George Washington University?

[Jahiliyya]

I am considering applying for PhD programs in Political Science/Government either in this admissions cycle or the next. Any of the top programs will be highly competitive, with uncertain application outcomes. Therefore, I am taking a fairly expansive view, and attempting to consider as many programs as possible for comparative politics of the Middle East.

That said, does anyone have impressions of Political Science at George Washington University? There are several faculty members there whose work I admire tremendously and who I would love the opportunity to work with. However, it rarely seems to come up on my radar as a prominent and well-respected institution, since I get the impression that it tends to rely upon its location in Washington DC.

[alphazeta]

GW underperforms the quality of its faculty substantially for several reasons. Number one is money; they do a terrible job at funding graduate students and thus have trouble attracting good ones. Number two is a powerful orientation towards policy as opposed to theory. Number three is a certain path dependence - because GW hasn't produced many students who are successful on the job market, it's not very highly regarded, which has a negative impact on students from there. Its a fantastic school if you have an employer paying for a PhD and plan to work in policy, but students hoping for a more traditional experience followed by a TT job have trouble.

[Jahiliyya]

GW underperforms the quality of its faculty substantially for several reasons. Number one is money; they do a terrible job at funding graduate students and thus have trouble attracting good ones. Number two is a powerful orientation towards policy as opposed to theory. Number three is a certain path dependence - because GW hasn't produced many students who are successful on the job market, it's not very highly regarded, which has a negative impact on students from there. Its a fantastic school if you have an employer paying for a PhD and plan to work in policy, but students hoping for a more traditional experience followed by a TT job have trouble.

That's disappointing to hear. Their website makes it clear that funding is competitive, though I wonder if that means that being a relatively highly qualified candidate makes it easier to obtain (if, as you said, the best candidates shy away). The advice I've always heard has been to choose graduate schools based on faculty, not rank. So in that way, GWU would be preferable for me over say, Princeton. But my aim has never really been to shoot for the TT job market, instead, my interests are much more so in policy, with the PhD a fairly essential credential for advancement. I suppose it can't hurt to put in an application and see where the chips fall.

Thanks!