Switching subfields/research topic from SOP

[Provincial Cosmopolitan]

Hey all,

 

So I am an accepted PhD student who should be starting in the fall. However, I have a question.

 

I was really torn between two topics and two subfields (both of which are political science) when I wrote my statement of purpose. I picked comparative politics and wrote up my research interests based on that. However, since then, a variety of things have caused me to think about changing to the other field, American politics. First, it seems like I might actually just be better at that. Also, I'm told that there are more jobs in the latter.

 

Given that I've not started anything, is it unlikely that my department would be unreceptive to me changing my subfield? Do people do that? My undergrad professors told me not to worry, that everyone changes their research interest, but I wonder if such a radical departure would be acceptable.

 

Any advice? Thanks in advance!

[fuzzylogician]

Many people change their concentration after applying to grad school. The SOP is rarely a binding document (in US grad schools, unlike some other places) and whatever project you may have described there is NOT something you will be expected to pursue. I wouldn't worry, except if you were admitted specifically to work with a certain advisor and this person doesn't work on the topics that you are currently interested in. In that case, you may need to find a new main advisor, and that may not be straightforward. At this point, however, worrying is premature. Wait until you've started the program and have a better sense of your interests; I promise, you won't be the only person who develops different interests than you came into the program with. (Honestly, I think that's both expected and encouraged in PhD programs - if you leave the program doing the exact same thing you came there with, what did you learn and how much growth did you achieve? at least you want to do more and better of the same, but some changes are perfectly fine.)

[Provincial Cosmopolitan]

I don't have any particular advisor. That was actually one of the reasons some other schools said they didn't accept me: I didn't have a specific POI, etc. My current school has admitted me and has assigned a first-year advisor, who should then help me pick my PhD advisor next year. Given that, it seems that I shouldn't worry about changing subfields, based on what you've said.

 

Thanks so much for relieving me of much worry!

[jeffster]

I'm coming from econ, not poli sci, but in my department almost everyone changes their sub-fields around as they progress.  It could be completely different in your department, but it's definitely not a given.