Particular Professors vs. Department as a Whole (aka help me decide please)

[as2472]

Hello!

I am trying to decide between two offers and it is not going particularly well (even as this whole situation is an incredible privilege). One (let's call them department A) is a T-50 US program so pretty mid-ranking and on a slight upward trajectory in recent years. The other (department B ) is a T-5 Canadian program (T-40 globally). Both departments have a variety of people I'd be excited to work with and are offering solid funding packages. Both are in beautiful locations with plenty of outdoor activities, but B is in a place that would be more exciting to live in (albeit more expensive) while the A is close to family who I really enjoy seeing. 

In terms of academic fit, this is where the topic of this thread comes in. Context for the next part to make sense: I do political theory with a primary focus on environmental justice, but I am also interested in other areas of contemporary theory (esp. gender, race, democratic theory, and the ethics of technology like artificial intelligence). Department A has some of the leading people in my field for environmental justice (and is a great program for environmental politics generally), including someone whose work I love and with whom I would be very excited to work. They also have one theorist working on body of work I adore and another theorist joining the department this year who is also working on that topic. Outside of theory, they have a comparative policy specialist whose  work I have used extensively in the past and with whom I could continue to work. 

Department B has 8 theorists and has particular strengths in environmental politics, democratic theory, critical theory (the school in which I primarily work), and identity politics. While not a theorist, they also have one of the leading people working on environmental politics within IR, and they also have published incredible work on environmental justice that I really admire and also works on AI and tech. They also have indigenous faculty members teaching indigenous politics which is something I value. 

 

Overall, I would be particularly excited to work with the theorists at Department A and really liked the people I met there (I haven't visited B yet), but will have more people to work with and will be living in a place I prefer with Department B. I plan to go on to (hopefully!) a post-doc and academic career, so that's also something I'm keeping in mind. I'm also not sure how much rankings matter in terms of future prospects, but there is a notable gap between them. 

Any advice or thoughts would be super appreciated! 

 

[CoffeeMonster0]

Rankings are extremely important in terms of finding a good academic job after college, especially in political theory (tends to be a more competitive subfield).  I would check out the placement record at each of the schools and see which one has a better look to you (if they don't have their placement record online you can email the department and ask for it).  

If your eventual goal is to get an academic job, I would say go with the school that has the best placement record.  It sounds like location wise and faculty wise they both have their ups and downs, so I would put the focus on the school ranking.

[TiKei]

I'm not sure how helpful you'd find this but... as I read what you wrote I had a feeling you truly do prefer department A over department B. I pretty much felt you're telling me that you'd be an overall happier person if you were in department A. But perhaps this dilemma of missing out the other option, which is also very attractive for you, stops you from seeing it clearly. Ask yourself if what I wrote here actually makes sense or if I'm completely wrong. It might help you make your mind up. I mean, I attended last APSA and I spoke with quite a few professors who ended up telling me how unhappy they were while working on their dissertation (some even confessed they did not like their dissertation by the time they finished it just because they had to change it so much from their original idea, etc.). So I, personally, as one who believes a happy person is not only happier but more productive and better capable of crafting his/her own future, I'd say go to where you believe you'd be happier at. 

Anyhow, best of wishes.