poliscinerd

I would also have to agree with the above posts. Your situation is very similar to my own. I also struggled early on and actually had grades much worst than your own. I applied to PhD Programs as an undergrad, however, I was only accepted at two institutions one without funding. So i decided to stay at my undergrad institution and earn my Master's Degree in Political Science. This was the best decision that I've ever made as I was admitted this year at my top choice a big well respected public institution. The best thing that you can do is continue to finish strong. Your G.P.A. is only one component. I would recommend applying at teaching institutions with Professors who are pretty well known in your area of study. This would allow you to obtain letters of recommendations from key Professor, which in my experience was extremely important, while also building up your resume by becoming more involved in the field. Also you may be more likley to obtain funding at these types of institutions versus the more competitive PhD programs. Good Luck!!!!!!

UCLA, is a decent program but there are several others. University of Washington has a good program. Duke has a solid program as well. The University of Maryland, College Park has an up and coming program with good young scholars. Also the University of California-Irvine. All of these programs have professors who study racial and ethnic politics in the U.S. context. It also depends on whether or not you want to focus on a particular group like Latinos, African Americans, Asian-Americans or Native Americans (unfortunately, not a lot of scholars who do this work) Hope this helps!!!!