Comparative Politics Programs

[theycallmetheseeker]

I am looking for strong comparative programs with a focus on qualitative/ethnographic/sociological/not completely dominated by rational choice methods

I want to get strong training as a generalist while pursuing my interests in Russia/East Europe and Africa as well. For these reasons, I've been drawn to programs like UWisc Madison and UT Austin where the size of the university makes for great area studies resources. Any suggestions on programs that might fit the bill? I'm interested in gender and development as well.

any kind of ranking for comparative programs would be appreciated. i recognize that due to the diversity within comparative this is a tall order, but if there is some generally accepted ranking schema i'd appreciate if you could provide the link.

academic job prospects after graduation are a priority for me (as I'd assume they are for many on this forum) so i want to apply within the top 25, making alternative plans should acceptance and funding prove elusive.

[JustChill]

I suggest you look into UNC-Chapel Hill. Their Title VI REES (Russian and EE Studies) dept is one of the most developed in the country, and the seamless cooperation with the same departments (poli sci and REES) at Duke make it hard to beat.

[APGradApplicant]

Hello, Seeker. I'm an Americanist (with a possible minor field in comparative- more specifically comparative political parties, electoral systems and legislative-executive systems) but nonetheless I did pay a nominal fee earlier this year to access US News' subfield rankings, which I'm happy to share. As you may or may not know, USN rankings do of course generate significant controversy given that they are based on reputational surveys. That said, they're surveys filled out by professors in the discipline...you know...those people who oftentimes are on job search committees . Thus, while I don't think they're perfect, I do think they provide at least a decent "benchmark". Keep in mind that some of the programs listed below may not have strengths all of the exact areas in which you are interested. That said, if you spend enough time combing through these forums, you'll see that what most people in the profession or well into grad school advise is that, barring extraordinary circumstances, the first priority for applicants looking to place at a good R1 should be attending a Top 20 program and that the second priority should be a really strong fit within your subfield. I don't know anything about your profile but for candidates like myself this was important advice. You might want to look at Realist's thread on this for more...

Edit: Let me add that I'm an incoming first year grad student, so have little experience beyond the application game. Just wanted to clarify that so you know where I'm coming from- relatively new to this myself.

Anyhow, let me shut up and give you the comparative subfield rankings, which list the 18 best programs:

1 Harvard University Cambridge, MA 2 Princeton University Princeton, NJ 3 University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA 4 Stanford University Stanford, CA 5 Yale University New Haven, CT 6 University of California--San Diego La Jolla, CA 7 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 8 Columbia University New York, NY 9 University of California--Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 10 Duke University Durham, NC 11 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 12 New York University New York, NY

University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Chapel Hill , NC 14 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA

University of Chicago Chicago, IL 16 Northwestern University Evanston, IL 17 University of Wisconsin--Madison Madison, WI 18 University of Washington Seattle, WA

Edited June 16, 2010 by APGradApplicant

[theycallmetheseeker]

thanks I really appreciate your replies!

any more general thoughts about programs which are friendliest to qualitative methods?

[Penelope Higgins]

From the list above:

Harvard

Berkeley

Cornell

Chicago

Northwestern

Madison

Washington

are all qual-friendly (and in some cases qual-dominated) comparative groups.

[plisar]

I would add MIT to Penelope's list, even though EE and Africa aren't strong points.

[theycallmetheseeker]

thanks! i really got the feeling from comparative faculty pubs from harvard and chicago that the department was more quant focused. the rest of those programs are all on my list. thanks for your help!

[natofone]

Chicago is certainly more of a qualitative program. In recent years they have been trying to take a more pluralistic approach to methods and incorporate more quantitative methods, but they are particularly strong in qualitative methods. Off the top of my head they offer at least three courses in qualitative methods (Slater-comparative historical analysis, Wedeen-interpretive methods, and Mearsheimer-comparative case study).

You should also investigate Yale because they are particularly strong in ethnographic fieldwork. I know that they have at least one course on the topic and have a few faculty that write on the topic (lawrence, wood).

UCLA is also a qualitative-friendly program with courses in qualitative methods.

Plisar is correct about MIT.