PhD Admissions Resources

[gradpumpkin]

Hey everyone! I've found this forum to be invaluable this past year as I navigated the PhD admissions process and am blessed to be heading into a great and funded program in a few weeks! As I've been organizing and filing away all of the resources I've collected over the past two years or so, I've realized I have a massive list of documents and links that may prove helpful for future applicants to have all in one place. Below is a vaguely organized-by-topic list of blogs, documents, gradcafe posts and other resources that would be great reads for all of you planning to apply this coming cycle, especially this summer as many of you are starting the process. I have to say that I don't necessarily agree with all of the advice given on these pages and some are more relevant to adjacent fields, but they at least informed my decision making and preparations for what was to come. This is by no means comprehensive and you should consult as many sources and people as possible, but I hope you find some of these links useful! Best of luck this season, and remember that admissions results are not indicative of your worthiness or potential. 

Perspectives on deciding to pursue a PhD 

• http://www.nunomonteiro.org/advice/grad-admissions 

• https://shouldigetaphd.com/shouldigetaphd.pdf

• https://duckofminerva.com/2012/08/applying-for-phd-in-political-science.html

• https://www.apsanet.org/Portals/54/files/Brochures/APSA_EarningaPhD.pdf

• https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/03/18/so-you-want-to-get-into-a-political-science-ph-d-program-episode-i/ 

• https://thepoliticalmethodologist.com/2014/01/18/student-advice-should-i-go-to-graduate-school-if-so-where-should-i-go/ 

• https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2017/06/16/provost-unconventional-background-describes-her-graduate-school-experience-essay 

• https://chrisblattman.com/2007/12/12/how-to-get-a-phd-and-save-the-world/

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/27981-advice-from-an-actual-phd-redux-2/

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/12490-policy-phd-vs-political-science-phd/

• https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2011/08/professional-education-in-foreign-affairs

• https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/international-relations-graduate-school-pros-and-cons/

• https://theihs.org/blog/choosing-phd-program-in-political-science/

• Guidance on going directly from undergrad to PhD

  • https://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/2p8wwh/phd_students_that_did_not_take_time_off_between/

  • https://www.princetonreview.com/grad-school-advice/should-you-go-to-grad-school-right-after-undergrad

  • https://www.findaphd.com/advice/blog/3670/skipping-a-masters-on-the-way-to-a-phd-the-road-less-travelled 

• https://people.fas.harvard.edu/~jkertzer/prospective.html 

Admissions

• https://chrisblattman.com/about/contact/gradschool/ 

• http://home.uchicago.edu/~mstaisch/Memo%20on%20PhD%20Applications.pdf

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/blogs/entry/547-starting-your-statement-of-purpose/

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/45432-free-gre-resources-master-post/

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/48905-some-advice-on-writing-an-sop/

• https://thepoliticalmethodologist.com/2013/10/13/what-courses-do-i-need-to-prepare-for-a-phd-in-political-science/

• https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2014/03/some-advice-to-prospective-graduate-students-visiting-departments.html

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/122272-results-profile-lessons-2020/#comments

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/122468-adcomm-insider/

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/122443-what-would-you-have-done-differently-in-the-process/

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/122124-good-sop-examples/

• http://www.ericachenoweth.com/teaching/grad-school 

• https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d2eeebbe65947fb325749e/t/57db3d47f7e0abec4167cf9e/1473985869102/5+Rules+for+Statement+of+Purpose.pdf

• https://ls.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/statement_of_purpose.pdf

• https://brightlinkprep.com/gre-scoring-algorthm-deciphered/

• https://www.btaa.org/docs/default-source/diversity/gradschoolguide.pdf

• http://www.nunomonteiro.org/advice/recommendation-letters

• https://contemplativemammoth.com/2013/04/08/so-you-want-to-go-to-grad-school-nail-the-inquiry-email/

• https://cyrussamii.com/?page_id=2121

Admissions Statistics

• https://imgur.com/a/EuNTB 

• https://tableau.dsc.umich.edu/t/UM-Public/views/RackhamDoctoralProgramStatistics/ProgramStatistics?:embed=y&:showAppBanner=false&:showShareOptions=true&:display_count=no&:showVizHome=no&FOSDParameter=All+Rackham  (many if not all schools will have a page like this with data sorted by program)

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/122652-grad-cafe-political-science-data-stuff/

• https://fretpwner.shinyapps.io/GradCafeStatistics/

Funding Info

• http://www.phdstipends.com/ 

• https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/phd-professor-and-postdoc-salaries-in-the-united-states

• https://www.profellow.com/fellowships/17-predoctoral-fellowships-for-new-phd-candidates/

• https://apps.grad.illinois.edu/fellowship-finder/?action=main.search&grp1=12&grp2=20&grp3=22&q=

PhD Resources

• Important notes for women scholars:

  • https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/10/when-you-re-only-woman-challenges-female-phd-students-male-dominated-cohorts  

  • https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/03/11/should-women-get-ph-d-s-in-international-relations/ 

• https://irevolutions.org/2012/05/09/advice-to-future-phds/ 

• https://www.apsanet.org/RESOURCES/For-Students/Institutions-Granting-PhDs-in-Political-Science

• https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker?page=14

• http://gradresources.org/

• https://www.apsanet.org/Portals/54/APSA%20Files/Data%20Reports/Employment%20Data/Graduate%20Placement%20Report%202016-2017.pdf?ver=2018-02-02-103603-070 

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/123896-tips-for-choosing-between-schools/

• https://sites.google.com/site/honestgraduatenumbers/ 

• https://chrisblattman.com/2012/09/09/phd-students-writing-an-nsf-application/

• https://contemplativemammoth.com/2011/11/22/how-to-get-a-faculty-job-in-20-not-so-easy-steps/

• https://theprofessorisin.com/

• https://law.vanderbilt.edu/phd/How_to_Survive_1st_Year.pdf

• https://economics.cornell.edu/grad-student-advice

• https://benjaminnoble.org/blog/

• https://predoc.org/opportunities

• https://chrisblattman.com/teaching/

• https://medium.com/the-renaissance-economist/the-economics-pre-doctoral-fellowship-what-is-it-and-should-you-apply-for-one-27965bcf7c3

Placement

• https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/118154-the-story-of-one-cohort/ 

• https://alexandreafonso.me/2019/02/11/academic-hierarchies-in-us-political-science/

Edited July 20, 2021 by gradpumpkin