IRToni

Honestly, I just don't see the value in getting ahead by acting questionably. Of course, that doesn't mean not making the right decisions for you, but it does, IMO, mean making decisions that you can stand by. It doesn't have anything to do with academe not academe, at least for me. If the only way ahead is to act in a way that I cannot stand by, I guess I don't want to get ahead. In this context, I am quite a big fan of the Golden rule and variations, including the Kantian categorical imperative. Graduate school can be considered an apprenticeship, but one for which you signed a contract (even if implicitly). Signing a contract without ever planning to fulfill your contractual duties is, IMO, ethically questionable, and can also give you a bad rep. It's different if you go somewhere, and circumstances change, obviously. I do also believe that even if it works out for you, there might be negative repercussions in the long run, because PoliSci isn't such a huge field, and you might get a bad rep.

Thanks a bunch! When looking at the data, note the time frame: 1950s to today, which means newer programs will be "under-performing"! I also don't know what his measure of faculty size is, since there can be assumed to be quite a lot of fluctuation. There also does not seem to be any measure for cohort size, which means schools with smaller student/faculty ratios will be underperforming in this index, if I understand it correctly.

I personally only studied at IHEID, though I have friends at SciPo, Hertie and LSE. I also switched from interdisciplinary to disciplinary program at IHEID, so only took like one week of MIA classes. Chose IHEID over Yale Jackson, Oxford (MA IR) and JHU SAIS. I would say IHEID's pros are: 1. Low tuition 2. Proximity to UN etc.: Everyone I know who has tried to land a UN internship (although most of these are unpaid) was able to get one, either over the summer, part-time during the school year, or in the fourth semester. While IHEID doesn't actively help you, the name opens a lot of doors especially in Geneva, I would say. 3. Professors are very accessible, and you might be able to study with some of the best in the discipline (Biersteker, Baldwin). Many also do government or IO consulting. If you're in the inter-disciplinary Masters, though, this is somewhat less true than in the disciplinary M.A. (see below). 4. Exchange programs, also off the beaten path (many in Asia, Africa, Latin America). 5. Small class sizes (in MIA, MDev after first semester). Mostly you will be with 20 or less people in a class, and many classes are heavily discussion-based. 6. Amazing guest faculty, many lecture series etc., also due to our location in Geneva. 7. We're a small institute, and I would say that the atmosphere is very nice, and very familiar. 8. Depending on your interests, we have some courses that are hard to find elsewhere, and generally, our selection of courses, while not as extensive as at larger schools, has been quite wide. IHEID's cons: 1. Career services is useless, for the most part. I know that Hertie does help its students a fair deal, compared to that, our CS department sucks. They're hiring someone new, though, so hopefully starting next semester, it will be better. 2. In MIA and MDev, you have huge classes in your first semester (Stats is 140, e.g., most others are 50-70, I guess), and you might have to repeat some stuff that you've done before, since these classes are designed to bring everyone up to speed. 3. Compared to (especially) many of our state-side peers, we have more people with traditional backgrounds, and less work experience, I would say. While that shows in our classes, many of which are quite demanding, you also don't get as much of a practitioners' perspective as you might elsewhere. 4. (this is controversial) For many professors, the inter-disciplinary departments are not a priority, so you might not get as much support from them as you would in a disciplinary program. It is also decidedly hard to enter an IHEID PhD program with an interdisciplinary IHEID M.A. If you want a professional career, this might not be a big problem. 5. Grading! Grading at IHEID is uneven at best, and translating Swiss grades back into any other system is a mess. Most employers won't care about this a great deal, but it's something to keep in mind, I would say. 6. We're a small school, and while this has many advantages, we do not have the infrastructure many large schools (especially in the US) have. We have a new building, which is a huge improvement over the situation before (we now actually have a cafeteria, e.g.), and we can partake in UniGe's sports facilities etc. (though they are kinda far away), but we still definitely do not have the infrastructure of larger universities. At the same time, we are kind of isolated, and if you want to immerse yourself in (local) Geneva as a city, you have to extend some effort. Otherwise, it's very easy to stay in the IHEID bubble, possibly branching out only to the international UN interns community (if that...). 7. You should not bet on getting the coveted exchange spots (especially US). Many more people than we have spots apply, and it ends up being very much based on your grades, which means it depends a fair share on luck (which professor did you have your first semester). Also, IHEID has had trouble in the past with our academic partnerships (not being able to send students after agreeing to etc.). This ties into the administration, which I'm sure you know by now can be a complete mess. I definitely don't regret going to IHEID, and most of my friends don't either. However, knowing what you want to get out of the degree is important, and should especially also inform your decision of which degree you do at IHEID. Changing from disciplinary to inter-disciplinary is possible after you've been admitted, but only in September. I did this, and if you have any Qs regarding disciplinary vs inter-disciplinary, please feel free to ask me.

That was more a general Q, since I've gotten to know so many new programs through seeing where everyone has applied, and I feel very ignorant about poli sci on the other side of the pond . I guess the American Political Science Review is #1 in the US, but then?

Of course, did not mean to pressure you! Pitt advertises that it had 11 papers in top 3 journals. What are those top 3 in the US? What about IR/CP? I'm guessing IO and ISQ for IR?

Congrats! So glad for you! Guess you'll be turning down all your other offers (and the other WL) now?

Thanks everyone! One other, possibly stupid Q: What would a 2-2 load translate to in the quarter system? I've seen 2-2-2, but I've also seen 2-2-0 mentioned.

Let's say you attend an institution in the mid-west. Is your chance of getting a job in New England lower than if you attend a similar NE institution?

Does PhD institution choice affect location afterwards, do you think? TT R1 would be a 2-2 load, right?

Which programs at both schools?

Now that most of us have gotten most responses, I am wondering what the long-term perspectives are/what long-term perspectives are out there etc. So, what's your ideal outcome, what would you consider a realistic outcome, what would make you turn away from academia, stuff like this? Since I'm not from the US, I am not at all/very familiar with the US system (I did not know what TT was before this cycle, e.g.). I understand schools are classified into R-1s and Other, with sub-classifications? There's also (selective) liberal arts colleges and community colleges, where the teaching load would be higher, but research output expectations would be lower? I'll chime in at a later point, since I'm not quite sure of that yet, and am still reading up on the US system, and also what options there are globally ;-).

I was considering whether to post anything at all, but here it goes: I am very sorry for everyone who experienced the IHEID muck-up. I am not in any way involved in the admissions process, and even internal candidates got the wrong accept emails, only to later find out that they had been accepted. Current students are discussing it, and we're planning on bringing it up with the administration so that something like this does not happen again, ever! Nevertheless, let me just emphasize again how sorry I am! I also hope you won't take this as an indication of IHEID as a school, because, while the administration can indeed drive anyone up the wall (believe me, I know...), the academics luckily do not depend on the administration! @Carefree: I am also interested in IPE, although not from a legal perspective. While it is difficult to find something without an MA, it is doable, IMO. For my part, I did a well-paying internship in-between my BA and MA. Especially if you're willing to branch out a little, it is possible. KCL is a good university with good placement, and especially if you want to go into academia, a M.A. like that might be better suited than a professional M.A. in the US. I also saw that you applied to the International Law program at IHEID. May I ask what your background is? What kind of PhD would you pursue, if you were to pursue one? Crossing my fingers for you for SFS, although I'm sure you'd find your way regardless!

I thought this as well, but all of my professors vehemently disagreed with me. According to them, someone coming in with a SAIS PhD (which, coincidentally, was the school I was considering), will be at a disadvantage, because he won't have done the comprehensive examinations, has less relevant teaching experience ( teaching politics), was not required to go through the same rigorous PoliSci PhD process, and is thus, according to them, lacking in general knowledge of the field. Of course, you can argue with that, but that was what they were saying. This does not, however, apply to the joint PhDs offered at HKS, e.g. (PEG) or Michigan, though!

I do have a couple of back-up plans, though none I can imagine doing forever the way I can academia. I would probably try a policy career (think tank work) next. Doing consulting for a couple years, and then working for a company in their China/East Asia division would also be possible, and something I could enjoy, I think.

Congrats! First acceptance of the cycle?

Anyone else have anything to add about UCSD's visit?

You could just send them an email/give them a call, if you don't hear soon!

You'll get used to strange wording if you do attend IHEID. Most admin staff (or stuff, you know...) are French-speaking originally, and don't always find the right words in English. Not to worry ! Also, note that 2nd year scholarships are completely independent of first year scholarships, so a number of students who performed really well in their first year got scholarships for 2nd year. The only stipulation is that you have demonstrated need!

There's actually a number of differences. You need a M.A. for a Policy PhD, while you don't need one for a Poli Sci PhD. This also means that a Poli Sci PhD is usually longer than a Policy PhD (min. 5 instead of min. 3/4 years). If you want an academic career, a Poli Sci PhD is the way to go. Many Poli Sci PhDs can be inter-disciplinary, in that they allow you to take courses outside of Poli Sci, and have committee members from Econ, law etc., but at the end of the day, you will be a political scientist. I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. However, they will want to know that you know what academic poli sci is about, and have some idea of the state of the field. OP, I agree that MIT sounds great for your interest, because it tends to be relatively policy-relevant in its research.

Most of us don't, because our campus is separate, we are allowed to take one course at UniGe, but no more etc. Many do use UniGe facilities, though! IHEID kind of is its own little bubble in Geneva, we tend to be closer to the intern crowd than the general student crowd, since many of us intern at the UN while studying. I will say that there's completely different IHEID experiences depending on which program you choose. I chose IHEID over Oxford, JHU SAIS, Yale and Warwick, and changed from MIA to M.A. in IR/PS after arriving. I did not regret any of my choices!

70.000 USD for IHEID seems overstating things a lot, even if 1 CHF is 1.15 USD currently. IHEID itself says to budget 20,000 CHF/year, which honestly seems to grossly overestimate things. I know I definitely did not spend as much while in Geneva! Also, rankings are a fickle thing, because IHEID is so small, so young (it used to be, and still is for some purposes part of the University of Geneva). I'm not saying to choose IHEID over LSE, because I think there can be a case made for each of these schools, just saying that I think the basis of comparison you brought up here is not very useful and even wrong!

/off-topic. I was considering applying to UH-Manoa, just to live in Hawaii. Ended up not applying, but it's definitely on my must-see list!

We haven't had anyone homeless long-term, from what I remember. In addition to the UniGe residences, there are also other private student residences (specified here: http://mygisa.ch/guide/first-things-first/finding-housing-in-geneva/). These last couple of years, the student association was also able to provide a service whereby incoming students could stay with current students while house-hunting! Finding a place in Geneva sucks, but it is doable!

I'm really into Numbers theory (ever since I was in high school... I was that kid!), but have been reading more topology stuff recently.

Guys, you're all talking about MAs/policy PhDs, while the OP seems to be talking about general poli sci PhDs. Admission rates for these tend to be closer to 10% than to 30%. I'll reply more thoroughly in the Poli Sci forum