grantman

Do you want me ask another random question to help increase responses?

For some reason I think Social Sciences, including Political Science, are newly ranked every four years. If memory serves the current rankings were determined in 2009 and the rankings before that were done in 2005. Nevertheless, I could be very wrong, it would not be the first time.

Congratulations to you, Oregon is a great school! Best of Luck in your graduate studies!

A school you might consider if you are perhaps interested in doing field research in Africa is Michigan State. While it is not a top-15 program, they have three Africanists (Michael Bratton, Jeffery Conroy-Kuntz, and Carolyn Logan) who all focus on electoral and governance issues in Africa. They also have the Afrobarometer which is a publication that focuses largely on some of the issues you identify with. Additionally, they have a MPP program which may suit you better if you decided you wanted to go work for an NGO or governmental organization rather than go straight to a PhD program. I hope this helps in someway.

Sorry to hear that, but you have gotten into four very good schools so it is their loss.

I received my Penn State rejection letter today, that is now six down, four to go.

Congrats to those being admitted today to both Harvard and Yale. I sincerely wish the best of luck as you go onward with your education.

I would agree that Florida State, Pittsburgh, and North Texas are all rising through the ranks. A couple of programs that have not been discussed as of yet, one I think is starting to be an up and coming program is University Nebraska-Linoln. They are around 50th in terms of their rankings, but from what I have been told, they appear to be getting stronger. Georgia is another program that is getting stronger, it has to do a few things before it rises past its current position, but I think in the next few years they will make some progress.

I will post my statement of purpose to Michigan State, where I did not get in just for the record. Since I still have a shot at the University of Denver, I will refrain from putting my status up at this point in time. While I was undertaking my Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, my interests initially focused on American Politics, particularly on the Presidency, so much so that I joined and participated in a research project focusing on the 2008 Presidential Election. However, in my senior year I began to become more interested in International Affairs mainly international political economy, international security, and non-state actors. The catalyst for this change in interest was a class on international political economy as well as an independent study in which I researched militant groups in Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan. When I matriculated to the Masters in Public Administration program, I sought to combine my interests in post-conflict reconstruction and non-state actors and merge them into a focus of International Development which a special emphasis on rebuilding post-conflict societies. Throughout my time at the graduate level I have gained practical knowledge as it relates to international development and apply these theoretical skills into a real world environment. By taking classes in public policy, public personnel administration, as well as a seminar class on international development, I was able to gain perspective that otherwise I might not have learned through a traditional political science program. Using these skills I have gained I have begun to apply them into my graduate thesis. My thesis takes an innovative approach through the use of original data that I have collected on the governors of all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces from 2002 to present and with other data I have collected on terrorist attacks in each of these provinces. Using this dataset, my hypothesis will be tested to see if there is any correlation to the change in governors in each of these providences, as well as their origins, are having any effect in either curbing the insurgency or allowing it to blossom. The working thesis behind this work is the governors were either strongmen in their provinces or had direct ties to Hamid Karzai tended to have high rates of insurgent activity in their provinces. The belief is that those governors who were strongmen in their provinces tended to favor individuals and tribes associated with them and those other tribes and other minorities living in these provinces have become marginalized. As a consequence, the marginalization of these peoples has allowed them to become disassociated with the central government so much so they become either sympathizers of the Taliban or becoming knowing participants in their insurgency. As I began to research and know more about this I have become fascinated with terrorist organizations, specifically their methods and operations, as well as trying to understand more about how state-building works and what conceivable obstacles can impede reconstruction. As a result, my research interests reflect this fascination. My first overall research interest is focused on non-state actors, especially how terrorist groups and militias use emerging technology to help aid in their operations. With technology becoming all the more important in everyone’s daily lives, terrorists are similarly becoming more skillful in using laptops and cell phones, rather than rifles and bullets, to carry out their actions. With technology greatly increasing one’s ability to communicate, conduct business, as well as socialize with one another from halfway around the world, it would then be a interesting research topic as to how terrorist groups and militias use this same technology to coordinate their activities, gain access to new funds and resources, as well as use it to distribute propaganda and recruit new members. The other area of potential research interest is surrounding the reemerging concept of state-building. While there has been a great deal of examination of post-conflict states and regions, these studies have mainly focused on why the conflict occurred and how best to reconcile the belligerent parties so that people can have a degree of normalcy returned in their daily lives. The area in which my research will instead focus on will be on the establishment of state bureaucracy and building state capacity. As we have seen in the U.S. experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, for a state to continue to run properly it must be able to run without international assistance on the ground. My regional focus for examining both these concentrations will lie many in East/Central Asia as well as in the Middle East where both there is a large concentration of both non-state actors and the need to state-build particularly after the Arab Spring. I feel that by obtaining a doctorate in political science, particularly from Michigan State, will enable me to fulfill both my research goals as well as my professional aspirations. While many in my current degree program tend to stop their education as soon as they obtain their masters, I always felt unfilled because of the limitations that are placed on a master’s program. As a result of this void, I decided long ago to pursue my doctorate in political science so I could continue to learn and mature both as a future scholar and a future practitioner. By continuing my education at the doctoral level, I feel that I will become more familiar with new concepts and gain new insight and think along new lines that otherwise might remain foreign to me. I content if I am admitted into your program this zeal that I have for self-improvement will become realized as I undertake new courses and interact with fellow individuals who share the same passions that I do in this diverse field. What I hope to take from this program is to not only help expand academic knowledge as it relates to my research goals, but to also help encourage and prepare those individuals who may wish to pursue a doctorate in their career paths. I feel the best way to accomplish both of these desires is to seek employment at a research-intensive university where not only I can conduct further research but also have contact with political science students who have just as interested in the field as I am today. I believe Michigan State’s first-rate political science program, especially in the fields of comparative politics and international relations, will enable me to reach these goals that I have set out to accomplish. While Michigan State has a nationally ranked program, I have chosen this program because it not only because the faculty have expertise that parallel’s my research interests, but also its commitment to aiding its graduate students as they begin to undertake research as well as helping prepare them step out in the real world to become professionals themselves. In terms of what I can bring to Michigan State is my analytic ability as well as desire conduct scholarly research that I plan to continue onwards after I depart Michigan State. I also hope to use my life’s experiences to help my fellow colleagues in their own academic pursuits as well as gaining new perspectives by working with other fellow graduate students in their own projects and interests. By working closely with Michigan State’s experienced and accomplished faculty this will allow me to become an accomplished scholar myself after I depart MSU. The expertise of Professor Michael Bratton, both as an academic as well as a practitioner, examining state-building in Africa will give me a new understanding on the complications relating to building a new state particularly after a prolonged conflict. Furthermore, by working with Professor Bratton, I feel I could successfully transfer his expertise in Africa politics, as it relates to state-building and democratization, into my focus on the Middle East and Asia. Professor Michael Colaresi’s expertise as it relates interstate conflict along with his skill in the use of quantitative methods will aid me in my understanding on conflict but also help me to quantify my data and gain new insights on techniques that I was only acutely aware of when entering the program. The work of Professor Mohammed Ayoob, whose own knowledge in investigating conflict in South Asia along with the Middle East will support my understanding of these regions, which will be the main regional focus of my research. Additionally, Professor Ayoob’s extensive background in this area will help me formulate a realistic model for state-building for those Middle Eastern countries now faced with building a new government. Finally, Professor Eric Chang’s research in East Asia along with his studies examining corruption and democratization will help greatly to my graduate education experience at Michigan State, and by given the opportunity to work with him I feel I can obtain a greater knowledge of East Asia as well as gaining greater depth in the complexities of electoral systems. I would like to conclude by reiterating that I believe Michigan State would be an excellent school for me to complete my doctorate and I feel that the university will be a great stepping stone as I enter the next stage of my life.

Congrats to all of the Princeton Admits!

Ironically my favorite president is another golfer, Eisenhower, but he actually did pretty well; I mean there is a golf course named after him he must have been decent.

As a little President's Day fun I am hoping to help take some people's mind of waiting for results. Thus, I pose this topical question, Who was your favorite president and why. I does not have to be a serious answer, if you liked a president because he was a alcoholic, that is fine in my book. Since we are all political scientists, or soon to be political scientists, I thought this would be a appropriate release, or at least I hope so.

Well it appears I was right to end my cycle, Michigan State has denied my application. Congrats to all those who were admitted this weekend and I wish everyone the very best of weeks while they wait to hear back. I am sure you will all do great work. Edit: Balderbash what I was always told when reviewing or editing is to praise, criticize, and then praise again. Unfortunately from your description, there is little praise in this book.

Good Day Everyone, I am not a Psych. person but for those who applied, and will hopefully get accepted by Bowling Green, I have lived in BG, as it is known, for six years and would be willing to help those who receive and acceptance and decide to join find a good place to live and answer any questions about the area. PM me if you like.

Congrats! Columbia is a superb university.

Same here, I am not trying to be a jerk, as coachrjc would say, but what you listed is about the entire discipline of what constitutes the study of terrorism. I would suggest attempting to narrow what you are interested in. For example, I am interested in how non-state actors administer territory in lieu of the state. In order to say which school is best I would look up some of the people at these schools and read their works and see in anything comes across as interesting. Furthermore, I know you said you have a comparative focus, do you have an idea of where geographically your interests lie? Also, Penn State has a federally funded research center as well, the International Center for the Study of Terrorism.

In order to better determine which schools best fit, what are your research goals as it relates to terrorism, terrorism in of itself is a very board category with multiple focuses.

Congrats to those with Yale acceptances, Yale is an awesome school. To all of those Northwestern rejects, keep your chin up something good will come along.

Thank you all for your kind words, believe me I cannot express the words I gratitude I am feeling right now. To respond to some of the comments while I am keeping my opitions open, based on what I see from the results page most the remaining schools have sent out acceptances and those that have not I more than likely have no chance in gaining entry. In regards to my future in political science, I am not commiting seppuku quite yet, I still do hope to conduct and publish research on the concept of state-building, name the formation of a state's bureaucracy. If you are interested in me explaining further, feel free to send me a private message and I will respond as quickly as I can. In conclusion, as I got to know you all better over the past few weeks, I know with every fiber of my being that you all will go on to conduct great research. I wish you all the very best in making your decisions.

Well I am calling this cycle for myself. Based on precedent no school is going to admit me which now means I must begin the great job. I want to thank all of you for making me feel welcome and for the works of encouragement over the past few weeks. I honestly and sincerely wish the best for all of you as you jouney on to the next phase of your lifes and wish you godspeed in all of your future endavors.

I would not say you could not hear from anyone, it depends on the school. I know the university I currently attend is open and uses President's day to hold a massive open house. It is just a thought.

Congrats! Washington is a great school for that field.

Congrats! The Kennedy School is a really cool place with a number of awesome faculty.

While I agree, the waiting is the hardest part, it makes it much more difficult when I am trying to write my graduate thesis and I cannot take my mind off of the results page. Luckily, I am reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King, which is keeping me partially sane.

Based on the results posted today I suspect I will hear back from Illinois, more than likely with a rejection.