Picking the best degree for me?

[backtoschool2014]

I am academically-minded and love to do research. I really value the concept of going to grad school. Now, I know a lot of you will tell me that one shouldn't go to grad school without a clear intention, and I hear you. That's exactly why I am trying to work through my ideas before I actually apply! 

To explain further, I'm going to use bullet points, because I think that's the simplest way to address my points: 

• I love, love, love doing research. I think I would be happy doing research for the rest of my life. I am still trying to decide if I want to be a professor, so the phd vs. masters debate is still salient and not resolved. My dream job is to work in a think tank, I think, but I don't hear of a lot of those that address the topics I'm really into! 
• I know that I am most passionate about human behavior- namely, how people think, and how it drives their actions. My biggest interests within that realm are applications in cultural studies (e.g. cross cultural differences) and applications in consumer behavior. I know these topics can be approached from a lot of different angles, but can't figure out the right one for me. I've considered psychology vs. sociology vs. anthropology vs. a phd in marketing. Nothing has really clicked for me, and I'm just really not sure how to go about it. I've read through program curriculum sites, looked at professors' interests, looked at job placements. I'm just not really figuring it out. 

So what I'm curious is: were any of you equally unsure about what you wanted to study, when you started out the process? How did you narrow it down? Again,  know some of you will tell me this is a backwards approach, and I respect your opinion, but respectfully disagree for my personal scenario. I believe a graduate degree would provide me with a stronger path toward a research-focused future. It's just that without a 100% concrete vision of what that future should look like... I don't know what path to take! 

 

Thanks in advance! 

 

[hesadork]

At what stage in your educational career are you?  If you're still in the first or second year of UG you may find that you figure it out just by taking more classes.

 

One route might be to do a research master's - e.g., the one-year MA in Social Sciences at U of Chicago (MAPSS), the two-year MS in Applied Social Research at CUNY-Hunter, etc.  These kinds of programs would greatly sharpen the arrows in your research quiver and may give you the time/perspective to figure out 1) if you want a PhD; and 2) if you do want a PhD, which discipline will suit you best.

 

Of course, if you do decide you'd like to enter the professoriate I'd also strongly encourage you to think about employability.  Of the fields you've mentioned a doctorate in marketing would make you more employable than a doctorate in the other fields, for example.

 

Hope that helps!

[jmu]

Have you looked at the research being done in various disciplines along the lines that you want? You have really broad interests and you need to do some serious reading about what's already been done.

 

With my background (in anthropology and geography) when I hear people say things like "how people think" my first question is "which 'people'?" When I hear "how it drives their actions" I think, "which actions, in what context, in what locations?"

 

If you want to go to graduate school, these are the sort of things you need to think about. I don't think you really need to pick a discipline for the sake of picking one but instead figure it out based on whose work you like the most or go to a program that is really open about the courses you take.

 

Not caring too much about disciplinary boundaries is actually one of the reasons I've chosen my program. My first semester I will be taking an interdisciplinary social science theory course, a sociology course, and a GIS course and all will count toward fulfilling my requirements and all will further my research.

[nugget]

You mentioned that you've looked at psychology programs. Have you specifically looked into Social Psych programs? This could be one avenue to explore if you haven't already done so.

[Angua]

To echo jenste, check out social psych research.  I would also add organizational behavior to your list.  As many social psych programs turn more towards neuro/bio-social psych, lot of social psychologists are moving to business schools in OB or "Management" programs, which allows you to mix social psychology with bits of marketing, etc.

 

The best advice, though, is probably what jmu suggested: read, read, read.  Find articles that interest you, and then find out who wrote them and what kind of program they are in.  Read professor pages and program pages.  Talk to professors you know, or email professsors whose work you find interesting, and ask them what they would recommend to you to read.  Good luck!

[sarab]

Have you considered psychological anthropology or even medical anthropology? I would recommend looking at different programs focusing on these areas and then look at the research being done there.

 

Also, since you aren't 100% sure on what you want to do, I recommend getting a master's degree first. A PhD is a really long-term commitment, and you probably don't want to commit 6-8 years of your life to something when you have so many options. A master's will also help you confirm if the field you chose to get your master's on is what you really want to continue doing.

[zapster]

Read Read Read (and it can be speed reading - you do not need to get into the details of every paper) a lot of published papers in all of the fields you have mentioned (and then some), pick the papers you like the best - the ones you think - I wish I had written those - check out the profiles of the author of these papers - specifically their PhD education, rather than their current affiliation - see if a common pattern emerges across the authors whose work you are most interested in.