Applying from a Different Field, Need Some Guidance

[news2yous]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in applying for a Political Science/IR/Government PhD this fall, but I'm coming from a different background so I need to make sure that my focus and research interests are correctly stated, and that opting out of a Master's program is really the best decision for me to make here. I would really appreciate some guidance and advice.

I'm interested in researching the relationship between IR (especially US foreign policy and the UN) and the local mass opinion in Middle Eastern and African countries, and how the interaction of the two affects the local governments' domestic and foreign policies (especially in terms of human rights, democratization, rule of law, etc.) I want to emphasize the need for area specialization and the use of Arabic and other original source materials and field work in my research. I feel that the use of Arabic language sources and field experience is lacking especially now that people think they can just read translations or English versions of different articles and think they're getting the whole picture, which is not true based on my experience. In the long run, I hope that my work can help bring a greater understanding of the effects that international actors have on local mass opinion and domestic policies, and thus better inform policymaking and decisions, which I feel have been shortsighted and focused on the elites and opinion leaders rather than the "street"-level. Of course, my opinions may and probably will evolve and develop as I actually carry out my research.

I'm not sure about my first step after undergrad since I do not have much of a background in political science. As it stands now, I am a graduating senior in Arabic studies, and with a background (~2 years) in computer science (major change.) I did take four IR courses (Human Rights, Migration, American Foreign Policy, and Public Opinion and IR) during a university-sponsored study abroad, and even though they were excellent courses, I'm not sure how they will be viewed since I didn't take them during a study-abroad. Next quarter and *possibly* in the summer I will try to enroll in as many relevant polisci courses as I can, along with stats and microeconomics, but this may not happen depending on how the wave of enrollments goes (polisci and other majors get first pick.)

Now I can get a good letter of rec from at least one polisci professor, but the rest will be from Arabic and NELC majors. As far as my writing sample, I am currently working on a paper on the differences in Arabic and English-language media coverage of the Arab Spring, which definitely has implications for polisci and IR research, but I'm not sure if it's what polisci departments will want or expect for my sample. It will obviously be mostly qualitative analysis.

As for softs/experience, I am currently a reader/grader for the beginning Arabic class, I did a legal internship in Cairo last summer, and for next year, I am waiting to hear back for my Fulbright results (so far I've been recommended *fingers crossed*) but if I don't do that, I will probably dedicate the time to language study and some self-study. Either way, I'm planning to apply this fall and won't have much else to put on my application.

I would appreciate the advice of people who know this field better:

1. Based on my research interests, would you say that they are more related to IR or to comparative politics? I assume IR, but some people say that I need to check and make sure it's not actually more of a comparative politics issue since many people make that mistake.

2. Assuming I can't enroll in any more polisci or stats or econ courses, do you think I have a sufficient background to directly apply for a polisci program? I have heard varied responses on the importance of previous polisci coursework. As for my quantative skills, I do have a lot of math and science courses from my time as a computer science major, and I am fairly confident in my ability to get a high GRE score, but I saw that some programs *require* a course in stats and microeconomics. Would it matter if I took those courses at a community college after I graduate? Would polisci departments care where I took them as long as I get an A?

3. Should I even apply directly to a PhD program, or should I do something else for a while (Master's, internships, odd-jobs) and then apply? I have been told by several admissions departments that MAs don't really make a difference and that they take students from all different majors, backgrounds, and levels of experience, so I'm not sure how much it will help. If I do get a Master's, though, I would hope that writing a good thesis and getting something published/presented would at least get me a good writing sample and maybe run across some potential advisors at talks/events. My main apprehension about getting a Master's in funding, which is virtually nonexistent, and the programs I'm interested in are very expensive.

4. Some people have told me that based on my interests, I would be better off with a MPP/MPA. However, I want to be able to do serious research and fieldwork in the MENA region, and I want to include qualitative research into political climates and attitudes, and it seems to me that a lot of public policy programs don't look much at that. Do you think that I would be better off just getting a master's in polisci/MPP/area studies, or does it sound like a PhD is what I need? Should I get a PhD in area studies or policy, or am I correct in pursuing a PhD in polisci/IR?

I know that this is an extremely long post; any piece of advice or guidance would be extremely appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

Edited February 12, 2012 by news2yous

[shavasana]

Hey!

Your research actually sounds rather similar to mine, actually. I focus on Middle Eastern media and its coverage of transnational security issues and what implications that has for state decision making and regional balance of power.

But that's another thing. I honestly don't see why you couldn't apply to a PhD program. They take people from all types of backgrounds, but you have to put your application together right (which I'm sure you'll do wonderfully at!).

Send me a PM and I'd be happy to talk about my SOP and MY application's shortcomings in the process.

All the best!

[Max Power]

As a bit of an outsider to the field myself with entirely different research interests than you (American politics, especially elections), I can mostly speak to points 2 and 3.

I was an undergrad comp sci major. I think I took 3 or 4 courses in poli sci during that time, exactly none of which are particularly applicable to my current research interests. I came by my interests by way of my post graduation jobs in political consulting and campaign management. For me, getting a masters degree was enormously important because I needed to refine my questions from things that were professionally interesting to me (how to win campaigns) to things that were considered relevant academic questions.

Ultimately what is going to matter when applying is your ability to ask questions that are of interest to the field. Your interests sound fine to me, but you should seek out the opinion of people more knowledgeable than myself about if you need to focus them more or not.

As far as quant preparation, you are more than fine. I never took a stats class as an undergrad, but the math I took (multivariable calculus, linear algebra, discreet math, set theory) put me pretty far ahead of most of my cohort in my masters program, as well as most of of the first year phd students in the poli sci department. I took the multivariate regression class from the methods sequence with a bunch of 1st and 2nd year phd students and everything that was developed and proved was done using multivariable calculus and linear algebra. If you've taken those and more, stats are relatively simple by comparison

[adaptations]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in applying for a Political Science/IR/Government PhD this fall, but I'm coming from a different background so I need to make sure that my focus and research interests are correctly stated, and that opting out of a Master's program is really the best decision for me to make here. I would really appreciate some guidance and advice.

news2yous: I'll try my best to share some thoughts/guidance in response to your inquiries. First, given your background, I don't see any major red flags that would undermine your ability to apply to PhD programs in the next cycle. That said, I think one of the most important things to consider is why you want to earn your PhD. You've made it clear that you are focused on research, but are you hoping to continue in an academic career or work outside of academia? If you want to be an academic, then the PhD is a logical step in that direction. If you are more interested in policy or other non-academic work, then I would seriously consider other paths to develop your research skills and research opportunities. In my opinion, the PhD is rarely a worthwhile investment if you are not planning an academic career. There are very strong masters programs, ranging from those that focus on IR to the MPP programs which can develop your skills in a much more efficient manner.

Now, on to some of your specific questions. I wouldn't worry too much about which subfield, IR or comparative, your research fits into. Much of the research being done in IR draws on comparative approaches and many comparative studies have IR implications. You will likely draw from both subfields and work with faculty in both, so I would probably frame your research as such.

As for whether your courses have prepared you for a PhD program, so long as you can convincingly write a statement of purpose that expresses enough knowledge of the field and your research interests, having a limited number of official poli sci courses should not be a significant limitation. Taking additional courses in econ. will be viewed positively, but at most schools is not a requirement. Given your strong quantitative background the committee should recognize your ability to pick up an array of quantitative methods to supplement your focus on qualitative work (hopefully you can also support this with a strong GRE score).

I partially addressed you question of whether to apply directly to a PhD or not, but here are some additional thoughts. I know there is significant disagreement about the pros and cons of entering a PhD straight out of undergrad. I believe you are well served by gaining experiences outside of school which will help you develop professional skills that you can apply in a PhD program and will give you the opportunity to try out other things, which can help you decide if the PhD is right for you. That said, plenty of people successfully enroll directly in PhD programs and do very well. The key is knowing it is what you really want to do!

Regarding the value of earning a Masters, it can certainly be helpful for developing your research ideas and skills. Depending on where you earn your masters, it can provide you the opportunity to work with respected faculty, get letters of rec from leaders in the field, and build a stronger application. This is particularly true if your undergraduate institution was not top tier, or if you have some blemishes on your undergrad record that you would like to improve upon.

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. There are a lot of different ways to succeed in applying to PhD programs and to succeed once you're enrolled, so you just have to figure out what path is right for you. Good luck.

~ Adapt

[Megan]

While I can't provide too much insight, I will say that I was an undergraduate anthropology major. I had had some political science, and I had done a ton of independent research, but I do not believe that I did a very good job selling my skills, and my understanding of how political science as a discipline worked. I believe this was one (of several) reasons I did not get into a PhD program the first time around. For me, doing a masters was hugely beneficial. It turns out I probably DIDN'T understand how political science works as well as I thought coming out of undergrad, and both in terms of methods and theory, being in an MA has advanced my skills and knowledge substantially. I have one acceptance already this season, so I'll go ahead and say that I think this was a good move on my part. I certainly feel more confident going into my PhD program. All of that to say, I think one major question is to ask yourself whether you really have a good understanding of political science as a discipline, which you probably do more than I did. After that, make one hundred percent sure that you sell that in your SoP. That was one of the major things my graduate school adviser (who has served on adcoms at top schools in the part) told me this time around: "You weren't an undergrad polisci major, so if I'm on an adcom, I am looking for evidence in your SoP that you understand what it means to do research in political science". Hope that's helpful to you. It was to me for sure.

[news2yous]

First off - thank you all for your replies! I'm pretty nervous going in, so any advice or information really helps!

adblanche - thanks for your response! I sent you a PM. It's good to see a young scholar in the field!

jsclar - WOW you have almost the same undergrad background as me! I also took multivariable calc, linear algebra, and discrete math (not to mention some advanced physics) - but I haven't taken any methods or stats either, so it's encouraging to know that I can take care of that in my first year.

adaptations - I would eventually like to work in policy analysis and especially advisory (in the far future) but none of the MA programs I looked at seemed like they really gave people the opportunity to do research with the type of depth that I would like. I want to spend at least a year in the field of the areas that I'm focusing on, if not several years, and I would like to drastically improve my language skills to the point of superior fluency in the formal dialect (i.e. I can give a four hour speech on a wide variety of specific topics in my research and in the informal dialect I can pass as a native speaker on the phone). I feel that the lack of area specialization has led to weak analysis in the field, and that is something I would like to address in my method of research. Sitting in the US while studying a country like Egypt which has a serious wealth gap, educational problems, and debatably high illiteracy doesn't sit well with me. My own experience abroad has shown that this is insufficient to understand the issues that the average citizen faces, and my research would focus on the "masses", who I feel were neglected in research, rather than the elites, many of whom actually speak a fair amount of English.

However, I have been told that there are multiple ways of doing this, and that getting an MA and then spending years in a field position for a think tank or some other organization will serve me better than a PhD. I have been debating this a little bit, and I have looked at some strong MA programs. If you or anyone else knows about the opportunities for field work after an MA program like Georgetown's MA in Arab Studies, NYU's MA in MES, Chicago's MA in MES, Michigan's AM in Modern MES, and GWU's MA in MES. I've also been debating a broader MA like JHU-SAIS's MA in IR with a MES concentration, Georgetown's MSFS (I think they look for mid-career students, though), or some other highly regarded PoliSci/IR MA. I was also debating using one of these programs as a stepping stone to the PhD, which would be nice except for the general lack of funding, except for a couple top candidates funding.

Megan - that's definitely an issue I'm exploring right now. I am looking at more journals and reading articles by potential advisors and seeing if I can confidently jump in or if I should explore other steps to take. Thank you for your advice - my SoP is definitely going to take a lot of work.

Thank you all for your replies! Please let me know if any other issues come to mind (I am debating the MA-first option), and if anyone else has some advice or insight please post!

Edited February 13, 2012 by news2yous

[balthasar]

I think Georgetown's Arab Studies funds a fair amount of people (unlike MSFS and security studies, to my knowledge) so that might be one of the better options.