Political Theory Ranking?

[yoon7724]

For a small group of those who know a thing or two about Political Theory ranking, would you please comment on which schools are considered best, excellent, good, and then the rest (in terms of placement and reputation) ? I've seen many rankings, but they seem to be more in line with the so-called mathematical side of PoliSci, i.e., Amer, Comp, and IR. So, anyone care to comment?

[silencio1982]

depends on your interests, but chicago, northwestern, wustl, and yale are great, to name a few (in my opinion). (i have an MA in theory.)

[Ferrero]

Program headed up: WUSTL

Program headed down: Minnesota.

[yoon7724]

Silencio: if you don't mind me asking, where did you get your M.A. from?

Ferrero: about the upward trend of WUSTL I have no doubt. 

In any case, does anyone know how good Notre Dame or UVA is, just strictly Theory dept? They both are a bit lackluster in overall rankings, but their theory dept. seem to be regarded as extremely competent. So, any thoughts on that?

[Manchild]

My advice: take the US News rankings with a grain of salt. They are severely out-of-date and weren't all that good to begin with. It all depends on your interests. What kind of things interest you? A short and imperfect list of schools that belong higher (in some cases much higher) on the list but are not (due either to relatively recent hires or ridiculous oversight): Duke, Stanford, UCLA, WUSTL, Virginia - which represents a real mash of different interests. Chicago and Berkeley are probably overranked on the list and I would suggest that Yale probably was too (though by less) until the recent addition of Pogge. Other interesting programs outside the U.S. include University of Toronto, McGill, and Oxford (obviously), though degrees from these places may make it harder to get placement in the U.S.

Anyways, it depends massively on your interests, and it's hard to think of theory as a unified field that is "rankable" anyways, so. Nonetheless, if you're willing to share them, I could help a lot more.

[Ferrero]

8)

[yoon7724]

Thanks everyone for their contribution.

Anyway, before boring anyone away, let me succintly say that my research interests primarily revolve around modern & contemporary political thought (Nietzsche and Oakeshott), which means that I am some sort of radical anti-liberal, which does not necessarily mean that i am conservative, but could be.

In any case, any thoughts? By the way, does the fact that Notre Dame runs "review of politics" carry any weight?

[Canadianpolsci]

Thanks everyone for their contribution.

Anyway, before boring anyone away, let me succintly say that my research interests primarily revolve around modern & contemporary political thought (Nietzsche and Oakeshott), which means that I am some sort of radical anti-liberal, which does not necessarily mean that i am conservative, but could be.

In any case, any thoughts? By the way, does the fact that Notre Dame runs "review of politics" carry any weight?

Consider Cambridge: there you can study Nietzsche with Raymond Geuss, and there are others who are interested in Oakeshott.

Regarding Notre Dame and Review of Politics: I think it is a plus, a positive fact, that Cathrine Zuckert is at N. Dame and edits R. of Politics, for N. Dame theory students. They employ PhD students on staff, you have a good connection to the wider published world, and the journal puts Notre Dame on the map. That said, I think this is only an "extra bonus" type advantage. In other words, it is not a huge factor in any sense.

Notre Dame in my opinion is a very solid program, with excellent people -- as well, there is breadth and a variety of approaches to theory represented in the department. In addition, N. Dame itself has some serious philosophy and theology folks, in addition to the theory profs there. However, you really must visit South Bend Indiana if you are thinking of going. Some people liked the place. Others have liked it less.

I think Notre Dame is a good example of why the rankings are semi-bogus. It is by no means easy to get into, and it is a very serious academic school as a whole. It boasts Fred Dallymar, for instance, and even Alistair Macintyre -- who is a very famous moral philosopher. macintyre especially might be a factor in your decisions. He is quite mature in years already, but I believe he still teaches courses there.

Notre Dame's placement rate seems to be a mixed bag. But I think you would have a very solid shot of landing a decent post, still. It is a small program which really supports its students. It can be compared, in terms of size and support, to Duke -- though admittedly Duke is a fair bit more "prestigious."

Hope that helps.

[silencio1982]

Consider Cambridge: there you can study Nietzsche with Raymond Geuss, and there are others who are interested in Oakeshott.

Regarding Notre Dame and Review of Politics: I think it is a plus, a positive fact, that Cathrine Zuckert is at N. Dame and edits R. of Politics, for N. Dame theory students. They employ PhD students on staff, you have a good connection to the wider published world, and the journal puts Notre Dame on the map. That said, I think this is only an "extra bonus" type advantage. In other words, it is not a huge factor in any sense.

Notre Dame in my opinion is a very solid program, with excellent people -- as well, there is breadth and a variety of approaches to theory represented in the department. In addition, N. Dame itself has some serious philosophy and theology folks, in addition to the theory profs there. However, you really must visit South Bend Indiana if you are thinking of going. Some people liked the place. Others have liked it less.

]

from what i have heard of ND, C. Zuckert does not teach many classes anymore. i could be wrong about that though. just something to think about when wanting to work with the bigger names...

[Canadianpolsci]

Any thoughts from readers of this post-subject about the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought as a place to do a PhD with the intention of landing a job as a political theorist?

I note here some key names: Robert Pippin (heads the department, and in 2003 turned down a joint appointment in Government and Philosophy at Harvard), Nathan Tarcov (cross-listed with political science), Daniel Allen (now half-time, the other half at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton), Leon Kass (half-time I think), plus political theorists in political science department one can study with.

Chicago for political theory is ranked high and places pretty well indeed. But Social Thought is tougher to understand. Thoughts?

[yoon7724]

Re: Chicago Comm. On Soc. Thought.

Indeed, I was looking into the program, which personally fascinated me for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, I do not think it is the proper place to do your more or less "formal training" to be a TT prof. The reason being-as several of my mentors have informed me--that the program is geared towards accomodating truly 'unique' persons to develop a truly 'unique' take on things that would usually not make it into the to-do list by the pol. theory dept. All in all, is the program itself worthwhile for those who seek 'the truth'? Absolutely. But as you've consistently said, for getting yourself as ready as possible for the real world? Probably not the best choice. That is not to say, it is the worst choice either. After all, it is a very famous and 'prestigious' program run by a hodge-podge of famous and respected ladies and gents from all over the country.

If you ask me, this program seems to be a good compromise between the truth-seeking and the royal road to a TT job. At the end, as everything is in life, if you want it, then you will have to go for it to see where it will lead you.

[VaclavHavel]

Another good resource for political theory stuff, particularly placements:

http://politicaltheoryrumormill.blogspot.com

Also, in case anyone is interested in the USNWR rankings for the political theory subfield, here they are. Recall that these were completed in 2005, and some of the schools have had significant faculty changes:

1. Harvard University

2. Princeton University

3. University of Chicago

4. Yale University

5. University of California

[Ferrero]

[VaclavHavel]

I think the ones before these were 2002, so next year they should come out with some new Ph.D. rankings.

[PoliSciWS]

UT-Austin is a place to consider for theory, too. They have more theorists in the department than most. (They have far more faculty than most, and some very good ones at that... Pangle, Budziszewski, Tulis). Per an earlier post, UVa is also friendly toward theorists. Like Texas, UVa has a significant number in the department. Both schools' theorists tend to work across subfields, which is always a plus and tends to ease department tensions. Decent placement, esp. in the South/Southeast.

[rollinson]

Thanks everyone for their contribution.

Anyway, before boring anyone away, let me succintly say that my research interests primarily revolve around modern & contemporary political thought (Nietzsche and Oakeshott), which means that I am some sort of radical anti-liberal, which does not necessarily mean that i am conservative, but could be.

In any case, any thoughts? By the way, does the fact that Notre Dame runs "review of politics" carry any weight?

If I'm not mistaken, Northwestern is apparently very good for that sort of study. Also, if you're into editorships of journals, recent hire Mary Dietz brought the journal Political Theory with her to Northwestern.