What do people mean when they talk about publications as a component of a PhD application?

[niftydigits]

I just finished a three-year undergraduate degree in the UK, which was marred pretty significantly by clinical depression (graduated with a beyond lowly 3.0, if I were to convert my grades to the American GPA system). I'm taking this year off for my mental health, but I still do hope to do an MA and a PhD afterwards. I realize, though, that my application will be severely disadvantaged by my previous grades (although I do at least have documentary evidence to show for my condition). There's a lot I'm going to have to do to make up ground and demonstrate that those grades don't define me.

 

One part of that that I've heard emphasized a lot is publications. Now I've been mulling an idea for a research article in my field of interest (comparative) for some time now. I've done some research on the topic and am fairly confident it's fertile ground and all, plus very timely to boot. But what exactly do people mean when they talk about publications w/r/t their applications?

 

I'm asking because I see my article (by which I mean a paper that would likely be around the same length, at 25-30 pages, as one written by an academic, not like a 3000 word term paper or something) potentially standing a chance in a decent undergraduate/graduate journal of some sort, either something specifically in the field of PolSci (like the LSE Undergraduate Politics Review, for instance, or Columbia's Journal of Politics and Society) or a more interdisciplinary one that covers the social sciences generally, but if what people mean is getting published in a 100% legit, respected academic journal, I think that would be a task of a whole different order.

Edited November 16, 2020 by niftydigits

[uncle_socks]

Getting published in real academic journals can be a big plus in showing that you're ready to take on a PhD. Getting published in an undergrad journal is nice, but won't move the needle much. That being said, most people who apply to polisci programs (even the very top ones) have nowhere close to a publishable paper, and it's not nearly as expected in political science to have publications like it is expected in CS or biology. Again, almost no one applying to PhD programs have published papers, and most who do have significant post-bac work like a literal post-bac or a masters.

Edited November 16, 2020 by BunniesInSpace

[niftydigits]

1 hour ago, BunniesInSpace said:

Getting published in real academic journals can be a big plus in showing that you're ready to take on a PhD. Getting published in an undergrad journal is nice, but won't move the needle much. That being said, most people who apply to polisci programs (even the very top ones) have nowhere close to a publishable paper, and it's not nearly as expected in political science to have publications like it is expected in CS or biology. Again, almost no one applying to PhD programs have published papers, and most who do have significant post-bac work like a literal post-bac or a masters.

Lol yeah now feel slightly stupid even asking this question. Thanks a bunch for the response though.

Could I just follow up what you said by asking how likely I am to get published even if I were able to produce a work of reasonably good quality (pandemic + gap year + depressed hermit so not like I'm lacking in free time, at the v least lmao), what with my only having a bachelors to my name and all? Like reading through some profiles of people who did manage to get published as undergrads, it seems like in many/most cases they were working with/under academics at the time? Is it not the case that most journals require genuine academic credentials/a masters degree at the least?

I *am* in fact going to be doing a (two-year) MA starting next year but really I'm just weighing up what I ought to invest my time in for now and how much of a payoff that'll have when (slash 'if' but really mostly 'when') I apply to a PhD program down the line, bc I need some seriously solid stuff moving forward to countervail my last three years.

Edited November 17, 2020 by niftydigits

[sloth_girl]

4 hours ago, BunniesInSpace said:

Getting published in real academic journals can be a big plus in showing that you're ready to take on a PhD. Getting published in an undergrad journal is nice, but won't move the needle much. That being said, most people who apply to polisci programs (even the very top ones) have nowhere close to a publishable paper, and it's not nearly as expected in political science to have publications like it is expected in CS or biology. Again, almost no one applying to PhD programs have published papers, and most who do have significant post-bac work like a literal post-bac or a masters.

Emphasizing this (very few have publications), though with the caveat that I think having an undergraduate publication is a good signal that you can perform well in academia. 

 

2 hours ago, niftydigits said:

Could I just follow up what you said by asking how likely I am to get published even if I were able to produce a work of reasonably good quality (pandemic + gap year + depressed hermit so not like I'm lacking in free time, at the v least lmao), what with my only having a bachelors to my name and all? Like reading through some profiles of people who did manage to get published as undergrads, it seems like in many/most cases they were working with/under academics at the time? Is it not the case that most journals require genuine academic credentials/a masters degree at the least?

I *am* in fact going to be doing a (two-year) MA starting next year but really I'm just weighing up what I ought to invest my time in for now and how much of a payoff that'll have when (slash 'if' but really mostly 'when') I apply to a PhD program down the line, bc I need some seriously solid stuff moving forward to countervail my last three years.

Usually, the people that get published are people with institutional affiliation who are at least in grad school, but that won't hold you back at an undergrad publication of course. The issue though might be more that you will have limited networks to help you out with the writing, researching, and publication process if you aren't in a well-connected grad school. I'd say work on the paper and present at a conference (you get better feedback at smaller conferences btw). 

In terms of payoff, having a good draft of a paper pays off for a lot of reasons, namely as a good writing sample and a head start in the research world!