MSU Ph.D. (free) vs Chicago MAPSS ($) for Theory

[hmm81]

so here is the quagmire that I find myself in: I got a full-ride offer from MSU for its Ph.D. program and got an offer from MAPSS with 1/3 tuition off.

I suppose the easiest thing to do is to go to MSU and get it over with, but knowing that money really is not the issue, quite fortunately, I am also tempted to go to Chicago and use that as a stepping board to the top 10 theory programs the year after. So, what would you do if you were me? Anyone who has some idea of both schools? Many thanks!

[rising_star]

Could you leave MSU with just a MA and not do it by burning any bridges?

[hmm81]

Well, for all i know now, that would probably be very hard, as you can imagine. I mean, after all, though MSU is not as good--in terms of perceived prestige--as Harvard, its faculty probably pride themselves in being in the league of top 25 schools, though one might quibble with that. So, the most honest answer is, I dont know. I know for sure that I can leave after MA, but without burning any bridges or even more boldly, getting enthusiastic recommendations so that I can move to Chicago, Yale, Harvard, or Princeton? I am rather skeptical of that happening. What do you think?

[just_me]

I am going to start out with three assumptions: (1) At the end of graduate school, you want a tenure-track job, (2) While there are certain ones you would prefer, most jobs out there would be good ones, and (3) You want to do this without running up huge amounts of debt if possible.

If you were in any other field, I would suggest the MSU option. You would find a job with a degree from a good second-tier school (MSU is a top 20-40 school in most fields and subfields with some obvious areas where you can argue for a higher ranking), the cost of living is inexpensive compared to large urban centers and coming in with funding is a huge plus (it is much easier to keep funding than to get it after you start in most programs).

However the political theory market is brutal. If you aren't in one of about 10-15 programs, you have little chance of getting a tenure-track job. It isn't fair but that is a fact of life. Stranger things do happen, but you will have a very difficult task finding a job with an MSU degree with a focus in political theory.

If you could see yourself teaching in any other subfield, my advice is the MSU option is the safer course. The Chicago option is a gamble that will cost you ten of thousands of dollars for something that may or may never lead to a placement in one of those top 10-15 doctoral programs. I think you need to ask yourself "Would I be miserable the rest of my life if I never took that gamble? Is political theory that important to me?" If it is though, Chicago may be the better choice.

[hmm81]

To the previous poster,

Yea, I agree. That is my problem right now: the job prospect for a theorist after MSU sounds just too doomed for me to take the offer. As said before, though money is not the problem, I really hate to spend all that money to go to Chicago, which is essentailly a gamble, as you say. For now, I am leaning toward Chicago option, but if any other people have more thoughts on this matter, I would greatly appreciate it. In particular, anyone who knows a thing or two about MSU's theory program and its faculty members, please post your thoughts. Thanks.

[rising_star]

Could you take grad courses at a public university and apply again next year?

[hmm81]

To rising_star:

Thanks for coming up with an alternative, but suffice it for me to say that for personal reasons, that is somehow not an option. So, any other thought? Just out of curiosity, is MSU for theory that bad?