Political Science or Public Policy Phd for international development research?

[mwatkins]

I am looking to apply to Political Science or Public Policy Phd programs for Fall 2012. I'm want to do research in the field of international development.

I have thinking of apply to political science programs at UCLA, USC, and possibly Berkley. My backup school is probably going to be University of Colorado-Boulder. My specializations would most likely be in Comparative Politics, Political Economy, and International Relations.

I also am thinking of applying to Duke's Public Policy Phd program with specializations in political science and globalization & development. I have looked at NYU-Wagner, but it seems they strongly prefer applicants with Masters degrees.

My overall career goals would be to work on some sort of development projects (for UNDP, USAID, etc) after obtaining a Phd for a few years and then going back to teach and conduct research at a university.

I can't justify getting an MPA in international development due to the large of amount of debt I would incur. (I have no idea how people expecting to find jobs NGOs or large international organizations expect to pay off 100K+ of debt.) Also, as mentioned above, I really like having the option of teaching in the future. Additionally, I have considered studying development economics, but economics really isn't something I find nearly as interesting nor do I want to teach economics for the rest of my life.

So my questions are:

1) Can I conduct international development research as a political science major? If so, any recommendations on schools?

2) What are other good Public Policy programs with specializations in International Development (besides the usual Columbia SIPA and Johns Hopkins SAIS) ?

I greatly appreciate any advice/recommendations.

About me:

BS in Economics and International Affairs from Georgia Tech

GPA. 3.83; Major GPA 3.95

GRE: Verbal: 620-720; Quantitative: 750-800

Work Experience: 1 year as an analyst at a top aviation consulting firm

Publications and Research Experience:

I also got my undergraduate thesis on FDI and IPRs published (after being coauthored with a professor to clean up the language) in the Journal of Intellectual Property. I also conducted research on terrorism and unconventional weapons at a policy institute associated with my school for nine months.

Edited October 10, 2011 by mwatkins