University of Iowa Poli Sci

[natpvh72]

Hi all! I'm new to this forum.

I'm trying to know more about University of Iowa's PhD program. From what I can tell it's a good program but I haven't found many people applying/studying there or talking about it. So I made this thread hoping to get some more info (the department's culture, the faculty, reputation, placement, location & living etc.).

Anything you know or heard will be appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: I'm focused on IR.

Edited February 23, 2021 by natpvh72

[ovejal]

Welcome! I can't say much but one of my recommenders suggested I look into Iowa early on in my process when I thought I would apply as IR. He said that Iowa has especially strong faculty that study conflict, but it seemed they didn't have much as much outside of that area. Depending on your interests, it is probably worth looking into further!

[natpvh72]

5 hours ago, ovejal said:

Welcome! I can't say much but one of my recommenders suggested I look into Iowa early on in my process when I thought I would apply as IR. He said that Iowa has especially strong faculty that study conflict, but it seemed they didn't have much as much outside of that area. Depending on your interests, it is probably worth looking into further!

Thanks for the input! I am actually accepted to Iowa and as you said it is good in conflict studies, which is actually my area of interest.

I am just wondering about the overall reputation and quality of the program (like how is it viewed by others in the field). And whether it can help me to land a job in academia.

Congratulations btw, I see you got into quite a few good programs!

Just curious so you didn't apply as IR? 

[ovejal]

49 minutes ago, natpvh72 said:

Thanks for the input! I am actually accepted to Iowa and as you said it is good in conflict studies, which is actually my area of interest.

I am just wondering about the overall reputation and quality of the program (like how is it viewed by others in the field). And whether it can help me to land a job in academia.

Congratulations btw, I see you got into quite a few good programs!

Just curious so you didn't apply as IR? 

For more specific info you should definitely chat with your recommenders (who I assume study at least somewhat related areas to you). You should also look at Iowa's placement data here https://clas.uiowa.edu/polisci/graduate/recent-placements

Thank you for the kind words! This was a tough cycle but I'm glad to have the offers that I do. Congratulations to you too on your acceptance to Iowa! 

My interests are borderline of IR and CP but my skillset and methodological orientation is much more CP. My undergrad degree is in IR so I naturally started assuming that I would apply as IR, but as I worked on more research and did some thinking I felt CP was a better fit (and 2/3 of my recommenders, who I worked with extensively, are CP as well). 

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat further!

Edited February 26, 2021 by ovejal
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