2026-2027 Application Thread

[PoliSci2026]

1 hour ago, brumingdales said:

Admissions typically get harder every year, and yes the federal fund freezes are causing a lot of universities to reduce their typical cohort size, which means there are fewer seats per applicant

Yes, plus, because many people knew this is going to be an extra-competetive year, they applied to more universities than they would usually apply to. 

Personally, I applied to at least 4 universities that I wouldn't have applied to in "normal" years. And I know that several universities received this year a record number of applications.

So, there are both more applicants to each university AND smaller cohorts... resulting in less chances for each applicant 

[polich]

On 2/9/2026 at 7:06 PM, IRpolsci21 said:

Was anyone else waitlisted at USC? Does anyone have any insights on how long their waitlist generally is, and has anyone been accepted from the waitlist in the past? Any insights would really help me calm my nerves. USC is my top choice, and if anyone was accepted but isn’t attending and could let the program know, that would be great. Keeping my fingers crossed.
还有其他人被南加州大学列入候补名单了吗？有没有人知道他们的候补名单一般有多长？之前有没有人从候补名单里被录取的？任何信息都能让我安心不少。南加州大学是我的首选，如果有人被录取了但最终没去，能不能通知一下学校？非常感谢！祝我好运！

They had a very short list last year, and USC's Political Science department didn't end up admitting anyone from it. Fingers crossed for you this year.

[Greg12312]

Hello,

 

I don't have much information about the Georgetown Government PhD admission process, so I wanted to ask if anyone here has insight. I have seen some interview reports on GradCafe. Do all admitted students typically receive interviews? If someone was not interviewed, should they assume it is a rejection?

I would appreciate any clarification from those familiar with the process.

[the_drink]

Has anyone got word when the Stanford visiting day is yet?

Edited February 22 by the_drink

[2026polisci]

Saw an acceptance from Rutgers. Has anyone else heard back?

[PoliSci2026]

15 hours ago, Greg12312 said:

Hello,

 

I don't have much information about the Georgetown Government PhD admission process, so I wanted to ask if anyone here has insight. I have seen some interview reports on GradCafe. Do all admitted students typically receive interviews? If someone was not interviewed, should they assume it is a rejection?

I would appreciate any clarification from those familiar with the process.

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm coming from abroad to the visitation days, in a 16 hours flight, and it's so hard to plan when I don't know what to expect 

I'm waiting for answers from several universities, but from those I'm waitibg for, GU is the one it's most important for me to visit if accepted 

So any info would be appreciated

[Lorne Malvo]

On 2/20/2026 at 6:05 PM, OBD said:

International student, US MA running GPA 3.9, GRE 338, have some research papers - not all from PS field. Intended subfield: IR, Method. Applied almost 20+ schools, had fee waivers....

How did you manage to get fee waivers as an international? 

[ComparativeScholar]

Hi everyone, I hope you are having good application cycles. I have one question: I never saw any acceptance results for University of Washington (Seattle) Political Science PhD program; only a few rejection posts.

Are there any students who received offers from UWash-Seattle?

[M1nT]

Does anyone have insight into the rationale behind the recent cohort reductions? I’m curious if these are blanket cuts across the board, or if specific subfields are being prioritized and left untouched while others are being scaled back?

[Greg12312]

On 2/22/2026 at 6:58 AM, PoliSci2026 said:

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm coming from abroad to the visitation days, in a 16 hours flight, and it's so hard to plan when I don't know what to expect 

I'm waiting for answers from several universities, but from those I'm waitibg for, GU is the one it's most important for me to visit if accepted 

So any info would be appreciated

I think you also saw some people discuss this in the results section, but just in case you didn’t, I want to share it with you. According to the people who had interviews with Georgetown, acceptance occurs within the group of interviewees. One of them asked directly, and it seems that this was the answer given by Georgetown. Since I was not invited to interview, I am going to assume that I am being rejected.

[randomuser39572]

Overall the amount of jobs in Academia has decreased substantially, so I think the funding cuts give them a reason to get rid of these positions, especially since job market opportunities are extremely limited. 

[Polisci882]

Hi everyone! Reporting from the Cornell Government PhD program. Our grad admissions offers are out. 14 admission offers across the 4 subfields. 6 AP Admits, 3 CP admits, 3 Theory Admits, 2 IR admits 

Edited February 23 by Polisci882

[nondeterministic]

5 minutes ago, Polisci882 said:

Hi everyone! Reporting from the Cornell Government PhD program. Our grad admissions offers are out. 14 admission offers across the 4 subfields. 6 AP Admits, 3 CP admits, 3 Theory Admits, 2 IR admits 

Thanks! I wonder how the total number of offers compares to past years, amid funding cuts everywhere.

[heartintheclouds]

19 minutes ago, Polisci882 said:

Hi everyone! Reporting from the Cornell Government PhD program. Our grad admissions offers are out. 14 admission offers across the 4 subfields. 6 AP Admits, 3 CP admits, 3 Theory Admits, 2 IR admits 

Thanks, are waitlists also out or is that TBD?

[heartintheclouds]

2 hours ago, Greg12312 said:

I think you also saw some people discuss this in the results section, but just in case you didn’t, I want to share it with you. According to the people who had interviews with Georgetown, acceptance occurs within the group of interviewees. One of them asked directly, and it seems that this was the answer given by Georgetown. Since I was not invited to interview, I am going to assume that I am being rejected.

Hi, can I ask where you got this info specifically? When I went to the results section, I saw that 2 people got interviews with no additional comments (and 1 was CP).

[Greg12312]

3 minutes ago, heartintheclouds said:

Hi, can I ask where you got this info specifically? When I went to the results section, I saw that 2 people got interviews with no additional comments (and 1 was CP).

If you go to the results page and look at the Georgetown Government PhD posting dated 02/21/2026 (waitlist), you can find it there. Once you open the comments section, people are discussing the interview process.

[heartintheclouds]

2 minutes ago, Greg12312 said:

If you go to the results page and look at the Georgetown Government PhD posting dated 02/21/2026 (waitlist), you can find it there. Once you open the comments section, people are discussing the interview process.

Oh I see thanks! It looks like its just for CP for now? I applied to a different subfield so fingers crossed they didn't do that for all subfields

[PoliSci2026]

3 hours ago, Greg12312 said:

I think you also saw some people discuss this in the results section, but just in case you didn’t, I want to share it with you. According to the people who had interviews with Georgetown, acceptance occurs within the group of interviewees. One of them asked directly, and it seems that this was the answer given by Georgetown. Since I was not invited to interview, I am going to assume that I am being rejected.

Yeah I saw it too, but thanks anyway for bringing it up here!

I also assume a rejection for now, but I'd love to be surprised and find out that we were wrong haha

 

10 minutes ago, heartintheclouds said:

Oh I see thanks! It looks like its just for CP for now? I applied to a different subfield so fingers crossed they didn't do that for all subfields

I don't think they mentioned subfields, and several people commented, so idk

but I'm also front a different subfield and hoping for the best. But as mentioned, for now I assune it's a rejection 

[awakecat]

 I've been fortunate to receive some acceptances, but I've been waitlisted at almost the same rate. Has this been happening to anyone else? I'm wondering if there was something off with my application materials or if this is just due to admissions being competitive.

[PoliSci2026]

8 minutes ago, awakecat said:

 I've been fortunate to receive some acceptances, but I've been waitlisted at almost the same rate. Has this been happening to anyone else? I'm wondering if there was something off with my application materials or if this is just due to admissions being competitive.

I think it's due to admissions being extremely competitive this year.

Personally, so far I received only 1 acceptance and no interviews or waitlists. And I know someone with a very similar profile to mine, that 4 years ago got into several places.

I don't know your profile or the materials you submitted so I don't know to assess them, but it seems overall like a super competitive cycle. So I think with several acceptances you should be really proud

[waitingforpoliscidepts]

Has NYU sent out all admission offers yet? I saw a post from someone who got an offer last week, so I figured most offers might already be out. I emailed the coordinator, but no response so far.

[OBD]

On 2/22/2026 at 2:17 PM, Lorne Malvo said:

How did you manage to get fee waivers as an international? 

1st gen clg student, financial difficulties- living below the poverty line

[OBD]

 

2 hours ago, Polisci882 said:

Hi everyone! Reporting from the Cornell Government PhD program. Our grad admissions offers are out. 14 admission offers across the 4 subfields. 6 AP Admits, 3 CP admits, 3 Theory Admits, 2 IR admits 

Did not get notified, assuming rejection 

[Ajj786]

Hi! Does anyone know anything about the University of Chicago CIR (International Relations) Master’s? Is it worthwhile to join this program to stay in the game and reapply for PhD programs the subsequent year? Is the program well regarded?
 

I currently have one fully funded PhD offer at a top 50 institution and another waitlist at a slightly higher ranked institution. 

[IRpolsci21]

1 hour ago, Ajj786 said:

Hi! Does anyone know anything about the University of Chicago CIR (International Relations) Master’s? Is it worthwhile to join this program to stay in the game and reapply for PhD programs the subsequent year? Is the program well regarded?
 

I currently have one fully funded PhD offer at a top 50 institution and another waitlist at a slightly higher ranked institution. 

Was in that program- feel free to dm if any questions