Maryland Program Strength

[catherinethegreat]

Hello all, 

I've been accepted to the PhD Program in Political Science at UMD. Does anyone know anything about the program, specifically, the IR subfield? I see that it's ranked #29 on USNWR, is Top 30 considered "good" among the field? What is its reputation like? 

Also, math isn't really my strongest suit, and UMD is very quant-heavy. Does the IR field generally tend to utilize more quantitative methodology over qualitative? 

If anyone can give some input on the program's pros and cons, surrounding area, etc, I would appreciate it! 

Edited March 17, 2018 by catherinethegreat

[uncle_socks]

I don't know about UMD's Political Science program specifically, but yes, IR (and American excluding American Political Development) are probably the most quant-heavy subfields. Gone are the days when you can get away my being qualitative and maybe doing a simple linear regression unless your theoretic ideas are mind-blowing and field changing. 

Whether or not top 30 is "good" depends on your goals post-graduation. Want tenure track at Harvard? statistically not good (obviously possible, but you'd have to be a superstar). Tenure track at a non-flagship state school? You have a decent chance. Want to work in the IR field (not as an academic)? UMD is good, especially because of its proximity to DC (so more opportunities to take on internships, fellowships, and to network than your peers elsewhere). 

The city of College Park itself is...meh. Not particularly exciting. Just what you'd expect from a college town. But the campus itself is quite nice (especially if you're into that brick architecture), and you're just a metro ride away from DC, which is a huge plus. People are sometimes concerned about crime, but it's really not much worse than other college towns that have significant working-class populations. College Confidential has significant discussion about it. 

[MrsPhD]

Maryland is not quant heavy. You should see what top programs are like. 

[guest56436]

Post-2008 placement is not too good. I'd be a little weary of going there.

Edited March 17, 2018 by Comparativist

[Chuck Mangione]

I'm curious on this too since I got accepted into Maryland as well. 

 

• Post-2008 placement is not too good. I'd be a little weary of going there.

  So it is a failed prospect to even go there then?

Edited March 18, 2018 by komina12345

[guest56436]

35 minutes ago, komina12345 said:

So is it a failed prospect to even go there then?

A failed prospect? No. You just have to know what you're getting yourself into. I wouldn't personally attend that program - but everyone has different parameters for making decisions of course. 

[Chuck Mangione]

48 minutes ago, Comparativist said:

A failed prospect? No. You just have to know what you're getting yourself into. I wouldn't personally attend that program - but everyone has different parameters for making decisions of course. 

Any particular reason or elaboration as to this? Is this purely because of the placement ranking?

[guest56436]

40 minutes ago, komina12345 said:

Any particular reason or elaboration as to this? Is this purely because of the placement ranking?

Another thing that would concern me is looking through their grad courses - they have the typical year long stats sequence but they haven't offered any other quant methods courses for 2+ years (this might be not updated though). It's a pretty small program (although they do have a few interesting faculty members for sure), I'm not sure what that means for getting sufficient training methodologically. If the stats sequence is the only regular methods courses that they offer that's a big issue.

I think if you wanted to get placed at somewhere decent (looks like the ceiling is a good state school or R2 position) you'd have to really publish well before hitting the market. Tough spot to be in coming into a program. Some people have done very well in that program, but it's been rare enough to suggest that it was probably more about those students than the most program.

Have no idea what the funding situation is like. 

Edited March 18, 2018 by Comparativist

[CambridgeHeismanLord]

2 hours ago, Comparativist said:

Another thing that would concern me is looking through their grad courses - they have the typical year long stats sequence but they haven't offered any other quant methods courses for 2+ years (this might be not updated though). It's a pretty small program (although they do have a few interesting faculty members for sure), I'm not sure what that means for getting sufficient training methodologically. If the stats sequence is the only regular methods courses that they offer that's a big issue.

I think if you wanted to get placed at somewhere decent (looks like the ceiling is a good state school or R2 position) you'd have to really publish well before hitting the market. Tough spot to be in coming into a program. Some people have done very well in that program, but it's been rare enough to suggest that it was probably more about those students than the most program.

Have no idea what the funding situation is like. 

 

23 hours ago, MrsPhD said:

Maryland is not quant heavy. You should see what top programs are like. 

 

On 3/17/2018 at 12:45 AM, catherinethegreat said:

Hello all, 

I've been accepted to the PhD Program in Political Science at UMD. Does anyone know anything about the program, specifically, the IR subfield? I see that it's ranked #29 on USNWR, is Top 30 considered "good" among the field? What is its reputation like? 

Also, math isn't really my strongest suit, and UMD is very quant-heavy. Does the IR field generally tend to utilize more quantitative methodology over qualitative? 

If anyone can give some input on the program's pros and cons, surrounding area, etc, I would appreciate it! 

I wouldn't be so quick so as to brush off Maryland as some of you are already doing. Its placement record is quite great especially regarding how difficult it is to get a job in the political science field in the first place. Personally speaking as to some of my friends at Maryland, the quant is quite good (and according to them, the website hasn't been updated in ages) and I don't see any reason why one shouldn't go there. But as much as I disagree with @Comparativist on his other issues with the program, I do wholeheartedly agree on the factor where it's up to the student to make their own success. This isn't limited to Maryland at all, but rather to the general field of academia. I have had the fortune of having been grown up throughout my life surrounded by family and friends in academia, and, on top of my own observations, the current atmosphere of academia has changed a bit from what it was 20-30 years ago. Back then, the name of your school certainly limited where you could end up at, but nowadays, so long as you aren't attending somewhere like Hawaii (no offense but I grew up there and know all about UH as a "retirement school" for old professors), your own work will stand out for itself and help get you the position you want. No absolute guarantees, as with all things in life, but it can help immensely.  

Above all, you CANNOT be inactive during the summers and must be continuously researching/publishing/presenting in order to make yourself stand out. My professors have said themselves that they would rather take the Ph.D. candidate from West Virginia University who has a plethora of work and shows PROMISE rather than the Harvard candidate who has done nothing but just get a Ph.D. with no other recognizable skills. That being said, all else equal if both candidates are the same (which happens more often than you think), they will take the Harvard guy over the WVU as a tie-breaker. But in the end, the factors you control are what you make of them. Do all the work you can do to make sure you stand out and don't look like another factory degree who thought a Ph.D. alone was enough to get a job. It's not, and if you approach a Ph.D. program with the same mentality you did in undergrad, you will be lucky to make it past the qualification exam and have a microscopically low chance of even making use of that Ph.D. in the academic field.

Edited March 18, 2018 by CambridgeHeismanLord