Post-graduate Planning

[experiencevsinformation]

Hi everyone,

I am a recent graduate and I am planning on applying to graduate school this fall in PoliSci/IR programs and possibly a few Middle Eastern studies MAs. Currently I'm on a one-year language study program.

However, I am facing a few serious problems that have been keeping me up, wondering if this is the right decision. First of all, my undergraduate education has been "unfocused" to say the least. I started off in engineering for two years, then I switched to my major to languages, taking only a few political science classes mixed in. I have only one serious internship, and other than that I worked as a reader/grader for a beginning level language class. My writing sample is not going to be as strong as I had hoped. I was planning on improving it this summer, but work and other obligations left it nearly impossible to pull it off.

I am now wondering if applying to a PhD program right now is really the smartest decision, and whether or not I would even get into a good program.

I am considering my options:

1. Apply straight to a PhD program.

2. Apply to a master's program.

3. Scrape for odd jobs / internships / office work that is at least somewhat related to the fiel I'm interested in, then use that time to build my resume and apply to grad schools.

All of my professors recommend that I go straight to a PhD program, and it is the only option that (assuming I get some funding) wouldn't leave me loaded with debt. All of my professors recommended to not even apply to a master's unless I'm sure I don't want to do a PhD. They said that a master's is only useful if I want to go straight to working in policy, and if I want to do a PhD afterwards, it only means a loss of time and money. And they all said that working right away might leave me stuck outside of academia.

However, I having some second thoughts about applying to PhD programs. As I said, my resume is somewhat unimpressive compared to the new candidates in the programs I am looking at. And I am also worried about my prospects after grad school; I know that experience and connections (unfortunately) count for a lot when it comes to think tanks and policy work, and I am wondering if doing a master's and getting some work experience before going to a PhD program won't be such a bad idea.

Finally, I am starting to feel a little burnout. I know this sounds terrible, but since I'm on an anonymous forum I feel a little more confortable saying this. The idea of going to an office, working set hours, and not bringing work back home with me sounds good right now. I'm a little tired of constant long-term projects hanging over my head. A structured, compartmentalized work environment actually sounds comforting right now. I realize this is the exact opposite of the grad school experience, which is worrying. However, the thing is that I have another year in this language program abroad, and it could be the refresher I needed, and planning on taking another year as a gap year could end up being wasted time.

I know this is a lot to consider (graduate path to think tank work combined with burnout) and I would really appreciate any and all advice.

Thank you

[Max Power]

If you are feeling burnt out, take some time. When I left college, I needed to be out of school. It took me 6 years to decide I wanted to be back in a PhD program. Taking time gave me clarity and made me a stronger applicant and student than I would have been without it.

As far as what you should do if you decide to apply, I'd recommend taking a shot at PhD programs. Relative to the cost doing an unfunded MA, applying to 10 PhD programs is cheap and the value of getting into a funded program is large.

[Zahar Berkut]

If you feel burnt out, do NOT apply to a PhD program right now. Take some time, and use some of that time to dig deeper into the political science literature and research faculty/programs to get a better feel for what you'd be doing as a grad student and scholar.

I actually did a 1-year master's program in area studies, and I'm currently deciding when to apply to a PhD program. This is actually not a bad option, because area studies programs occasionally offer FULL tuition AND stipend through the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) scholarship. Any of the schools listed on this website for the current award period ought to be able to offer them, though you'll need to search each program's website individually. Most programs are two years and may not provide funding for both of them, but if you can find a 1 year program like I did for my region it will help defer costs, and regardless, half the costs at a public institution might make the program more affordable. Area studies programs can potentially lead a student either to academia or the professional world, depending on interests, and many students in these programs are there to boost their credentials for a PhD program that requires language training. In political science, it may or may not be helpful-- you'll need to see which polisci faculty you can work with at the school.

There's also U Chicago's CIR/MAPSS programs and Columbia's MA in quantitative social science. U Chicago does provide merit scholarships for tuition, though it is expensive. Columbia doesn't offer much from what I recall, but it is an excellent program. You might want to take some time off, apply to PhD programs if you're still interested, and if you don't get the admissions you want try again with a focused MA program to boost your credentials after you've earned some money.

[TakeruK]

I don't see why you can't do all three things at once. That is, why not apply to both PhD and MA programs this season and see what happens. I'm not sure when your current 1-year program ends, but what's stopping you from looking for work right after the program ends (unless you've just started the program so it will end by the time you start grad school). Otherwise, you can be working a job while you apply for graduate programs and wait for results.

This way, you don't really have to make a decision until next spring. It keeps all your options open. If you are working by then and really like your job, then you can decline any offers you may get. Or maybe a few months working could get you itching to go back to school again. Or maybe you might change your mind in the 6-8 months from now until Spring and discover what you want to do.