PolSci Phd from Econ PhD?

[the_drink]

I'm in an unusual position here. I started out at a T20 Econ PhD program, but realized the work I was interested in (intersection of comparative politics and political economy) wasn't really done here. I hadn't looked at faculty as closely because Econ PhDs are so focused on maths and the first year is so course-based that you aren't really expected to have a research proposal or match with faculty. This bit me in the ass, and I ended up hating the applied micro they were doing, and after TAing in the PS department over the summer, I did one semester in second year before getting an offer to move to PS full-time as an RA. This has been going really well, and my PI told me I'd probably be admitted as a full-time student if I applied in the fall, but encouraged me to apply broadly to find the best possible fit.

Academically, I have a 1st at an undergrad doing PPE in the UK (top of the year, probably equivalent to 4.0), Distinction in UK masters doing Econ with some politics, and a 3.5 GPA from my PhD, but ranked towards the top in the qualifying exams. GRE is 165Q/168V/6.0 AWA (shit the bed the day of for the math, but thinking my math classes should offset it), and 2 years of political economy research in the UK before PhD.

I'm interested in doing Formal Theory along the lines of Judd at Princeton and Acharya, using high-level maths to address substantive questions regarding electoral accountability and corruption. I'll have letters from the econ and polsci department here, as well as one economist in the UK and one from my masters (LSE and Oxbridge respectively). Bluntly, I'm not sure how competitive I am-I'm only planning to apply to HYPSM,Rochester, and Emory since my current department has a strong formal theory group. I have a strong technical background and some good RA experience, but I know how competitive top departments are. Any feedback/suggestions on how I should formulate my SOP?

Edited July 29 by the_drink
Detail on where I'm applying

[A Dalek]

I think a move from econ is doable. Can you get any letters from political scientists or economists who publish in polisci journals? It isn't enough to guarantee an admit (nothing is), but it could help if you had someone capable of vouching for you.

Consider applying to a few public affairs/political economy programs like Duke's. If you are looking at something in the EU, look at places like Aarhus.

[the_drink]

I'll have 2 polsci letters- the faculty member I'm currently TAing, who's quite active and is tenured here (we're higher ranked in polsci, which should help) and someone from DPIR at Oxford who's also well-published. I'll also have someone I RA'd doing political economy for who's a big Econ guy at LSE, and someone from my econ program who can talk about general performance.

I'm also planning to declare one of my two fields to be formal theory-I realize this is a specialized question, but do you reckon this type of background would be competitive for that? I was strong at math in my econ department, which I think should transfer over, but not sure how transferable econ is generally. I know it's only really viable at top departments, but I'm thinking if I went to NYU/WashU/Stanford my background may help me since some people have econ phds.

[A Dalek]

I think you'll be fine. There is a general bias towards someone with an econ background. There are a handful of qual programs that might be biased against you but it doesn't sound like you're applying to those. I would emphasize your general methods background.

I wouldn't emphasize formal methods outside those schools with a strong formal theory core like Princeton/WashU/Rochester. Behavior people can get iffy about it.

Apply to a few schools in the 20 or so ranking range. Lots of places are reducing admits going forward and competition for slots will increase accordingly.