Georgetown's Arabic Studies Program

[lelick1234]

I am a student of the history US foreign policy towards the Middle East who wants to attend graduate school.  I have lived in Egypt for the past four years.  Earned a 3.8 GPA from UCSB in history.  Have crappy GRE scores though.  If I get into Georgetown's Arabic Studies MA program, should I specialize in history or political science?  I am completely ignorant of the job prospects for political scientists.  But I am pretty knowledgable of Middle Eastern politics and am close to mastering Arabic and want to complete three other Middle Eastern languages. Is political science in a better state than history for jobs?

[MastersHoping]

I'm at Georgetown for Asian Studies right now. 

It seems that political science is in a better state right now, but I'm not totally sure so you should double check on that. That's just my hunch. 

If you do end up at Georgetown, though, we are very strong for politics and political science. What are the other three Middle East languages you want to master? If you do end up mastering Arabic and the other three you're interested in, that's pretty impressive! 

[lelick1234]

I am going to try to master Arabic first before I apply, then Farsi, and then hopefully Hebrew.  I am mostly interested in speaking fluently Arabic.  The other two I just want to be able to read  I figure these goals are little bit more realistic. 

[cooperstreet]

" If I get into Georgetown's Arabic Studies MA program, should I specialize in history or political science?"

 

That's up to you.

 

" I am completely ignorant of the job prospects for political scientists."

 

Its also irrelevant, since you aren't in a PhD program. If you want to get a PhD in political science, then that question becomes relevant.

 

Are you asking if you will have better job prospects in the private sector if you focus on history rather than political science? If so, this is not the place for that.

[lelick1234]

No, but it might give me a chance to conveniently take some political science courses and produce a political science thesis which could get me into a PhD program, right? My question is whether it is possible to switch from a history specialty to a political science/area studies specialty through this sort of program and be competitive in a political science PhD program. 

[victorydance]

Lot's of political science Ph.D. applicants with masters' degrees come from interdisciplinary area studies programs. This is particularly true for people who want to study comparative politics. 

 

The question you have to answer is if you actually even know what political science is. Because it is quite different than history as a discipline. Saying "I know a lot about X politics and enjoy it" is a lot different than saying "I like political science." In general, there is a surprising little amount of actual 'politics' in the study of political science.

Edited May 23, 2015 by victorydance

[lelick1234]

Exactly, victorydance.  I am also concerned that social science requires much more math and statistical analyses. I noticed that the GRE minimum requirements are much higher than at history programs.  I will have to do some additional research about the field.   Obviously given my math scores, I will probably not become a Game Theory specialist, especially since us humanities types find such practices to be slightly problematic intellectually. LOL!!! Maybe it's because we suck at math.  

So, if I am interested in understanding the causes and future outlook for the Arab Spring, what sort of field should I be studying in political science.  I am also deeply interested in the role that Islamism, in radical and democratic forms, play in the Middle East.  

I apologize for seeming naive. This is a very preliminary enquiry into the field.  I have a couple years before I apply.  So in theory, I will have time to develop academically as prospective student through self-study.  I hope all of you are patient with my questions. 

[victorydance]

Modern political science is very quantitative or at the very least mixed methods. 

 

Those types of topics would be comparative politics. 

 

I would say do your Middle Eastern Studies/Arabic Studies program and take some political science seminars, particularly methods and a survey course of comparative politics, and see if you like it or not. 

[cooperstreet]

whose work, in political science, do you like?