How to get into PhD from an MA

[Milo_10011]

So I'm applying for the MA polisci program at the nearby college. Assuming I get in, I want to go for a PhD somewhere else.

My big question is "How do I position myself for the best shot at a really good PhD program?" So far, I've run into a lot of non-statements like, "Really work hard. Get to know the professors. Hand in all your assignments on time. Do well on the tests." I don't want to sound like a jerk, but, duh, if I can't get do well on the MA-level tests, it really doesn't bode well for my situation as a PhD student. That, I can figure out on my own.

Does anyone have something a little more precise? For instance, the MA program is a two-year program. Should I be planning for publication submission? How long do I wait before I start in on that? Should extracurricular activities be related to polisci, or non-related to show that I'm not a fanatic who's hopelessly blinkered. I realize that everyone's path is different, but perhaps a couple of examples of appropriate paths for others will help me figure out what would be right for me.

Thanks for any help.

[kismetcapitan]

find out what professors you see yourself working with to get your PhD, and then go talk to them *before* you start your masters. Some schools have a very strict "no inbreeding policy", where they will not consider students who did their masters at that school. Makes sense academically as it keeps things fresh, but if you do your masters at your dream school and then discover they never accept their own students for PhD....

[GopherGrad]

Milo,

The advice you're getting is good, even if "hand your assignments in on time" feels a little paternalistic. PhD programs are looking for students who can produce constructive, creative ideas and research in their fields. You are looking to signal that you can.

So the prosaic answer is easy. Admissions committees see grades and GREs as reliable indicators of academic promise. Get good grades and score well on the GRE. They also like to see in-depth evaluations of your potential from respected academics. Form relationships with faculty that will lead to strong letters. Similar with your SoP: Spend enough time reading outside class to get a good grasp of the contours of academic debate in your interest area and write a statement that professes a desire to explore some current opportunities for growth in the field. Publishing and conference papers? Most people here will say that they are of marginal value to your application. I plan to try to publish anyway. I can't hurt and, at the very least, I will have a writing sample as close to publishing grade as I'm able to muster.

The holistic answer might sound hokey, but it's probably better. Don't focus on the signals as much as you focus on actually becoming a knowledgeable and creative thinker (the signals will take care of themselves). Assess your learning style. What has made you passionate about subject matter in the past? Which classes really influenced you and why? Under what conditions do you quickly learn and become interested the cutting edge of a topic? Now try to re-create those conditions for the courses you take in your MA.

As an example, I noticed in law school that I did well in classes I took with a certain group of friends. We had a tendency to go out drinking and argue and discuss the course material. Being challenged by other views and being forced to articulate my own understandings repeatedly was great practice and helped me zero in on areas of controversy for exams and papers. If I end up in an MA program, I plan to find a handful of social students from each of my classes and set up weekly happy hours with them in an attempt to force the same processes.

[adaptations]

GopherGrad provides good advice. From my own experience, I think doing an RA with a respected professor was beneficial because it exposed me to the research process, helped me figure out what I wanted to do, and lead to a strong LOR. If you have the opportunity to present at a conference, it can be good experience and add to your CV. Also think about what type of research you want to do and make sure you select courses that will give you an edge, for example if you know you want to do formal/quant methods you should take some fields in those areas. Good luck.

[alphazeta]

So I'm applying for the MA polisci program at the nearby college. Assuming I get in, I want to go for a PhD somewhere else.

My big question is "How do I position myself for the best shot at a really good PhD program?" So far, I've run into a lot of non-statements like, "Really work hard. Get to know the professors. Hand in all your assignments on time. Do well on the tests." I don't want to sound like a jerk, but, duh, if I can't get do well on the MA-level tests, it really doesn't bode well for my situation as a PhD student. That, I can figure out on my own.

Does anyone have something a little more precise? For instance, the MA program is a two-year program. Should I be planning for publication submission? How long do I wait before I start in on that? Should extracurricular activities be related to polisci, or non-related to show that I'm not a fanatic who's hopelessly blinkered. I realize that everyone's path is different, but perhaps a couple of examples of appropriate paths for others will help me figure out what would be right for me.

Thanks for any help.

Caveat: I'm just a lowly undergrad, so take this all with a great of salt:

First of all, I presume you're doing an MA because there's some deficiency in your file at the moment that prevents you from taking a shot at the PhD programs you're interested in. Obviously, then, remedying that deficiency has to be your top priority. If the issue is poor undergrad grades, then focus on getting a 4.0 in the masters. If you're looking to improve LORs because your undergrad was a while ago or you didn't really get to know the professors there, then focus on making the connections to get those letters (obviously, these aren't mutually exclusive).

To address your specific questions: I've been told (and I believe) that publications won't do much for you. Certainly, a published article is another good signal of your strengths as an applicant, but the fact of the matter is that you're almost certainly not going to get published in the APSR and publications in lower-tier journals aren't terribly impressive. An article published in the Northeast State Tech Review of Politics isn't going to impress anyone more than a really awesome writing sample will. If an opportunity to publish something comes up, you should obviously take it, but I wouldn't focus on trying to publish. However, you should also keep an eye open for the (relatively rare) opportunity to collaborate with a professor on an article.

As for extracurriculars, I've been told that no one really cares what you're up to. If it's ridiculously impressive, that might help, but PhD admissions are not like college admissions where you want to show that you're well-rounded, involved in community service, etc. The committee cares about one thing: your capacity to do graduate work and then eventually contribute interesting work as a scholar - that's not going to come through very strongly from what you do outside of school in most cases.

Now, based on what I've heard from people over the years (and my UG school runs some extremely popular masters programs), here are some specific recommendations:

1) If at all possible, get experience as an RA with any professor who will have you and does work even tangentially related to your own interests. This person need not necessarily even be a political scientist, depending on your interests you might do work with an economist, sociologist, etc. Obviously, a political scientist is preferable, but any kind of RA experience is very good.

2) Focus on methods training rather than substantive coursework. Many terminal masters programs encourage students to focus on substantive and policy-relevant classes, but the more productive thing to do with your two years is get trained in appropriate methods. Depending on your interests that might mean statistics/econometrics, languages, game theory, etc. Take as much of this as possible. Not only will it help you down the road, it will also signal a serious interest in research. Again, you shouldn't feel too constrained by your department. If the rules allow, it might be productive to take some coursework in other departments, like economics.

3) Make it clear to faculty from day 1 that your goal is a PhD and ask for their help and advice.

4) Don't waste the summer. Do something productive with it, like a summer language program, research with a professor, or a summer stats program.

5) Network.

6) Go to every single talk/program held by the department. If the speaker teaches at a school you're interested in or does work you find interesting, try to meet them and talk to them.

[Milo_10011]

ALRIGHT! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

Thanks, everyone. Those were some excellent pieces of advice. If anyone has more to add, I'll be delighted to read it.

[oasis]

The way to get into a good polisci program is to show that you will be a successful political scientist, and the best way to show this is to actually try to be one right now. Read the latest articles, look at conference working papers to see what the cutting edge stuff is in your area. And then start doing that. If you don't get a journal pub out of it, at least you'll have a good writing sample and a strong sense for the SOP. You'd be surprised how few MA students do this - they tend to treat grad school just like undergrad, go to classes get good grades and that's it. That's not what its about.