Faculty perspectives

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

I had a Harvard faculty member tell me "At Harvard, Fulbright's useless"; he meant that they do not make special considerations for Fulbright nominees who are applying for their PhD program.

 

On the other hand, there are other programs who do notice when applicants already have a scholarship like Fulbright "in the bag". Sometimes, Fulbright placement officers have contacts in these universities through which they can help your application stand out --or at least that's what they told me.

 

I can see that. Fulbright is probably at its best (for academics) when it's used to gather data for publishable research.

[saudiwin]

Is there a potential ethical issue with faculty using this forum? Supposing that an admissions member learns that a forum member much prefers two or three other schools and so chooses to not admit them. Or, more nefariously, a faculty member with some admissions input learns some information from this forum that he/she believes is adverse to the application process.

 

I feel like there should be some agreed-upon norms so that potential students don't feel like they'll get caught in any of these (probably very unlikely) scenarios. While I'm sure that there are admissions committees that google applicants, it appears to go a bit too far if information from a supposedly anonymous forum was traced back to individual applicants.

 

Any thoughts.

[BFB]

Is there a potential ethical issue with faculty using this forum? Supposing that an admissions member learns that a forum member much prefers two or three other schools and so chooses to not admit them. Or, more nefariously, a faculty member with some admissions input learns some information from this forum that he/she believes is adverse to the application process.

 

I feel like there should be some agreed-upon norms so that potential students don't feel like they'll get caught in any of these (probably very unlikely) scenarios. While I'm sure that there are admissions committees that google applicants, it appears to go a bit too far if information from a supposedly anonymous forum was traced back to individual applicants.

 

Any thoughts.

 

I have a few thoughts. 

 

The first is that these scenarios aren't that alarming to me, in part because they strike me as rare, but also in part because I don't see how much harm is done. If you prefer two or three other schools, why does it matter to you that you get into a fourth that you don't care about? Wouldn't you rather that funding go to someone who does want to go to school #4? I also have a hard time imagining what information I might glean here that would be adverse to an applicant's case. Maybe there are photos of applicants swinging naked from chandeliers somewhere in the vast depths of these forums, but if so I haven't found them. Even if I did, I'm after the best students we can get, period. If they also happen to be naked-chandelier-swingers, I don't really care.

 

That leads to my next point: I started posting here, in part, because I thought lurking was a bit underhanded, and not the right way to begin a long-term relationship with future colleagues. The fact that people know, unambiguously, that I'm here means that they can reveal whatever information they want to reveal. I've tried to make the case that openness generally benefits everyone involved, so I'd hope the end result would be more openness, if anything... but who knows. Short answer to the question, though: I don't see how I can unfairly or unethically gain access to information here, or use it to your disadvantage, if you know that I'm here.

 

That, in turn, raises the question of whether lurking is unethical. And here, I have to remind you that you're posting in an open forum. You choose anonymity (or not), you choose what to reveal (or not), with full knowledge that the entire world can read whatever you write. I don't agree with colleagues who read what's written here and choose not to reveal themselves... but I can't call their behavior unethical, either. By the same token, while I don't go snooping around people's Twitter feeds to see whether they've posted anything salacious or incriminating, I don't have much sympathy when they're called on to explain something that they posted for the entire world to see (see, e.g., the recent Steubenville trial).

 

I confess, I do have a significant interest in tracing information back to individual applicants. And yes, I've succeeded in doing so in a few cases in this forum this year. I'd also point out, though, that applicants have a significant interest in giving me information—far more so than most realize. You're concerned about something that you write coming back to haunt you because you think you're playing a strategic game against your schools' DGSes. That's generally not true. It's much more likely that you (collectively) and I are involved in a game against the Graduate School, in which our joint goal is to extract as much money as possible from them and get it into the hands of our admits: more money for you, and less money coming out of our Department budget. That's a game that I hope to be very, very good at, this year and in the future, and the more help I get from you, the more effectively I'm able to do it.

[bright on time]

I have read elsewhere about the etiquette for asking for more money, but I am interested to hear what our professors in residence have to say. I am in the position of having two schools that have raised their initial funding offers, and would like to communicate this update to my third school in a way that encourages them to do the same. How specific should I be with figures, and should I worry about coming across as only concerned about the funding (I'm obviously not)?

[jeudepaume]

Dear faculty,

 

Would you mind commenting on the interaction with a department once being waitlisted? I am waitlisted by my top-choice, and accepted by my back-up school. I would like to contact the top one, and ask for some information about the structure of the list (divided by areas or not; different for visa students or not) and my chances of getting off it  (in ideal, my position on it). But I am not sure whether this is a common practice (whether it is appropriate to ask), and whether I should honestly tell them about the nature of my interest (another acceptance). I am afraid that another offer might be interpreted as "this person is all set, let's bother about someone who is not". 

[saudiwin]

Thanks, BFB, a very interesting response.

[GeneralDollar]

BFB,

 

I was wondering what advice you could give to someone in the middle of a Masters program who is unsure about their capacity to succeed in attaining a doctorate. I realize that this is a very personal question and one I will have to make a decision about shortly, but there are some variables of interest.

 

My goal is to become a professor. I'm not particularly concerned with research (but I am also an unfunded masters student at a flagship state U who did the bare minimum amount of coursework until the last two years of undergrad so my experience in conducting research is nonexistent). I've been doing well in classes and have been told by all of my professors that I'm a good writer. I enjoy synthesizing relevant literature and critiquing articles.

 

At any rate, I have an excellent GRE score under my belt and have been doing well in my current program. I feel I could do even better with proper tutelage (but don't want to be a leech). Since my goal is to teach and I'm amenable to living most places, I could transition into the Ph.D. program where I'm at. The DGS has been dangling funded entry into the program over my head and I feel I've done my part to earn it, but poli sci teaching jobs are few and far between and the school I'm at places mostly at community colleges. I don't care too much about job placement but that issue when combined with their lack of concern or interest in helping the students they have succeed isn't enough to hang my hat on. I'm not getting much help here and would like to attend at a school where faculty and students working together is common, as I can't develop the skills to become a political scientist on my own. At the same time, schools where faculty and students work together tend to be the best in the country and I don't believe myself to be competitive for entry into them. Additionally, those schools may be doing something to recruit students who are ready to work with faculty on day one. It is hard to believe there is so much disparity between the education I've had thus far and those of the young people entering these programs-- So I'm leaning toward believing the difference is in the culture of particular institutions.

 

Since I wasn't able to compete with the best students that entered at the same time I did an was unsure about committing to seeking a Ph.D. outright, am I doomed to be left out if i don't develop the skills for stellar research on my own? It has just been a year, so I realize I'm in the same place as a lot of students. I worry about it quite a bit more because the commitment isn't mutual. If I'm not doing work, I'm worrying that I've made a mistake and will be left behind. Some sort of funding might go a long way to ameliorate my worries, but I don't know.

 

I'm not sure what my question is, but I hope you'll have something to say that will help me direct my next move.

 

Thanks.

[BFB]

Sorry for delays. It's been insanely busy, and at some point I got logged out and had an embarrassing amount of trouble figuring out how to log back in.

 

I have read elsewhere about the etiquette for asking for more money, but I am interested to hear what our professors in residence have to say. I am in the position of having two schools that have raised their initial funding offers, and would like to communicate this update to my third school in a way that encourages them to do the same. How specific should I be with figures, and should I worry about coming across as only concerned about the funding (I'm obviously not)?

 

You shouldn't at all be concerned about conveying that information to other schools. Just let them know that your decision depends on a lot of different things, so funding isn't make-or-break, but at the same time, the increased bids are nontrivial and you'd like to know what, if anything, they can/will do to counter. Numbers up front shouldn't hurt, and some of us are reluctant to ask bc. we figure it's private.

 

Dear faculty,

 

Would you mind commenting on the interaction with a department once being waitlisted? I am waitlisted by my top-choice, and accepted by my back-up school. I would like to contact the top one, and ask for some information about the structure of the list (divided by areas or not; different for visa students or not) and my chances of getting off it  (in ideal, my position on it). But I am not sure whether this is a common practice (whether it is appropriate to ask), and whether I should honestly tell them about the nature of my interest (another acceptance). I am afraid that another offer might be interpreted as "this person is all set, let's bother about someone who is not". 

 

Common and appropriate to ask are two different things.   It's somewhat common; it is definitely appropriate.

 

Not many schools would say, "You're taken care of, we don't need to fund you." Some might think that there's no way they'll get you so they shouldn't even try; I think that's a great way to end up with a bad program, myself, but opinions differ. It's more likely that they'd be spurred to compete, or at least to move you higher on the list. Hard to say. But I doubt filling them in would be a bad idea.

 

BFB,

 

I was wondering what advice you could give to someone in the middle of a Masters program who is unsure about their capacity to succeed in attaining a doctorate. I realize that this is a very personal question and one I will have to make a decision about shortly, but there are some variables of interest.

 

My goal is to become a professor. I'm not particularly concerned with research (but I am also an unfunded masters student at a flagship state U who did the bare minimum amount of coursework until the last two years of undergrad so my experience in conducting research is nonexistent). I've been doing well in classes and have been told by all of my professors that I'm a good writer. I enjoy synthesizing relevant literature and critiquing articles.

 

At any rate, I have an excellent GRE score under my belt and have been doing well in my current program. I feel I could do even better with proper tutelage (but don't want to be a leech). Since my goal is to teach and I'm amenable to living most places, I could transition into the Ph.D. program where I'm at. The DGS has been dangling funded entry into the program over my head and I feel I've done my part to earn it, but poli sci teaching jobs are few and far between and the school I'm at places mostly at community colleges. I don't care too much about job placement but that issue when combined with their lack of concern or interest in helping the students they have succeed isn't enough to hang my hat on. I'm not getting much help here and would like to attend at a school where faculty and students working together is common, as I can't develop the skills to become a political scientist on my own. At the same time, schools where faculty and students work together tend to be the best in the country and I don't believe myself to be competitive for entry into them. Additionally, those schools may be doing something to recruit students who are ready to work with faculty on day one. It is hard to believe there is so much disparity between the education I've had thus far and those of the young people entering these programs-- So I'm leaning toward believing the difference is in the culture of particular institutions.

 

Since I wasn't able to compete with the best students that entered at the same time I did an was unsure about committing to seeking a Ph.D. outright, am I doomed to be left out if i don't develop the skills for stellar research on my own? It has just been a year, so I realize I'm in the same place as a lot of students. I worry about it quite a bit more because the commitment isn't mutual. If I'm not doing work, I'm worrying that I've made a mistake and will be left behind. Some sort of funding might go a long way to ameliorate my worries, but I don't know.

 

I'm not sure what my question is, but I hope you'll have something to say that will help me direct my next move.

 

Thanks.

 

That's a tough situation. The real question is whether or not you want to do research: you say you're not drawn to it, but you also don't have much of a sense of what it's really like. I'd say you need to figure that out, and fairly soon. If you can't get involved in a research project (...and doesn't your MA qualify??), at least talk with your advisors about the experience and what it involves. When you aim for a Ph.D., you should have firmly in mind whether you want to be trained primarily as a teacher or as a researcher: most institutions will assume the latter and are geared up for it, but if what you'd like to do is end up in a teaching college, look some of them up and figure out where the people who teach there came from.

[Mnemonics2]

Hi all,

 

A tiny bit of background. I'm into a fully funded program and I'm excited to be going in the fall. I've already got an MA (and a bit of other work experience), and my classes can essentially be completed (if I work very hard) in a year. Then, of course, I have to take months to prepare for and sit comps, maybe 6 months for preparing and defending my proposal, and 1-2 years for writing my actual dissertation.

 

My question, if I may, is this: how soon should we start trying to publish? I have some very limited academic publishing experience, but an awful lot of foreign policy work put out from time spent in think tanks. I'm starting to make some attempts to research and write academic papers, but I'd love to know more about what is the optimal thing to do as a PhD candidate. Will trying my hardest to get out a few publications in the next 3 years significantly help my job search (particularly if the topics are in a vein with my dissertation topic)?

[ThisGuyRiteHere]

Hi all,

 

A tiny bit of background. I'm into a fully funded program and I'm excited to be going in the fall. I've already got an MA (and a bit of other work experience), and my classes can essentially be completed (if I work very hard) in a year. Then, of course, I have to take months to prepare for and sit comps, maybe 6 months for preparing and defending my proposal, and 1-2 years for writing my actual dissertation.

 

My question, if I may, is this: how soon should we start trying to publish? I have some very limited academic publishing experience, but an awful lot of foreign policy work put out from time spent in think tanks. I'm starting to make some attempts to research and write academic papers, but I'd love to know more about what is the optimal thing to do as a PhD candidate. Will trying my hardest to get out a few publications in the next 3 years significantly help my job search (particularly if the topics are in a vein with my dissertation topic)?

My DGS told me that once you have taken the appropriate methods courses, that we should try and publish at mid-tier and above journals. The papers we write in class, especially the final ones, should be of publishable quality. Then the dissertation should be publishable also.

[phdhope2013]

Dear Wise Faculty,

I learned the hard way that "fit" is important, but does this apply when you are on the job market? If so, does this mean I am in serious trouble? 

 

P.S.
 

I am the one with the "LSE/Oxford or try again" dilemma. 

Edited April 16, 2013 by phdhope2013

[GeneralDollar]

That's a tough situation. The real question is whether or not you want to do research: you say you're not drawn to it, but you also don't have much of a sense of what it's really like. I'd say you need to figure that out, and fairly soon. If you can't get involved in a research project (...and doesn't your MA qualify??), at least talk with your advisors about the experience and what it involves. When you aim for a Ph.D., you should have firmly in mind whether you want to be trained primarily as a teacher or as a researcher: most institutions will assume the latter and are geared up for it, but if what you'd like to do is end up in a teaching college, look some of them up and figure out where the people who teach there came from.

 

I was getting a sense of what research is like in econometrics. At any rate, I'm dropping out of the program and looking for a job. I feel 1000x better. If I want a secondary teaching certificate a couple of years down the road, I can get one. Thanks a lot.

[BFB]

Hi all,

 

A tiny bit of background. I'm into a fully funded program and I'm excited to be going in the fall. I've already got an MA (and a bit of other work experience), and my classes can essentially be completed (if I work very hard) in a year. Then, of course, I have to take months to prepare for and sit comps, maybe 6 months for preparing and defending my proposal, and 1-2 years for writing my actual dissertation.

 

My question, if I may, is this: how soon should we start trying to publish? I have some very limited academic publishing experience, but an awful lot of foreign policy work put out from time spent in think tanks. I'm starting to make some attempts to research and write academic papers, but I'd love to know more about what is the optimal thing to do as a PhD candidate. Will trying my hardest to get out a few publications in the next 3 years significantly help my job search (particularly if the topics are in a vein with my dissertation topic)?

 

 

My DGS told me that once you have taken the appropriate methods courses, that we should try and publish at mid-tier and above journals. The papers we write in class, especially the final ones, should be of publishable quality. Then the dissertation should be publishable also.

 

Ideally, you want one publication at the best journal you can publish in, by the time you go on the market, and possibly some progress on another. I'm of the "don't push a few out just to get them out" school... I'd rather see the best you can do.

[BFB]

Dear Wise Faculty,

I learned the hard way that "fit" is important, but does this apply when you are on the job market? If so, does this mean I am in serious trouble? 

 

P.S.

 

I am the one with the "LSE/Oxford or try again" dilemma. 

 

Help me out... there have been a lot of pages here. Not sure what "trouble" you might mean?

[BFB]

I was getting a sense of what research is like in econometrics. At any rate, I'm dropping out of the program and looking for a job. I feel 1000x better. If I want a secondary teaching certificate a couple of years down the road, I can get one. Thanks a lot.

 

Well done. People are generally at least somewhat miserable in graduate school, but if it's not your thing, you're much better off figuring that out sooner rather than later. Good luck!!

[jazzrap]

Hi Professor,

 

Thanks a lot for spending your time with us! I have a technical yet quite important question: would you mind if an applicant does not include the list of references in his/her writing sample? Say I am doing in text citation and there is nothing after the conclusion. I am doing this to meet the word limit. I wonder whether that would hurt me.

[ThisGuyRiteHere]

I asked this in another thread, but:

How is the job market? Specifically, how to do you get an academic job (or how have you seen others do it)? What are these "job talks" and other things that students do? So lets imagine your defending your dissertation next may (2014), and you are hitting the job market. What would be a good timeline of things to do from now until you graduate next may?

[carlls]

Hi faculty,

 

Thanks for all the informative replies in this amazing thread! My question is, how do you value a letter of recommendation written by someone out of the academia (but within the policy circle, e.g. a think tank director)? 

 

This is a question to me because as someone applying from abroad, it seems that Letters written by faculty from non-US universities is less competitive and persuasive than their US counterparts. If so, perhaps a different strategy is worth trying? 

[BFB]

Hi Professor,

 

Thanks a lot for spending your time with us! I have a technical yet quite important question: would you mind if an applicant does not include the list of references in his/her writing sample? Say I am doing in text citation and there is nothing after the conclusion. I am doing this to meet the word limit. I wonder whether that would hurt me.

 

Couldn't care less, myself.

 

I asked this in another thread, but:

How is the job market? Specifically, how to do you get an academic job (or how have you seen others do it)? What are these "job talks" and other things that students do? So lets imagine your defending your dissertation next may (2014), and you are hitting the job market. What would be a good timeline of things to do from now until you graduate next may?

 

If you're hitting the job market now, probably the best thing you can do is polish your job talk. Give it often, not just once or twice. Have it look really good, and be ready to give it in your sleep. Then, ideally, spend much of the fall jetting here and there to deliver it. Don't count on getting much work done on your dissertation until, oh, Christmas. At that point, job market drama will be over and you'll be able to focus.

 

There are other variables you can control, of course: quality of dissertation, publications, and so on. But you can't realistically do much at all to change those when you're weeks or days away from application deadlines.

 

Hi faculty,

 

Thanks for all the informative replies in this amazing thread! My question is, how do you value a letter of recommendation written by someone out of the academia (but within the policy circle, e.g. a think tank director)? 

 

This is a question to me because as someone applying from abroad, it seems that Letters written by faculty from non-US universities is less competitive and persuasive than their US counterparts. If so, perhaps a different strategy is worth trying? 

 

Speaking only for myself, the better I know the person and/or his/her work, the more I know how much to weight the letter. But if your out-of-academia recommender is someone I don't know who makes his/her qualifications clear and gives a thoughtful and detailed evaluation of your work, I'm all ears.

[kameldinho]

Question for the faculty member,

 

How bad is it if all my letters of recommendation come from academic economists? I have absolutely no background in political science (in terms of coursework) but I've read political science research extensively enough to write a SOP. I'm currently doing my MA in economics (in the US) and plan to apply to Poli Sci & Econ programs simultaneously. I could possibly get one from a Poli Sci professor who's office hours I frequent, but fortunately ever since she got tenure 5-6 years ago she hasn't had a single publication.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[TheGnome]

How are the writing samples unrelated to applicant's declared area of interest (different topic, different subfield, different methodology etc) evaluated by adcoms? If for example an applicant wants to do EITM style formal and empirical IPE, but the writing sample is a qualitative area studies paper, would that be a problem?

[healthyboy]

Hi all, many thanks for your invaluable input. 

 

My question is this: Is it preferable to have a fully fleshed out research project included in your statement, or a more general series of questions that you would like to focus on in the future? 

[jazzrap]

Couldn't care less, myself.

Hi Professor,

 

Thank you so much. Now I am relieved. I also would ask the same question floor 71 asks though.

[BFB]

Question for the faculty member,

 

How bad is it if all my letters of recommendation come from academic economists? I have absolutely no background in political science (in terms of coursework) but I've read political science research extensively enough to write a SOP. I'm currently doing my MA in economics (in the US) and plan to apply to Poli Sci & Econ programs simultaneously. I could possibly get one from a Poli Sci professor who's office hours I frequent, but fortunately ever since she got tenure 5-6 years ago she hasn't had a single publication.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

It's hard to weigh one vs. the other, really, but since you've got the option to get multiple letters, I don't see the harm in having the one political scientist in the mix. You want credible signals, which are best if they come from known quantities, and you want signals from people who know you well. Sounds like your political scientist scores high on both dimensions.

[cooperstreet]

GRE writing scores are useless, right?