Political Science Ph.D. Programs

[Traveler90]

Hi all, I'm currently taking a general economics course. However, I'm not doing as well as I would like (I could still pass-fail the course, though then I wouldn't have an actual grade to show for it) and am wondering if political science Ph.D. programs (specifically, comparative politics programs) generally require (or would like for) their applicants to have taken introductory economics? Thank you for your help!

[saltlakecity2012]

Hi Traveler,

Intro economics courses can't hurt you, but I got into several comparative poli sci phd programs with a B in my introductory econ course. I was able to make up for it by good grades in some advanced math courses and a high score on the GRE quant, though. If you struggle with quantitative analysis and that's why your econ class is challenging you, that's something you definitely want to work on, or you'll want to apply to departments that have more qualitative than quantitative or formal comparative groups. I doubt pass/failing the class would hurt you - it also depends on what year you're in as an undergraduate.

[Traveler90]

Thanks for your response! It's certainly not the quantitative aspect of econ that is giving me trouble, but more so the grading style of my professor. My GPA is good (3.9+). The problem, however, is that I don't want this econ class to negatively affect my GPA. I'd like to pass-fail the class (I'll surely "pass"), but I don't know if not having a definite grade (especially a B or better) would hurt me in regards to admissions to comparative politics Ph.D. programs (I'm a senior, BTW, and I'm applying to grad school this fall). Also, I can likely get at least a B in the class, but I really don't want that on my transcript. The only other quantitative-like classes that I've taken are finite mathematics (I got an A) and political analysis (I got a B+). Do you have any insight?

Edited February 7, 2012 by Traveler90