Alleviate my confusion?

[IRpolisci]

So, I dont quite understand. Whats the difference between a PhD in poli sci with a subfield of IR, and a PhD in IR by itself? People are saying that the poli sci PhD is relatively easier to get admission into and also you dont need the  2-3 gap years that you might need in an IR PhD. Could someone clear this  up for me?

[cooperstreet]

So, I dont quite understand. Whats the difference between a PhD in poli sci with a subfield of IR, and a PhD in IR by itself? People are saying that the poli sci PhD is relatively easier to get admission into and also you dont need the  2-3 gap years that you might need in an IR PhD. Could someone clear this  up for me?

wut

[silver_lining]

There are very few schools in the US where IR is its own individual department and not a subfield of Political Science. Even if you were confusing US vs. European (it is more likely for IR to be its own department in Europe than in the U.S.) Ph.D programs, it is unclear as to why you would think that one would need a 2-3 year gap for any Ph.D programme. 

[IRpolisci]

Okay great, so at least my question #1 was answered, I might not have articulated my confusion as well as possible. Let me explain a bit. Now that I know when people refer to applying to IR Phd's they mean the IR subset of a Poli sci phd, great. Now to the second question.

 

I know that the 2-3 year gap period isn't required, but everyone on the IR forums say thats it's almost necessary for IR people because top PhD programs barely ever admit students straight out of undergrad. 

 

Being a student who hopes to go straight from undergrad to a PhD, you can see why this would be troubling. 

 

So, is it true? Will I need the gap to be a competitive applicant?

[silver_lining]

No, a gap year is not needed to be competitive. All that is needed for admission is a good GRE score, good letters of rec., a good SoP, a writing sample, and a bit of luck. 

*A good GPA as well. 

Edited December 1, 2013 by luckyducky

[IRpolisci]

But there's the thing going around GradCafe that has everyone saying that Gtown only admits 10% of its PhD students straight from undergrad? Is this only true for gtown? 

[silver_lining]

But there's the thing going around GradCafe that has everyone saying that Gtown only admits 10% of its PhD students straight from undergrad? Is this only true for gtown? 

You should probably email someone from Georgetown and ask them. I have no idea where you read that on gradcafe. I personally never heard of it. My advice to you is that you should focus on presenting a strong application and stop worrying about gap years. I have never heard of an admissions committee caring about gap years. 

[IRpolisci]

Don't adcoms want "relevant work experience" though? Im assuming thats why gtown (and reportedly every other school) admits few students straight out of undergrad?
Are you applying straight out of undergrad? Where are you applying? 

[Poli92]

The expectation of work experience will vary depending on the type of program. Different schools gear students towards different pursuits (professor vs. professional, teacher vs. researcher, etc.) and depending on the focus may want a particular type of experience. Georgetown, from what I've heard, gears a lot more toward careers in government or professional organizations, and may put more emphasis on relevant work experience beforehand. That being said, there are so many factors going into an application that just one factor (work experience in this case) will not likely be a deal breaker if there are other standout facets of your application. 

 

The question you may want to consider is whether you see yourself in a university setting as a professor or in more of a governmental/policy-making capacity. This will have a large impact on the types of programs you will want to apply to and you can then further investigate those programs' expectations. 

[IRpolisci]

My subfield is IR, so... What if I want to do purely theoretical work (not theory, just theoretical) and have all the academic debates, teaching at a university? Where should I generally be applying?

 

On the other end of the scale, what if I want to work at a think tank after my PhD? What schools am I applying to? And is work experience before my PhD now necessary?

[Poli92]

I would say for now you should just narrow down exactly what it is you want to do. In order to figure that out, do a little more research on what people do with their Ph.D.'s and try to find what sounds like something you can see yourself doing. Applying to doctoral programs shouldn't be taken lightly and you should have a clear idea of what you hope to get out of your degree before you start thinking of which programs can get you to that point. For starters, talk to your professors about what they do and see if they can network you with political scientists who are working in other capacities. 

[TheGnome]

IRpolisci, I think you (and by extension other people here as well) are confusing two very different types of programs. When you say "IR PhD" here in the political science forum, what people understand is the academic study of IR that is being done under political science departments. To gain admission to these programs, you absolutely do not need any work experience. A polisci PhD (whether your primary subfield is IR or something else) first and foremost prepares you for an academic career, and is aimed at producing scholars who will ideally secure tenure track jobs at other universities.

 

At the government affairs forum, what people understand from "IR" or "international affairs" is different. There, people are applying to policy oriented master's programs -and occasionally PhDs- that are catering to a different audience. Examples to these programs include Johns Hopkins SAIS MA/PhD, Georgetown's myriad SFS master's programs (NOT Georgetown PhD in Government), and Tufts-Fletcher MA/PhD. These programs typically place their students at think-tanks, non-profits, government jobs, various private sector jobs and only occasionally in academia. It is generally not advisable to get a PhD in one of these programs if your goal is to became an IR scholar in the former, more traditional, sense. Given their professional emphasis, these programs often highly recommend, if not require, their applicants to have relevant work experience at the time of their application. 

 

I hope this sheds some light on the confusion. Good luck!

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

I'm not sure where that three year gap number for Georgetown is coming from, even if it were SFS. In any case, yes there is a distinction between professional international affairs programs and academic IR programs. Especially in political science, it's very normal for students to go directly from undergrad to a Ph.D. program (though not a rule).

[IRpolisci]

IRpolisci, I think you (and by extension other people here as well) are confusing two very different types of programs. When you say "IR PhD" here in the political science forum, what people understand is the academic study of IR that is being done under political science departments. To gain admission to these programs, you absolutely do not need any work experience. A polisci PhD (whether your primary subfield is IR or something else) first and foremost prepares you for an academic career, and is aimed at producing scholars who will ideally secure tenure track jobs at other universities.

 

At the government affairs forum, what people understand from "IR" or "international affairs" is different. There, people are applying to policy oriented master's programs -and occasionally PhDs- that are catering to a different audience. Examples to these programs include Johns Hopkins SAIS MA/PhD, Georgetown's myriad SFS master's programs (NOT Georgetown PhD in Government), and Tufts-Fletcher MA/PhD. These programs typically place their students at think-tanks, non-profits, government jobs, various private sector jobs and only occasionally in academia. It is generally not advisable to get a PhD in one of these programs if your goal is to became an IR scholar in the former, more traditional, sense. Given their professional emphasis, these programs often highly recommend, if not require, their applicants to have relevant work experience at the time of their application. 

 

I hope this sheds some light on the confusion. Good luck!

Thank you so much, this definitely answers my questions! Apologies for the confusion I stirred up.