What am I up against? What is realistic? POLISCI

[kylesnav]

Hello,

 

I have been sure of my decision to pursue a Ph.D. for about a year now. I am graduating a year early from the University of Arizona majoring in Middle East and North African studies, minoring in Arabic and Political Science. Though it can change, I currently have a 4.0 and have yet to take the GRE. I plan to pursue Political Science (International Relations) in graduate school given that Middle East Studies programs seem to not offer a strong focus on politics much less anything modern. My research interests involve the role of Shi'i Islamism particularly within Lebanon, Political Islam in a more general capacity, counterterrorism/security, and the all of the aforementioned in its relation to the West. I'm not the most extracurricularly involved students, however I am in the Arabic Flagship Program, I am abroad in Jordan for the Summer, and was an undergraduate teaching assistant for a course in my program. Lastly, I have three strong letters of recommendation from Professors in my department whom which I are very familiar with my work, whether in language or politics.

 

Though I am proud of my achievements, all of my hopes are shattered when I look at current candidates who have had much more grandiose achievements. Thus I have several questions:

 

I have been offered admittance into several --pay $100 for admittance-- honor societies and am wondering if any are these are worth joining? As I imagine graduate schools see through these.

 

(I am sure you hate these questions but...) Are my chances realistic at any of the following schools (in order of my current preference): Georgetown, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, and the top tier Princeton, Harvard, etc.? I would not take acceptance without funding, so -- I'm not sure if that changes the answer.

 

Am I correct in saying that being a Middle East Studies major may be beneficial when it comes to regional knowledge and research interest? Or would I have been better off majoring in Political Science?

 

Lastly, should I drop the Political Science minor (though I would still have 15/18 required credits for the minor) to take a year of Persian? My Arabic studies focus on Modern Standard / written Arabic and I will be confident in my research ability in Arabic after graduation, yet would love to pursue another language.

 

Thank you.

 

-Note: I realize after reading this that this is the most cliche "What are my chances?" post, however I really have no idea what to expect as far as to what's realistic. Don't hate me.

[Vene]

I'm just popping in to say don't bother throwing your money away on those honor societies. Also to say that your GPA is damn good and I think you'd have a shot at top programs.

[victorydance]

Do you have any research experience? Did you do an honours thesis? You didn't mention any research experience and that would be a major weakness.

 

Screw the Persian, a year of Persian at university isn't going to give you nothing but very rudimentary skills. I would say take as much poli sci as possible. 

 

I don't think your major matters too much either way (a benefit or hindrance). Regional expertise might be more helpful for a comparativist rather than a prospective IR. However, ultimately what matters is how well you can show you know (1) what your research interests and prospective lines of inquiry and (2) you have a firm knowledge of the subfield and can express that in a pithy way on your SOP. 

 

I would stay away from any LORs from language teachers. They don't mean squat to political science admission committees. 

Edited June 25, 2014 by victorydance

[kylesnav]

Do you have any research experience? Did you do an honours thesis? You didn't mention any research experience and that would be a major weakness.

 

Screw the Persian, a year of Persian at university isn't going to give you nothing but very rudimentary skills. I would say take as much poli sci as possible. 

 

I don't think your major matters too much either way (a benefit or hindrance). Regional expertise might be more helpful for a comparativist rather than a prospective IR. However, ultimately what matters is how well you can show you know (1) what your research interests and prospective lines of inquiry and (2) you have a firm knowledge of the subfield and can express that in a pithy way on your SOP. 

 

I would stay away from any LORs from language teachers. They don't mean squat to political science admission committees. 

 

This is true, it may be a bit late in the game to jump into a new language just prior to graduation.

 

I have no formalized research experience. However, I took a 400/500 level hybrid class in which we wrote a substantial research paper composed of an abstract, secondary literature review, primary literature review, and the application of a pre-existing theoretical framework (Bourdieu's sociological concept of cultural capital) to our thesis. This is also the paper I had been planning to use for my writing sample.

 

I definitely have moderately specific interests and a grasp on some of the work being done within them now, however my primary concern is as you said, [research] experience.