Ethnographic research - polysci vs. sociology programs

[bibble1998]

(posted to the PolySci forum a few months ago, but I think it would be valuable to get input from people in sociology PhDs...)

I'm hoping to apply to Ph.D. programs in 2-3 years (taking some time off after my undergrad). Broadly I'm interested in studying social movements, voter behavior, and political culture, and while I am not opposed to quantitative methods (and do already have some background in them), I really want to attend a doctoral program that is strong in its qualitative methods training, particularly ethnographic research - interviewing, observation, etc. I'm not sure how to approach researching schools, since it feels like the topics I am interested in are more suited for a political science Ph.D., while the method training I am looking for is more robust in a sociology (or anthropology?) program. 

Any advice on how to go about deciding schools to apply to? I can apply to doctoral programs in both disciplines, but I'm curious whether ethnographic methods in political science is on its way out - and if I'm better off looking to sociology programs instead. Any insight is much appreciated!

[macska]

Hello! I'm currently applying to PhD programs in both poli sci and sociology, with a project that employs ethnography and interviewing. I think that when you want to do ethnography in political science (especially in the US), it is vitally important to find a program that has strong qualitative traditions/ researchers. In the US, most poli sci programs have a pretty positivist tilt, and as an ethnographer, it can be hard to find a good fit at a pretty numbers-heavy program. I think one of the best tips that I heard while applying was to only apply to schools that have at least 2+ professors that you'd want as an advisor. In the UK, most programs require you to have two advisors, and this is good advice for the US as well because you don't apply to work with specific advisors, so there's a chance that you won't get your first choice advisor, etc. 

As for how to find potential advisors, there are several ways to go about doing this. Firstly, I would recommend talking to your current advisor to see if they have any schools that they think you'd be a good fit for. Secondly, I would recommend looking where the authors of some articles/books that utilize similar methodology on similar topics work. These are some of the people that you can later contact when it's closer to the time for applications to discuss your project/ departmental fit. The last method that I used to decide which schools to apply for was a bit more time intensive. I made a list of schools in places that I was willing to live for 3-6 years and that had programs that were around the ranking that I was aiming for. Then I went through the professors/faculty list to see if they had professors who would fit as an advisor for my project and looked at the set up for classes/program. I think on top of these three ways, it is important to also know some keywords for professors research interests. I'd look for people who state that they do ethnography, qualitative methods, alternative methodologies, creative methodology, etc. On top of that, if you find someone who is thematically aligned with your research, then I think it's worth reaching out to them to discuss methodology etc before you apply.

As for if ethnography is on its way out in political science, I think that that is harder to answer. I would say that on the whole, unlike anthro or sociology where ethnography has a long established history, it is only just now starting out in poli sci. I would recommend looking at schools with political sociology, poli sci schools with qualitative emphasis, or schools that really focus on interdisciplinary support. That's just my two cents tho! Best of luck

[bibble1998]

13 hours ago, macska said:

Hello! I'm currently applying to PhD programs in both poli sci and sociology, with a project that employs ethnography and interviewing. I think that when you want to do ethnography in political science (especially in the US), it is vitally important to find a program that has strong qualitative traditions/ researchers. In the US, most poli sci programs have a pretty positivist tilt, and as an ethnographer, it can be hard to find a good fit at a pretty numbers-heavy program. I think one of the best tips that I heard while applying was to only apply to schools that have at least 2+ professors that you'd want as an advisor. In the UK, most programs require you to have two advisors, and this is good advice for the US as well because you don't apply to work with specific advisors, so there's a chance that you won't get your first choice advisor, etc. 

As for how to find potential advisors, there are several ways to go about doing this. Firstly, I would recommend talking to your current advisor to see if they have any schools that they think you'd be a good fit for. Secondly, I would recommend looking where the authors of some articles/books that utilize similar methodology on similar topics work. These are some of the people that you can later contact when it's closer to the time for applications to discuss your project/ departmental fit. The last method that I used to decide which schools to apply for was a bit more time intensive. I made a list of schools in places that I was willing to live for 3-6 years and that had programs that were around the ranking that I was aiming for. Then I went through the professors/faculty list to see if they had professors who would fit as an advisor for my project and looked at the set up for classes/program. I think on top of these three ways, it is important to also know some keywords for professors research interests. I'd look for people who state that they do ethnography, qualitative methods, alternative methodologies, creative methodology, etc. On top of that, if you find someone who is thematically aligned with your research, then I think it's worth reaching out to them to discuss methodology etc before you apply.

As for if ethnography is on its way out in political science, I think that that is harder to answer. I would say that on the whole, unlike anthro or sociology where ethnography has a long established history, it is only just now starting out in poli sci. I would recommend looking at schools with political sociology, poli sci schools with qualitative emphasis, or schools that really focus on interdisciplinary support. That's just my two cents tho! Best of luck

This is so, so so very helpful!!! Thank you!!! I am really interested in the work by Ed Schatz (U Toronto) and Lisa Wedeen (U Chicago), but I see that you have found other schools with potential mentors/faculty members who could support your specific research goals. I am actually now very curious about your topic of interest - if you are OK with a PM, I have always found it to be really useful to talk with grad students (or prospective grad students).

Your response makes me think of a few other questions:

- I noticed that CEU seems to have a strong program in qualitative methods... are you hoping to stay abroad or in Europe after your PhD? I only ask because I have been told that it can sometimes be more difficult to teach in the US without having done your graduate work at a US institution. Similar question related to the programs you selected in the UK.

- How long did it take you to put together a list and narrow down the programs you would apply to? I am taking some time off after undergrad but not sure whether I'll be applying next year, or the year after that.

- Do you think it is best that the 2+ faculty members you identify should cover both your topic/region of interest and method of interest?  

Thank you!!

[macska]

32 minutes ago, bibble1998 said:

This is so, so so very helpful!!! Thank you!!! I am really interested in the work by Ed Schatz (U Toronto) and Lisa Wedeen (U Chicago), but I see that you have found other schools with potential mentors/faculty members who could support your specific research goals. I am actually now very curious about your topic of interest - if you are OK with a PM, I have always found it to be really useful to talk with grad students (or prospective grad students).

Your response makes me think of a few other questions:

- I noticed that CEU seems to have a strong program in qualitative methods... are you hoping to stay abroad or in Europe after your PhD? I only ask because I have been told that it can sometimes be more difficult to teach in the US without having done your graduate work at a US institution. Similar question related to the programs you selected in the UK.

- How long did it take you to put together a list and narrow down the programs you would apply to? I am taking some time off after undergrad but not sure whether I'll be applying next year, or the year after that.

- Do you think it is best that the 2+ faculty members you identify should cover both your topic/region of interest and method of interest?  

Thank you!!

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about research interests, but the short and sweet version is that my project primarily tackles international North/South tourism.

As for your question about European schools, it's kind of complicated. There's a lot that goes into it, but I will say that if you are applying for master's programs, European programs are so much cheaper than US ones, and the cost of living in a lot of European cities is less than in the US. I actually got my MA at CEU in IR, which is partially why I am applying there again. I will say that to apply to PhD programs in the UK/EU, you generally need to already have a master's degree, whereas to apply to PhD programs in the US, you only need to have a bachelor's degree. For me, before attending CEU, I already had been living outside of the US for 3-ish years, which I think is partially why I'm looking at European and US programs. I do agree that if you have your heart set at teaching in the US, then getting a degree from a US school is probably more important because there definitely is a US-bias. CEU is accredited both in the US and Hungary/Austria, so I'm not sure exactly what that would mean for the US job market. But it definitely is something to keep in mind when picking schools. In addition to those points, the application process for EU/UK schools is completely different than the US process. (it's also way cheaper/free depending on the school)

It took me a couple weeks to put together a preliminary list of schools to reach out to. I wasn't doing it full time though, just during free time, so if you had time you could probably make a pretty good lists in a couple days if needed. The people that I identified as potential supervisors were a mix of people. Some were great methodological matches, some were more thematic matches and others were both. I didn't apply to every program that I reached out to, though, as some programs were not as great a match when I reached out or the professors I wanted to work with were leaving, etc. There were some schools that I also just decided were too far (sorry Hawaii and anything in Australia)