Applying to PhD Program without Research Experience

[ShowroomDummy]

Hi everyone! I am new here.

I am applying for PhD program in comparative politics in the U.S. for the 2022 fall cycle. I have submitted my applications already, but I wish I found this forum earlier!

I had my undergrad and now the master's in France in politics and international affairs. I only decided to apply for PhD program this fall, and I do not have any research experience except the master's thesis I am doing now. Besides this, I think my GPA, GRE, IELTS and recommendations (not from very famous scholar tho) are good. I applied for 10+ programs ranging from very top like Princeton to top 50 universities. I wonder if there is anyone else applying or admitted without research experience? Do I have any chance? 

Thank you for reading my post!

[sbidyanta]

As someone from an educational system very different from the American kind, I think I can chime in a bit. Here, every professor already has too many (between 4-8) doctoral students to supervise, hence they are not really lacking when it comes to research assistants. Such opportunities are thus very rare at the undergraduate and graduate level, at least in the social sciences. Hence most students have very scant actual research experience when applying to a PhD. One way to get around this is through internships at think tanks and policy institutes, but due to covid, even such opportunities were quite rare. 

As a result, I don't really have any formal research experience. I have made a few research enquiries of my own, and presented papers are graduate student conferences, but I'm not sure if they count as much. In any case, I'm still applying, and hopefully the other parts of my application can pull me through. I have applied even more broadly, also applying to schools outside the top 50, so hoping to get at least one (funded) offer. 

[LatinAmericanFootball]

I suggest you cycle through some of the previous Profiles/Results threads, like this one from last year:

I am also a foreigner myself, but I would say that "typical" research experience for US applicants consists of an undergrad thesis (or "honor thesis") and some research assistance for professors. My impression is that a master's thesis already counts a lot and a great SOP and recommendations can make up for lack of experience if they show that you have good potential. So I guess you shouldn't worry too much.

[Theory007]

Hi @ShowroomDummy!

I'd say that you need enough research experience to write and submit a decent writing-sample for your application. At the end of the day, programs look for students able to produce research - or students who has potential to produce great research once they enter the program, and the way to demonstrate that you're that student is through your writing sample. But in the US, most undergraduates do not have formal research experience in the form of research assistantships, but do get some research experience through the projects and final papers they do for their upper-level coursework. Some students do write a senior thesis in college and are technically supervised but this consists in writing and submitting drafts and receive comments from their professors. This counts as research experience of course but I doubt how valuable it is. I do think motivated students can produce good enough research by themselves in college for it to turn into a writing-sample that will help you get admitted to a program.

In short, research experience per se is not super important in my view - a good writing sample, which is doable without formal research experience, is.

Do you mind sharing what you submitted for your writing-sample with your applications? If you're doing your MA thesis now, my guess is that you submitted something you had written for your of your courses for your MA studies.

Either way good luck! It sounds like you have applied to a reasonable range of programs, which really is a good thing. From following this forum for years, I have noticed that many students are unsuccessful with their applications because they only apply to top-10 programs or programs that are extremely competitive. So I would bet that you have set yourself up well with your applications.

[ShowroomDummy]

@sbidyanta Exactly! I wanted to have some research internship but my last year of undergrad and my master’s years are basically all spent in Covid. Also, I need a funded offer because there is no way I can do a five-year program without funding.

Good luck to your application!

Edited December 21, 2021 by ShowroomDummy
I want to reply to Sbidyanta

[ShowroomDummy]

@LatinAmericanFootball Thank you for your information!

[ShowroomDummy]

@Theory007 Thank you for your clarification! I thought research experience has to be like doing a formal RA or working as research intern. Such a relief that thesis and coursework can count!

I submitted a final paper from a senior undergrad course which received a good grade as writing sample. I thought it is more relevant to the sub-areas I want to focus on in my PhD’s. I re-wrote this paper following the comments of the professor who graded it and added some theories and analysis because I learnt more about the topic in my MA. Initially I wanted to submit a chapter of my master’s thesis, but I could barely finish my introduction by the deadline. American programs’ deadlines are so early. In Europe, most programs have a deadline until April or even May.