Help!!!!

[athinaios1987]

Hi to everyone and hope that you enjoy the summer. Please help me with an important decision that I have to make regarding my studies.

My background is in law where I got my undergraduate degree from the best law school in Greece with distinction(top 1%)(editor-in-chief of the law journal)(1 publication in english about US federalism) and last year I received my masters degree in law(M. Jur) with an average grade 67% where I attended courses primarily in constitutional and labour law. Unfortunately, I haven't attended any direct course in political science or political theory, though the courses in constitutional law, constitutional theory, sociology and constitutional history included a lot of political science-related aspects. Next year, I am thinking of doing an M. Phil in labor law at Oxford University(not yet decided whether to continue for D.Phil) which will be mostly theoretical concerning the interaction between economic globalization and labour standards.

However, I really want to pursue a Phd in political science, primarily in political theory, though I don't know what will be my chances to enroll directly following my M. Phil in a top-20 political science program in the United States. Do you think that if I will choose a Master Course in political theory(thinking about UCL and LSE) will improve my chances, or that given my background is quite unlikely to be admitted in a political science Phd?

I really appreciate your help and looking for your advice, as I am not very familiar with the relevenat admission requirements of admissions. Thank you very much in advance.

[orst11]

With a prior degree in law it is fairly easy to switch to poli sci. UCL and LSE are two of the top programs in Europe and most top academics in the US weigh these on par to schools you are thinking about in the top 20 here in the US. I am a little confused by your question, are you wanting to know whether to do the M Phil in the UK or strictly enroll in a PhD in poli. sci, or are you asking if doing one of these programs will improve your chances at a top 20 program here in the US? Also, have you taken the GRE? Are you looking to work in Europe or the US after studying? There are a lot of questions to consider.

[athinaios1987]

Thank you very much for your reply. Probably I was not clear enough. My question is whether you think that after doing my M. Phil in Oxford I could be directly admitted to a top-20 US school for a Phd in US without having a master degree in political science. Because my background is in law, I don't know how easy is to be accepted in the US for a Phd without having a pol.sci degree. As for the GRE, I plan to give it next year as I am thinking of applying for 2013-2014. Regarding my plans, I seek for an academic career preferably in the US.

[Penelope Higgins]

You don't need a masters in political science to apply for a PhD in the US. You'll spend your first 2 years or so doing coursework and preparing for exams before you proceed to the dissertation stage. This is very different from the British system, where a PhD is just the dissertation-writing stage.