UVaSpades

Congrats! Out of curiosity, did you get an e-mail from a prof or from the department? I'm still waiting on hearing from UVa, and their online thing still has my app at submitted.

I was wondering the same thing, so I went to my school's website and filled out all the things that were available, and have started the approval process with one of the loan companies. I have no idea when we're expected to have this stuff done, but I figure the sooner the better, especially if you're not being offered any fellowships or whatnot (like in my case). But I too would like to hear anyone else's opinions or background on this stuff.

Well, of the people that I got to know, it seemed to be decently mixed between recent grads and people coming back to school. Of the three that I talked with the most, two of them had graduated a couple of years previously, while the other was just coming from his undergrad. I didn't see a general breakdown of the incoming group, though.

s58 e-mailed me for my opinion on the program (which is good, because I kept forgetting to reply to this thread >_>), but I figured I'd post my response on here as well in case anyone else wants to hear it. "Of the campus itself, its quite nice. It's not particularly large; it has some 211 acres of land, but if you take a look at the map they provide, you'll see what that area equates to. Easily walked from one end to the other with no major concerns. The area gets a bit sketchy if you go too far north, south or east, but from my understanding its still quite safe, so long as you don't go where you shouldn't at times that are inherently questionable. I found this site to be a bit helpful in terms of what to expect from the area: http://collegeprowler.com/university-of-chicago/ In terms of faculty, I mean, it depends on what you're looking for. Apparently Glaser is on his way out and Snidal might be doing the same, but you still have an excellent faculty in many respects. For me, at least, there are profs like Mearsheimer, Pape, and Lipson that make it worthwhile to head over there, but that's personal preference. Preceptors are what make or break this program, and it sounds like they are inherently very hands on and involved to a great extent. There's a lot of guidance involved from them, but also from a number of other people within the CIR office that is extremely compelling. That being said, I cannot speak for the precepts that will be there for the fall, because we don't know who they'll be. The ones listed on the website are the ones for this year, and there's no way of knowing who it'll be until they're hired. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to talk to too many current students or alumni, but one of the things that was mentioned in a deal I went to there was the success rate of recent grads (last year, maybe two). This is what jumped out at me: 93% of them have jobs, 4% have gone on to some other kind of program (Ph.D., J.D., M.B.A., etc.), so in total there's only 3% that are unemployed, which is mainly due to the career services that they provide there. If and when you get to campus, introduce yourself to Emily Easton, the Senior Program Development Officer, because she's the one that makes that sort of thing happen. I was only able to sit in on one class, but it was taught by Mearsheimer. Relatively small class, only about 25 or 30 students, of whom it seemed that about 1/4 or 1/3 were actively participating on their own with a few more being called on by Mearsheimer to see if they'd done the readings. (Oh, and they're saying to expect to read somewhere between 900 and 1000 pages a week for the program, BTW) He wasn't the scary curmudgeon that people had made him out to be, and when myself and a handful of other CIR prospectives introduced ourselves to him during a break he was very friendly." Anyone else feel similarly?

I'll see you there tomorrow, light! I just got into Chicago and this weather's crap. :?

Alright, that puts things into perspective a bit. Two other questions, and I'll leave you guys alone for now. >_> When it comes to CIR, are there certain things that are more helpful for getting into a Ph.D. program than others? For example, I'm wondering if it might not be a bad idea to take a class on, say, linear models or statistics for research purposes, to look more prepared for the rigors of a Ph.D. program. Otherwise there are some workshops on security policy and/or realism that I think I would really like to take. Second, and this is also for natofone if he's still reading this thread, are the people that are focusing primarily on academia a distinct minority, and how is that treated by the faculty? Thank you guys again for your input, it really has been a lot of help allaying my concerns.

adaptations and expatbayern: How did applications for Ph.D. programs work out for you? I mean, did you apply while at the beginning of the first year of the program, second year (if you're in it), or after you were finished? Like PoliSci Guy, I also got into CIR while being rejected for the Ph.D. program, and I'm curious what the path towards a Ph.D. has been like for you guys.

I've been accepted into the CIR program as well and will be at the open house. I came across this forum trying to find some more information about the program, so this topic and the other by the TC have made me feel pretty good about it. I actually was applying for a Ph.D. program for political science, but I haven't made any of those and it doesn't look like I will. So in terms of what I intend to do, I'm just going to get the MA then apply for another Ph.D. program, though I wouldn't mind staying in Chicago for that.