Is PhD Political Science at Duke among best programs in the States?

[jeremy95]

I'm going to apply to Duke (as one of my priorities) this year. There is a faculty there that I really hope to work with. However, I'm concerning the placement at Duke (which is poor), and I want to embark on academia in the US. I'll do PE and IR if I come to Duke. Is Duke still one of the best choices for me given my orientation to academia? Many people told me that it's very difficult to get an academic job in the US without the PhD from top-10 departments. However, given the placement at Duke, I doubt the "top-10" label of Duke, though the newest US News still ranks it #10. Why Duke has such a problem with its placement, given its ranking? 

 

P/s: I'm international student from the EU, finishing my BA at a top program in the UK 

 

Thank you so much everyone  

Edited May 24, 2021 by jeremy95

[Theory007]

Duke is a top-10 program (ranked #10), but the academic job market is really tough these days so I doubt that the placement is great in any program.

Even if you are coming from a top program in the UK I'd encourage you to apply broadly. Top programs in the US are notoriously competitive and even great students like yourself have only a slim chance of getting in. I would advise that you apply to 6-10 programs where your fit would be good (fit is the most important thing) and then spend the next 6 months perfecting every aspect of your application including the GREs.

Good luck!

[Ambe Melvis]

According to USNews, the top 15 colleges in political science are:
Stanford
Harvard
Princeton
Berkeley
Michigan
Yale
MIT
Columbia
San Diego
Duke
Chicago
UCLA
UNC
WashU
Cornell
NYU.

However, one needs to go beyond this. Where are they placing graduates at? What percentage of people like you are getting placed at places you'd like to work in? Are they providing enough funding for you to live there? 

[terefere]

On 5/24/2021 at 5:08 AM, jeremy95 said:

I'm going to apply to Duke (as one of my priorities) this year. There is a faculty there that I really hope to work with. However, I'm concerning the placement at Duke (which is poor), and I want to embark on academia in the US. I'll do PE and IR if I come to Duke. Is Duke still one of the best choices for me given my orientation to academia? Many people told me that it's very difficult to get an academic job in the US without the PhD from top-10 departments. However, given the placement at Duke, I doubt the "top-10" label of Duke, though the newest US News still ranks it #10. Why Duke has such a problem with its placement, given its ranking? 

 

P/s: I'm international student from the EU, finishing my BA at a top program in the UK 

 

Thank you so much everyone  

I'm curious - what is the metric that you use to judge the placement as poor? And how does it compare to other schools? 

[jeremy95]

5 hours ago, terefere said:

I'm curious - what is the metric that you use to judge the placement as poor? And how does it compare to other schools? 

I look at places where students at Duke have been placed so far. Few ones get into strong programs (here is the link to the placement web: https://polisci.duke.edu/graduate/phd/placements) 

Same top-10 programs (Eg: UCSD, MIT, UMich...) have significantly better placement compared to Duke (since 2010): 

MIT: https://polisci.mit.edu/graduate/job-placement 

UCSD: https://polisci.ucsd.edu/grad/placement/Placement-tables/Graduate-Placement-Table-Updated-051120.pdf 

UMich: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ctb2SVXHa2tHNgszgth-zAmPwedp9InbCopqG5aIt40/edit#gid=958445409

 

[terefere]

My question was more about the criteria that you use to judge whether a particular placement is strong. It's really not obvious to me how to compare these. I don't think anyone on the job market thinks about their future work place in terms of graduate program rankings. Most people I know look at other criteria in choosing their ideal job, like location, especially important for those with families or those from outside of the US, fit with the department, personal preferences as to the type of institution (research university/liberal arts college), the resources available including salary, research budget, etc. Yes, prestige and all that matters, but it's hardly the sole criterion. Secondly, comparing placements without comparing subfields is meaningless because of the large discrepancies in available jobs. 

While I would agree that Michigan median placement tends to be better, to me those of Duke, MIT and UCSD are really no different, and in that sense, I disagree with the premise of your original question.  

[andromedutch]

On 7/5/2021 at 12:46 AM, jeremy95 said:

I look at places where students at Duke have been placed so far. Few ones get into strong programs (here is the link to the placement web: https://polisci.duke.edu/graduate/phd/placements) 

Same top-10 programs (Eg: UCSD, MIT, UMich...) have significantly better placement compared to Duke (since 2010): 

MIT: https://polisci.mit.edu/graduate/job-placement 

UCSD: https://polisci.ucsd.edu/grad/placement/Placement-tables/Graduate-Placement-Table-Updated-051120.pdf 

UMich: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ctb2SVXHa2tHNgszgth-zAmPwedp9InbCopqG5aIt40/edit#gid=958445409

 

No, you're right. It's widely accepted in polsici academia that Duke placements are incredibly poor relative to other programs in their tier.

[sloth_girl]

Generally speaking, you want to look for placement into tenure track jobs in R1 or R2 universities. Then, for those who do not get those, see what kinds of jobs they do end up in. Think tanks, tech, etc. are all common, and people have their own individual preferences for alt-ac jobs. I personally came from tech and will probably go back to tech if I don't get academic placement (i.e. TT job), so I picked with that in mind. 

The top 5 programs are known for pretty consistent placement, but some programs definitely punch above their ranking. It's also worth looking at your specific subfield placements and placement by dissertation committee member/dissertation chair.