Question: Match with POA

[2010Applicant]

I am applying for PhD and my research interest is in politics of financial regulations (mainly US). There are certainly some professors exactly specializing in this area. And then there are two other kinds of professors I am targeting, but I wonder if they would accept my research interest as close enough to their area:

1) Professors specializing in the politics of regulations; but looking at what they have written, each of them have covered a number of industries (electricity, pharmaceutical, accounting, etc) but not financials (as in banks and capital markets).

2) Professors specializing in IPE. (mine is more domestic.)

3) Actually one additional point. If I want to do my research as a comparative study between US and Canada, but none of these professors have looked into Canada, would that be a show-stopper?

Should I apply to those political science departments where these professors are? Thanks.

[Ahmadou]

I am not sure but if you could frame your research as an extension of issues they have already tackled, that could indeed work.

[brent09]

Sure, apply wherever you think you'll fit. "Fitting" with a faculty member doesn't have to be perfect; they'll want to see that you're not just aiming to copy their scholarship anyway.