Political Theory?

[Nomad9]

Hey Everybody,

I’m new to the forum and I’m looking for some general advice regarding political science PhD programs in political theory. I’m a polisci major at Minnesota and I’m graduating in June, and the reason I’m looking for general advice is that I won’t be going to any kind of law/grad school for a couple of years because I’m getting married in the fall and waiting for my fiancé to finish school, which will be about two years. Anyway, over halfway into my last semester, I’ve determined that political theory is the only subject within political science I’d be interested in as a career. Assuming all goes well this semester, I should finish with around a 3.8-3.85 GPA. So, onto the questions…

-What kind of GRE do I need to get into a good political theory program?

-I don’t have any official research or publications of any kind on my record and half of my undergrad was at a community college (as a high school student..I finished with 63 college credits before graduating high school). So will the lower quality early on and lack of official research experience hurt my chances?

-Should I aim for a Master’s first if I decide on this as a career?

-I know it’s early and hard to say without a GRE score, but what schools should I look at? (I’m particularly interested in historical/democratic and constitutional theory).

Thanks for any answers you can give me!

[Zahar Berkut]

I'll comment on the GRE score and publication: Generally, applicants to top PS programs try to break 700 on quant and get close to the top percentile in verbal (also around 700). But it's kind of a moot point until you know what your actual scores are and how much you can improve them-- you want them as high as possible, and then you can start guessing what schools are more or less in range. BUT, for theory applicants, quant might be less important, even though top applicants usually have high scores anyhow. Of course, GRE scores never make an application, but they can break it, so look at what you have to offer as a whole. Regarding publications: it doesn't hurt, but many undergrad journals are not regarded very highly and it will probably just serve as more proof of your ability to write on top of your sample. Unless you somehow publish in a peer-reviewed journal, which is actually quite tough to do.

As for all your other questions... I think your advisor would be in the best position to talk to you about the specifics of your situation, and the theory faculty should be able to recommend specific schools based on your interests and their knowledge of faculty.

[Nomad9]

I'll comment on the GRE score and publication: Generally, applicants to top PS programs try to break 700 on quant and get close to the top percentile in verbal (also around 700). But it's kind of a moot point until you know what your actual scores are and how much you can improve them-- you want them as high as possible, and then you can start guessing what schools are more or less in range. BUT, for theory applicants, quant might be less important, even though top applicants usually have high scores anyhow. Of course, GRE scores never make an application, but they can break it, so look at what you have to offer as a whole. Regarding publications: it doesn't hurt, but many undergrad journals are not regarded very highly and it will probably just serve as more proof of your ability to write on top of your sample. Unless you somehow publish in a peer-reviewed journal, which is actually quite tough to do.

As for all your other questions... I think your advisor would be in the best position to talk to you about the specifics of your situation, and the theory faculty should be able to recommend specific schools based on your interests and their knowledge of faculty.

Thanks for the reply. From what I've seen so far, the political theory department at Minnesota is fairly strong so I have a great resource at my fingertips.... I'll try and meet with a theory prof some time soon. I'm just hoping to get as much info as I can because the grad school addmissions process seems so complex compared to the relatively straightforward law school process (LSAT/GPA). Thanks again!