spark25

Finally got my George Washington letter, though I didn't get funding. Well, I am nearing the end of my cycle now, with about 3 more schools to go. Good luck to everyone.

I am one of those people who are still waiting to hear back from Northwestern as well. My gut feeling is that they've already admitted everyone that wanted. I hope I am wrong but it really is late to be notifying people at this stage.

You are guaranteed a job in contemporary political science not only for the region you focus on but also the quality of the research that you actually do as well. If a prolific research of post-World War II France gets a tenured job it is not because he was studying modern France but rather the quality of the acutal research itself. Furthermore, even one studies France he/she will be aware of developments in Europe as well. Thus, what one researches on is important, but how they do it and what they find are also significant factors as well. Failure to acknowledge this factor leads to misleading and somewhat narrow conclusions about that specific persons research or tis whole 'area studies versus generalization' arguments. Personally, I think this area studies versus generalization view is not only blurry but also false. We can identify top scholars within the field today who study one country and/or general trends. How you approach a subject should not be pre-determined by methodology or focus but rather the research question that one is trying address and finds interesting. Arbitrarily drawing a line or dismissing what is or should be political science really isn't something I think should be practiced. I have to agree with FuzzyDunlap on this one.

Hey Poliscidude, I know it is dificult but don't give up hope yet. I do know that Rutgers is not completely done yet. The grad secretary told me that they were still in the process.

Just checked with the grad secretary at Rutgers. Apparently they are not done with the admissions process. According to her, it is an on-going process. I don't know how many people have applied there, but I think you can keep your hopes alive.

Great point! Now I can keep my hopes up for the time being!

Oh dear...

I don't know if this will help. The e-mail from ND yesterday said that there was a 'deep' waiting list. Thus, I am assuming many of you will be notified as waitlisted. Also, from the e-mail sent out today by the grad secretary, it seems like ND only admitted 11 students this year.

As someone who did his MSc in Aber, I can point out that funding situation and facilities aren't as bad as you might think. First, they have the E. H. Carr scholarships that you can apply for. I also believe they have smaller grants. Second, they recently built a separate building for International Politics so I am sure they have adequate facilities for their students. Advising might be different, but like all other places, partial responsibility falls on the student as well. My adviser was superb and we had a great working relationship. I don't know about faculty leaving, and it is also understandable considering that Aber is in a remote place, but they do have the prestige and resources to bring in new faculty as well. I have to admit though, Aber is probably better known for its focus on critical and post-modern approaches. As evident from their MSc degree schemes, I don't think their primary focus is on mainstream constructivism as in the US. Thus, I think you should be aware of that. If you have any further questions about Aber please PM me.

Same here. But are Rutgers and JHU done or are they still in the process.

I got my e-mail roughly about an hour ago.

Got my e-mail from Notre Dame. DGS told me that more information will follow in the next couple of days. Visit day scheduled for March 19-22. PM if anyone wants further information.

Ah, that clarifies! Thanks once again for the info!

Thanks for the update. I guess it is at least two more weeks of waiting then. EDIT: Whatever happened to GW?

Interesting... still to hear back from ND, Georgetown and JHU... I guess either they're done or won't come today at least.