M.A in Poli Sci

[mox]

old

[Guest anon]

dd

[Guest anon]

Hey:

I have friends at Fullerton so I kind of know the deal and I did Poli Sci at a Cal State in Nor Cal. Here it is for you straight. The Poli Sci department is TOP NOTCH. The teachers are amazing, ESPECIALLY in political theory. I had the chance to sit in on a few classes and I just fell in love with a few theory teachers, really good. As well you can't beat the deal that it costs.

Some negatives about the school:

-It will DEFINITELY not help you once you apply for Phd. Unfortunetly you will have to be very lucky to get into a top 20 Ph D program. Unfortunetly the CSU system as amazing as it actually is, is looked down upon VERY much by the academic elite.

-The CSU schools are not research based, meaning they dont award Ph D's. So your masters program will largely be you in undergrad poli sci classes with people that are just using the class for credits for another major.

The good news is you could probably be a very big fish in a small pond, BUT I can't help but think it would be better to be a small fish in a program even just a little better than Fullerton. Now the question about Un. San Diego. Is it worth the debt? Yikes. That is a hard question. Are these the only schools you applied to? I might think about taking a year off, doing work in politics or something that will SIGNIFICANTLY help your app and re-apply to higher rankings masters programs such as Columbia or NYU or something. My point being that for $30,000 you could go to a TOP NOTCH Ivy program like Columbia! Anyways if you have AIM or some IM program post it and I will give you an IM. I can have my friends answer any questions about Fullerton and I can help too.

[rising_star]

Do you really want to start a PhD program with $30K in debt?? How much will that hinder the rest of your life plans. It's just something that I'd take into consideration...

[Guest mox-not logged in]

Hey:

I have friends at Fullerton so I kind of know the deal and I did Poli Sci at a Cal State in Nor Cal. Here it is for you straight. The Poli Sci department is TOP NOTCH. The teachers are amazing, ESPECIALLY in political theory. I had the chance to sit in on a few classes and I just fell in love with a few theory teachers, really good. As well you can't beat the deal that it costs.

Some negatives about the school:

-It will DEFINITELY not help you once you apply for Phd. Unfortunetly you will have to be very lucky to get into a top 20 Ph D program. Unfortunetly the CSU system as amazing as it actually is, is looked down upon VERY much by the academic elite.

-The CSU schools are not research based, meaning they dont award Ph D's. So your masters program will largely be you in undergrad poli sci classes with people that are just using the class for credits for another major.

The good news is you could probably be a very big fish in a small pond, BUT I can't help but think it would be better to be a small fish in a program even just a little better than Fullerton. Now the question about Un. San Diego. Is it worth the debt? Yikes. That is a hard question. Are these the only schools you applied to? I might think about taking a year off, doing work in politics or something that will SIGNIFICANTLY help your app and re-apply to higher rankings masters programs such as Columbia or NYU or something. My point being that for $30,000 you could go to a TOP NOTCH Ivy program like Columbia! Anyways if you have AIM or some IM program post it and I will give you an IM. I can have my friends answer any questions about Fullerton and I can help too.

All those are very good points, the reason I am not applying anywhere else is I want to stay closer to home as I am only 23 but own my own homes and going to fullerton allows me to stay in one our the other without having to rent one out and also cuts down on commuting.

My basic goal is to get my M.A apply out for a Ph.D and teach community college or in the CSU or UC system, I am not looking at Harvard or anything for my Ph.D. I simply want to teach local college while I get my ph.D which makes me think Fullerton makes more sense as they also offered me pretty much a free program and paid T.A for my time there which helps me out

The one point I kind of disagree with is that it wont help my Ph.D application, I dont see how having a B.A from UCSD 3.5 and say a 3.5-4.0 M.A from fullerton would hurt me. For my Ph.D I am looking at schools like UCI. Also the coruses you said are "undergrad" all the courses I have seen are all graduate seminars so i am kind of confused to what you mean.

As far as taking a year off and doing politics, i have done all that crap, research was fun and got some in as an undergrad. Campaigns plain suck I worked one for 5 minutes before I realized it wa snot my cup of tea,

Thanks for your input.

[Guest minh]

I am thinking to do the same thing.

I graduating from UCLA with 3.9 GPA.

but my research focus is still unclear.

I would like to apply to top 10 schools...but I am not sure how competitive my application would be without clear research topic.

that's why I am thinkng to apply to master program (but top 10 school masters) instead of applying to PhD directly.

[Guest Guest]

If you have the money go for it, it will help definitely. Otherwise, you may want to think it twice, and find something else where you get paid instead of assuming huge debts.

[rising_star]

Hey mox,

I don't think any degree is worth $30K, particularly one that won't really improve your job prospects. I'd go for the less expensive degree and focus on publishing and presenting at conferences to make yourself an extremely attractive PhD applicant.

[Guest mox-]

Hey mox,

I don't think any degree is worth $30K, particularly one that won't really improve your job prospects. I'd go for the less expensive degree and focus on publishing and presenting at conferences to make yourself an extremely attractive PhD applicant.

I agree, I want to get my M.A first, get some T.A experience and jsut kind of make sure academia is what I want to do with my life. I just dont think there is a 30k dollar difference amoung many one year masters degrees unless its like a top 10 program.

I dont see how fullerton and an m.a can hurt my chances t schools like uci, claremont rgaduate and ucla. My girl got into a few uc`s uchicago etc with 0 research 0 publishings, took 35k a year stipend and a full ride at a UC. I could probably apply out and enter a ph.d right now but dont want to commit to anything without first being sure that academics is where my heart is.

[rising_star]

Mox, I think that's perfectly fine. I'm doing an MA in geography beginning in the fall (after doing a BA in literature) so I understand the fear of committing to the PhD without knowing whether its the right thing. Good luck!

[Guest JDean]

Got a RA offer from Georgia State U poli sci. Anybody familiar with GSU? Thanks......

[Guest Nadine]

Anyone familiar with how an MA improve your prospects for PhD in polisci? I'm hoping to get in a top 30 program after I finished my two year MA program at U Mass Amherst, what are my chances? I'm from abroad, so I thought getting an M.A. and have some research/graduate school experience might help. Is my line of thought going in the right direction?

[Guest psylocybh]

Nadine, I think an MA helps, but not hugely. I am non-US, with an excellent MA from a university in South Africa, and I got into a top-20 polisci program. However, on other forums I noticed 22-or-so-year olds at prestigious schools getting offers from top-5 programs, so obviously it depends. An MA will enable you to get good references; do some research; perhaps publish a paper; try out teaching; and most of all, see if you really want to go into academia. I guess that's the most important thing I'll take from it. I'm completely sure that PhD is the way to go for me, having only latched onto the idea during my MA thesis, and having already run the gauntlet of simulateously writing a dissertation, worrying about funding and being a TA.

[Guest Guest]

I think the MA might be the easiest way to help you out towards getting into a PhD. Nevertheless, that does not mean it is the only way or the best way. I completely agree with the advantages mentioned by psylocybh above. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure you may acquire all of those by getting a small research oriented job or an internship, maybe at an NGO, a company, or even with a professor.

Of course, in the second case you won't have all the amazing things that academic life brings along, but you won't have to get enormous debts that you will have to pay eventually. If you are going into a PhD afterwards, you really do not want more debts on your shoulders. I really think that graduate education shouldn't cost you. That said, if you are lucky enough to be fully funded (or almost fully funded) for your M.A. there is no reason for not doing it. It's hard, but it happens, there are some scholarships and fellowships around.

Also, I think it is worth considering that an MA may actually hurt you if you do not do well on it or if something unexpected happens. Maybe you won't want to get into a PhD afterwards, in which case you will have a degree that may help you out in the market; but you could have used that time to gain work experience (which may be more helpful to get a good job), or simply to travel

[Guest Nadine]

Thanx to psylocybh and the other poster on your insights. I guess I'm considering doing this M.A. in the States is that there are opportunities that students in my country doesn't have. I know that if I want to get into a very good program in polisci, I really need a combination of various credentials, and this is the best way to aquire them.

But it's true that I'll have to go at least a little into debt for my M.A. since funding is hard to get, especially for a foreigner. I'm thinking it might be alright if I get funding later when I go onto PhD. Eck, money issues can be such a pain.

It's true that a M.A. can also hurt me if things don't go well, but I'm willing to take that risk.

Another question, if you enter a phd program with an M.A., will they expect you to graduate earlier than those that didn't already have a M.A.?

[Guest Guest]

Well, seems you made up your mind then. So, good luck! And, about money, try applying for scholarships and fellowships. I did my MA in PoliSci completely funded with different scholarships. Additionally, if you have a good base scholarship, it is more likely that the university will be willing to give you a tuition waiver.

About your last question, it really depends on the particular department. If you go to the PhD in the same department where you did your MA, and took only PhD courses, they may find out eventually that you are ahead in your coursework and tell you to hurry up. If you go elsewhere, it depends on whether you transfered credits or not. Some people transfer as much as possible and finish earlier. Nevertheless, I think that if you are been completely funded in your PhD, it might be worth to stay a bit longer and occupy your extra time in finishing your dissertation earlier. But, again, that depends on whether the department allows those things to happen.

[Guest Mox_]

Thanks for all the help..I decided to stay at the Univerity of San Diego. They offered me a bit more funding which really took a burden off yay!. I also took a look at CSU schools M.A programs and the research available and breadth of courses here is way more helpful for me in my pursuit of a Ph.D later in life.

Thanks again for all the help.

[tjb122982]

I actually have a question. What besides teaching a community college, what can you do with a MA? I mean what kinds of jobs? I'm really looking for specific examples.