cslamsat Posted April 11, 2011 Posted April 11, 2011 I find myself in quite the pickle this Decisions week: I have been accepted into both UC Davis and Claremont Graduate University - in different departments. For Davis, I have been invited to join the 2011 Education (Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition) cohort, and for CGU, I have been offered a chance to study Political Science. Quite the predicament. I received my MA in Rhetoric, but have done some political advocacy and outreach (and love it, which is why I applied to a Political Science program), but am more comfortable in the Writing and Rhetoric field. I am also concerned about finding work once I finish (my goal is to stay in academia) - that is, will I have better luck with a Political Science degree or an Education degree? I am leaning CGU, even though their funding package pales in comparison to the one Davis offered (a TAship and tuition remission, but only guaranteed for the 1st year). CGU, on the other hand, has only offered a small percentage off tuition, but I am enticed by the PolySci PhD. Any advice?
juilletmercredi Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Given the current job market, your academic prospects may be better in political science than writing and rhetoric. Aslso consider the prospect that many departments are kind of puritanical and may not hire you if your PhD is in education and you are studying in the education department. They may want people in an education department. But that's almost besides the point. What do you want to research? What do you want to teach? That's most important. Your 6-8 years in the department will spent doing research in that field, and you'll be expected to continue in that field if you stay in academia. Do you want to do research in political science, or do you want to do research in writing and rhetoric? Do you want to teach poli sci classes as a professor, or do you want to teach writing? Also consider that in a poli sci department you may be expected to develop some kind of literacy in statistics and quantitative methods. Then I would consider the funding. I wouldn't go to Davis (the rhetoric program) simply because they offered you some funding, because if you really want to research and teach in poli sci then that would be a pointless degree. On the other hand, I wouldn't go to a PhD program that didn't offer tuition remission and a stipend of some sort, even if I loved it. You can expect your starting salary as a professor to range from $55K-$70K depending on the area of the country in which you get hired. How are you going to afford to pay back the loans you will have to borrow to attend CGU? Will you be able to get funding in later years (and this is a legitimate question for both universities - what is the chance that you will get funding in your second year and beyond?)
adaptations Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 To me, this is not a question of job prospects or funding, but instead what you want to do with your life. They are very different programs and areas of interests. You should think seriously about what it is you are passionate about studying and researching and what it is you want to spend the next 5+ years of your life studying and then the field in which you want to work.
avhosa Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 (edited) I'd have to agree with juilletmercredi. If you're going to have to go into debt to attend CGU, don't do it. Let's be honest here: your chances of obtaining a decent academic career afterwards are grim. It's practically the same for everyone with a PhD. It's true that people don't go into grad school for the money, but rather for the fulfillment one gets in earning a higher degree (that's certainly why I'm doing it) but unless you have enough to live on comfortably, you won't enjoy it. On the other hand, CGU might not be that bad... have you met the current grad students there? Do they seem happy? Where do they get their funding? Edited April 12, 2011 by avhosa
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