you should consider is whether you can be doing something else that would let you earn money, or expose you to new opportunities or fields of work, or develop some skills or another. Beggers can't be choosers in this economy, but see what you can scrape up. I know very few grad students who were published first-- it helps I'm sure, at least as far as it proves you've written something long and somebody thought it was not terrible. But don't put yourself down for it. At the end of the day, just remind yourself that there's no rush to apply for the PhD (provided you can maintain your reading/analytical skills from your undergrad years, for your own good).

I'm glad you posted this. I came across IWP's site once, and I was quite surprised by how well connected they are-- mostly because I had not heard of it. I think the difference between IWP and other programs is that IWP seems to be rooted almost completely in practice, which is a no-no in academia. The impressive faculty list at IWP is still a list of practitioners, and the curriculum, even where it does aim to teach philosophy and history, does so as an instrument of job training. Judging from the (somewhat strange) mission statement of the institution, I get the impression there's just a small ideological slant, too. So I'm very curious to know what you think of the actual classes in terms of quality, rigor, and theoretical depth.

The MA and perfect quant should make some of these schools a possibility (no AW?). If you're worried, you could add one or two less competitive schools to the list, but just make sure you'd actually be willing to attend if it came to it.

Agree with the poster above who said that if you know you want the PhD, apply for PhD programs as well. In fact, I'd suggest applying to both PhD programs you're interested in and a few options that could help you bolster your credentials if you don't get in. Also agree with poster above on SAIS and Elliott: these are policy degrees that will not help much for the PhD.

Agree with those above who point to the verbal giving you the biggest problems. Note that you may not need to work with a professor doing exactly what you'd like to do-- see if you can identify more schools than Harvard, Columbia, etc. that may have people close enough to advise. I also think IR/theory is going to get very, very popular with the coming generation of grad students. If I may ask, what interests you within the subfield(s)?

I am currently researching abroad on a Fulbright, fresh out of undergrad. I am 70% certain I want a PhD in political science (IR/theory), but I have reservations about the academic job market, about having not worked a professional job for a whole year (I've done serious summer internships), and about whether I would really enjoy the rigors of grad school as much as I think I would. The MA in political science being a consolation prize, I am looking into a very small number of 1 year MA programs in IR or regional studies that offer a chance (just a chance) for nearly full funding. Is it a mistake to go down this path as a means of "testing the waters?" I would not go without excellent funding, and I am currently viewing my very small application pool as one of several options for the following year. But is it worth it to even apply with these intentions, and if I get funded, am I kidding myself by doing this? Any and all thoughts appreciated. Programs are Stanford regional studies-- thanks to FLAS; Chicago CIR-- no idea what "merit funding" means; and maybe Yale's IR MA-- also unsure about merit funding and FLAS availability. Unsure about 2 year regional studies MA's, even with FLAS funding, since I worry I'd depart too much from IR theory, where my regional interests intersect.