Questions for Visiting Weekends

[bassoonist]

For those planning to attend visiting weekends, let's start brainstorming some useful questions to ask:

 

I'll start:

1. How do grad students balance workload and classes?

2. What is the policy on taking classes outside of the political science department?

 

(I assume people will contribute their ideas)

 

What do you guys think?

[jazzrap]

For certain schools, I will definitely ask about courses outside the department. 

Edited February 2, 2014 by jazzrap

[IRToni]

3. What is your placement history?

4. Health insurance coverage

5. What are the funding options after 5 years?

6. Poi: do you regularly collaborate and copublish with your students?

[Zahar Berkut]

3. What is your placement history?

4. Health insurance coverage

5. What are the funding options after 5 years?

6. Poi: do you regularly collaborate and copublish with your students?

 

3a. Number per cohort with tenure track placement in US within two years

3b. Attrition rate per cohort (3bi: common reasons for attrition)

3c. Share of placement history by subfield

3d. Placement history for POI's advisees

3e. Typical career paths of those who either attrition early or take non-TT position

 

7. Rate and volume of graduate debt, if any (and reasons why, if present)

8. Teaching loads and schedule

 

A few programs participate in the Honest Graduate Numbers initiative, which is a great step in the right direction, but you still need to do some research and counting to figure out the precise trajectory per person of any cohort even for those schools. For schools that don't, I might even ask why they don't make more detailed placement information easily accessible.

[jeudepaume]

? Availability of funding for conferences and additional training (like ICPSR or the likes). Very important. 

[bassoonist]

Do recruiters for non-academic jobs (think tanks, private industry, and similar) come to campus?

[Orlien]

If you're quantitatively oriented, how extensive/theoretical is their methods training? Do quant people usually go to other departments (eg statistics) to receive their training, or do they stay within poli sci?

[TheGnome]

This is a great list cautious! Thanks for sharing.

 

After perusing cautious' brilliant list, I would also recommend everyone to The poster is not a polisci person, but many of the questions listed there are applicable to us as well

[cane14]

What type of events should be expected at the visitation weekends? 

[Orlien]

Thanks Cautious, these are great!

[jeudepaume]

 

I created a two page sheet with questions, and have incorporated some of those you guys have mentioned here. Ultimately, I don't intend to ask all of these, and found that some could be answered through my own research. Nevertheless, it may be a handy aid for someone else in the present moment or in the future.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

Questions To Ask The Graduate Department and Professors (By Topic):

 

§  Coursework and Departmental Requirements.

• What are the academic regulations/requirements for graduating?
• What does the first year of curriculum look like?
• What is the percentage of students that pass the qualifying exams the first time? How many chances are there?
• Please describe the quantitative methods sequence. Upon which courses is it founded?
• When, and how, do you choose your advisor? How difficult is it to switch advisors after, say, a year?
• Who selects the dissertation committee?

§  Graduation and Attrition Statistics.

• Are a large percentage of the students graduating with only a terminal master’s degree?
• What is the average time to obtain a Ph.D.?
• What are the students who graduated from your department doing now?
  • What is the number per cohort with a tenure track position within two years?
  • What is the attrition rate per cohort? How many students who did not complete the program were able to receive a terminal master’s degree?
  • What is the placement history by subfield?
• What is the typical career path of your average student? Do they stay in academia or pursue alternative careers?

§  Teaching, Research, and Graduate Assistant Duties.

• How many hours of TA/RA/GA work do you expect per week of your students? Is there a system in place to track worked hours?
• Is there a teaching requirement? How does the department determine teaching assignments?
• Are the teaching assignments for grading duties, holding recitation sections for someone else’s lecture, or for teaching one’s own class?
• What sort of computing facilities do they have? Are any of these reserved for graduate students?
• Will there be opportunities for faculty advisors to observe students teaching?
• What is the teaching evaluation process like for students?
• Do graduate students have office and/or community space to perform required research and work?

§  Health, Living, and Personal Needs.

• What are the provisions for housing, day care, health insurance, etc.?
• What are the policies for students who require a Leave of Absence or Medical Absence?

§  Funding.

• Are you guaranteed support for the duration of study, for a fixed number of years (if so, how many?), or is it on a year-by-year basis? If it is year-by-year, what would disqualify a student?
• Do students need to incur additional debt? If so, what is the rate and volume of graduate student debt?
• What forms and materials are needed for tax purposes?
• How much monetary support is there for research?
• Who pays for attending research conferences?

§  Department and Campus Culture.

• Do you like to work one-on-one with your students, or do you guide their work as they work individually?
• Do incoming students work on projects that have already been developed, or do they create an individual project?
•  How often do students publish their own work? How often do professors jointly publish with students? May you provide a recent example of each?
• What is the academic community like at this university? Is there much collaboration between the faculty?
• How often do students take courses outside of the political science department?

Questions To Ask Current Graduate Students (By Topic):

 

§  Department and Campus Culture.

• Do different research groups interact? Is there collaboration within the department or across departments?
• What is the department environment like? What is the student community like? Do you like it?
• Is there a graduate student organization? Who is the head representative?
• How independent is the research of the students?
• Do students work together (with other students and/or the advisor)?
• How much time do you actually spend working? Does the department ethos pressure you to work unusual hours?

§  Personal Perspectives.

• What do you think of the graduate program, generally and specifically?
• What are the pros and cons you have discovered being in this program?
• If you could choose a graduate program again, would you still choose this one?
• What are your career goals after you finish your education? How to you think this graduate program is preparing you for it?

§  Teaching, Research, and Graduate Assistant Duties.

• What is the actual time commitment for a TA/RA?
• Is the TA/RA stipend enough to live on in that area?
• Are graduate teachers and workers unionized? If so, what is the name of the union, and what are its policies?

§  Health, Living, and Personal Needs.

• Do the students have enough time for a social life? Is the type of social life you desire available?
• Do graduate students have access to athletic and other university facilities?
• Where do you get healthcare on campus? Do you find it easy to acquire?
• Are the provisions for housing, day care, health insurance, etc. truly adequate?
• Is the funding package enough to live on? Did you have to take out student loans?
• What is the cost of living?
• Are there many apartments near campus? Which do you recommend?
• How safe are the surrounding neighborhoods?
•  Is there a shuttle service and public transportation? Do they work well? Do students get fare discounts?
•  How much does parking cost? Is it difficult to find nearby parking on campus?

Choosing an Advisor: (talk to current graduate students before you choose an advisor)

• Do most of the students like working with this research advisor?
• Is the advisor personally involved in the research?
• How frequently is the advisor available?
• Does the advisor take an active role in placing her/his students?
• How quickly does the advisor publish completed work?
• How much time does you advisor expect you to spend in office?
• Do you need to be there before s/he comes in, and how late are you expected to stay?

Specific Issues for Women & Minorities: (talk to female/minority graduate students in the department)

• Do they feel that the atmosphere in the department is either supportive or exclusionary?
• Are there graduate students or faculty members known to speak or behave inappropriately?
• Are women/minorities included in the informal community of the department?
• Which (if any) faculty members are felt to mentor female/minority students particularly well?
• Do they have support or discussion groups? What do they do?
• Is there a women’s graduate center/group? A minority graduate center/group? 

 

 

So comprehensive and well-organized that the thread has died in light of the needlessness of any additional comments 

Well done cautiously! 

Edited February 5, 2014 by jeudepaume

[xuejia]

Cautiously, that list is utter boss. And, by the transitive property of bossness, you are utter boss as well.

[aecp]

Super fantastic list.  Thank you Ms. C_O!

 

I created a two page sheet with questions, and have incorporated some of those you guys have mentioned here. Ultimately, I don't intend to ask all of these, and found that some could be answered through my own research. Nevertheless, it may be a handy aid for someone else in the present moment or in the future.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

Questions To Ask The Graduate Department and Professors (By Topic):

 

§  Coursework and Departmental Requirements.

• What are the academic regulations/requirements for graduating?
• What does the first year of curriculum look like?
• What is the percentage of students that pass the qualifying exams the first time? How many chances are there?
• Please describe the quantitative methods sequence. Upon which courses is it founded?
• When, and how, do you choose your advisor? How difficult is it to switch advisors after, say, a year?
• Who selects the dissertation committee?

§  Graduation and Attrition Statistics.

• Are a large percentage of the students graduating with only a terminal master’s degree?
• What is the average time to obtain a Ph.D.?
• What are the students who graduated from your department doing now?
  • What is the number per cohort with a tenure track position within two years?
  • What is the attrition rate per cohort? How many students who did not complete the program were able to receive a terminal master’s degree?
  • What is the placement history by subfield?
• What is the typical career path of your average student? Do they stay in academia or pursue alternative careers?

§  Teaching, Research, and Graduate Assistant Duties.

• How many hours of TA/RA/GA work do you expect per week of your students? Is there a system in place to track worked hours?
• Is there a teaching requirement? How does the department determine teaching assignments?
• Are the teaching assignments for grading duties, holding recitation sections for someone else’s lecture, or for teaching one’s own class?
• What sort of computing facilities do they have? Are any of these reserved for graduate students?
• Will there be opportunities for faculty advisors to observe students teaching?
• What is the teaching evaluation process like for students?
• Do graduate students have office and/or community space to perform required research and work?

§  Health, Living, and Personal Needs.

• What are the provisions for housing, day care, health insurance, etc.?
• What are the policies for students who require a Leave of Absence or Medical Absence?

§  Funding.

• Are you guaranteed support for the duration of study, for a fixed number of years (if so, how many?), or is it on a year-by-year basis? If it is year-by-year, what would disqualify a student?
• Do students need to incur additional debt? If so, what is the rate and volume of graduate student debt?
• What forms and materials are needed for tax purposes?
• How much monetary support is there for research?
• Who pays for attending research conferences?

§  Department and Campus Culture.

• Do you like to work one-on-one with your students, or do you guide their work as they work individually?
• Do incoming students work on projects that have already been developed, or do they create an individual project?
•  How often do students publish their own work? How often do professors jointly publish with students? May you provide a recent example of each?
• What is the academic community like at this university? Is there much collaboration between the faculty?
• How often do students take courses outside of the political science department?

Questions To Ask Current Graduate Students (By Topic):

 

§  Department and Campus Culture.

• Do different research groups interact? Is there collaboration within the department or across departments?
• What is the department environment like? What is the student community like? Do you like it?
• Is there a graduate student organization? Who is the head representative?
• How independent is the research of the students?
• Do students work together (with other students and/or the advisor)?
• How much time do you actually spend working? Does the department ethos pressure you to work unusual hours?

§  Personal Perspectives.

• What do you think of the graduate program, generally and specifically?
• What are the pros and cons you have discovered being in this program?
• If you could choose a graduate program again, would you still choose this one?
• What are your career goals after you finish your education? How to you think this graduate program is preparing you for it?

§  Teaching, Research, and Graduate Assistant Duties.

• What is the actual time commitment for a TA/RA?
• Is the TA/RA stipend enough to live on in that area?
• Are graduate teachers and workers unionized? If so, what is the name of the union, and what are its policies?

§  Health, Living, and Personal Needs.

• Do the students have enough time for a social life? Is the type of social life you desire available?
• Do graduate students have access to athletic and other university facilities?
• Where do you get healthcare on campus? Do you find it easy to acquire?
• Are the provisions for housing, day care, health insurance, etc. truly adequate?
• Is the funding package enough to live on? Did you have to take out student loans?
• What is the cost of living?
• Are there many apartments near campus? Which do you recommend?
• How safe are the surrounding neighborhoods?
•  Is there a shuttle service and public transportation? Do they work well? Do students get fare discounts?
•  How much does parking cost? Is it difficult to find nearby parking on campus?

Choosing an Advisor: (talk to current graduate students before you choose an advisor)

• Do most of the students like working with this research advisor?
• Is the advisor personally involved in the research?
• How frequently is the advisor available?
• Does the advisor take an active role in placing her/his students?
• How quickly does the advisor publish completed work?
• How much time does you advisor expect you to spend in office?
• Do you need to be there before s/he comes in, and how late are you expected to stay?

Specific Issues for Women & Minorities: (talk to female/minority graduate students in the department)

• Do they feel that the atmosphere in the department is either supportive or exclusionary?
• Are there graduate students or faculty members known to speak or behave inappropriately?
• Are women/minorities included in the informal community of the department?
• Which (if any) faculty members are felt to mentor female/minority students particularly well?
• Do they have support or discussion groups? What do they do?
• Is there a women’s graduate center/group? A minority graduate center/group? 

 

[AmericanQuant]

Do recruiters for non-academic jobs (think tanks, private industry, and similar) come to campus?

 

If you're starting a PhD program, it's a really bad idea to ask this question.  Professors want to train their PhD students to do work in academia: they basically get no prestige at all for producing industry people.  If you want to move to industry, I'd suggest keeping it to yourself for as long as you can, so that you don't get abandoned by the faculty.

[cupofnimbus]

If you're starting a PhD program, it's a really bad idea to ask this question.  Professors want to train their PhD students to do work in academia: they basically get no prestige at all for producing industry people.  If you want to move to industry, I'd suggest keeping it to yourself for as long as you can, so that you don't get abandoned by the faculty.

 

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That is to say, cultivate those networks if you are interested in becoming a non-academic, but do not ever admit to anyone that it's something you're interested in.

[BigTenPoliSci]

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That is to say, cultivate those networks if you are interested in becoming a non-academic, but do not ever admit to anyone that it's something you're interested in.

You and AmericanQuant are exactly right on this one. Keep up your friendships inside the Beltway, but talking about the private sector as early as visitation weekend would be a deadly mistake. Our program has gotten better about embracing some students' desires to move into private work, but that varies a lot by advisor. If I told my advisor I want to do private work it wouldn't be a problem at all, and my advisor would be very supportive. Many other students' advisors would write them off and might even drop them as advisees.

[bassoonist]

@BigTenPoliSci and AmericanQuant

 

 

Thanks guys!

 

I would hate to have gotten off on the wrong foot.

Edited February 6, 2014 by bassoonist

[resDQ]

if anyone has additional suggestions, please add!

[Jimjimjim]

7 hours ago, resDQ said:

if anyone has additional suggestions, please add!

Woo this post is great, thanks for digging it out!

[Determinedandnervous]

Here are some imperfect, but reasonable benchmarks for whether the program is generally okay with people who are interested in the private sector. 1) Does the program advertise private sector placements in their placement history? This is not exactly a strong heuristic, but it's a start. The better heuristic is 2) Does the program advertise that they're good at placing in the private sector during recruitment? If so, then likely at least some of the department would be behind you in your decision. However, proceed with caution - even departments that put these signals out have contingents of faculty that vehemently disagree.