alfromn

I'm in a bit of a bind here. I have been granted admission into a couple of programs and I need help making my final decision. The programs and funding packages are as follows in no particular order: 1. Msc in comparative politics (nationalism and ethnicity) at LSE (funded by family) 2. U of Arizona, PhD (fully funded) 3. U Conn, PhD (no funding) 4. Arizona State (awaiting funding decision) 6. University of Glasgow, MA 7. Essex, MA My question is this: I am very torn between LSE and U of A. I am primarily concerned with the level of rigor at U of A. There is a faculty member that I am very interested in working with, but I ultimately would like to land a reasonably ranked research tenure track position, and I have the impression U of A is more focused on teaching. In other words, I am not convinced I will do as well on the job market with a Phd from U of A as I would from a potentially higher ranked program. What are the impressions of U of A? On the other hand, the LSE program carries a great name and has a program that is very engaging to me. I feel that it would place me in a better position to find non-academia related work if I chose to leave academia after earning my msc. However after this one year program ended and I chose to remain in academia, I would have to go through this whole process again. In short, LSE would likely be the end of my higher education experience for the foreseeable future, whereas U of A obviously would not be. Based on this criteria, which program would put in me a better career position in general? Any input or thoughts are greatly appreciated as I am completely torn and need to make a decision pretty soon.