PoliSci PhD in Canada?

[Milo_10011]

I'm trying for admission to a U.S. polisci program. It's a two-year program for the M.A. However, for the Ph.D., I am very strongly considering attending a Canadian university. My hope is to go directly from the M.A. to the Ph.D., pausing just long enough to have the huge moving sale before arriving at the border with everything I own crammed into a very small moving van.

1. I am certainly not the first person to do this, can anyone offer a first-person experience about THEIR experience?

2. If I were interested in pursuing Canadian citizenship after grad school, how difficult is it? Is dual-citizenship (American/Canadian) something that can be done?

3. From my initial research, the most likely school I would be trying for would be the University of Toronto. Can anyone offer some first-hand experience on UT?

Thanks all.

[wtncffts]

I can't answer the questions re: experience, since I'm neither American nor at U of T (applied and rejected, actually). I do know that it's certainly possible to become a dual citizen. You may want to broaden your options. U of T is basically the Harvard of Canada (this is contentious, I know; I went to McGill), so you're saying the equivalent of 'I'm looking into US schools, and this Harvard seems like a good fit'. Not saying you won't have a good chance of getting in: I have no idea. But there are many good schools up here.

[Lokyar]

-Getting citizenship after being in the country for a couple years doing a PhD is not hard at all. I personally know a PhD student from outside canada about to get his

- If you ever want to return to the United States again to teach or join a faculty, go to U of T. UBC and McGill PhD grads might stand a chance at landing a US job, but from an American recruiter's perspective (justified or not) University of Toronto is the only Canadian university that is comparable to a T20 American school.

-Even in Canada, an American PhD gives you about a 20% better chance of getting a position over Canadian candidates. Take a quick look at the faculty profiles for most top canadian Poli Sci departments. You'll notice that many, if not most, got their degrees in the US. I also seem to recall that this year every tenure-track theory position that opened up in Canada went to someone with an American PhD. So unless you have something specific in mind, like studying with a particular prof...i would stay in the US provided i could get into a T40 school, and if i couldnt...why would i be doing a PhD in Poli Sci in the first place?

Edited May 9, 2011 by Lokyar

[Manservant_Hecubus]

Getting citizenship is very possible and there is no bar to dual American-Canadian citizenship.

As long as you get one year of work experience in after your degree (and you can easily get a postgrad work permit if you've completed a PhD) then you can apply for permanent residence (which can then lead to citizenship a few years later) under this program: http://www.cic.gc.ca...e/cec/index.asp