Applying to Phd Program as an MA Student

[twinsora]

Hello all,

 

I will be applying this fall to PhD Programs in Canada as well as in the United States. My subfields are in Political Theory and International Relations.

 

To give a preamble, I am a Canadian Citizen, obtained my Bachelor's at a Canadian Institution (McMaster University), and will be attending a Canadian institution for my Masters this fall at either York University or Carleton University.

 

Given that applications for PhD admissions will be due prior to completing my first semester of my Masters program, is there any way around this, as I hope to compensate a low undergrad GPA with a high Masters GPA.

 

My stats so far include: a 9.6/12 GPA over last 2 years, Overall GPA from undergrad is a 8.9/12. If I calculate my Political Science GPA alone, I will have a 10/12 GPA.

 

Edit: After converting my letter grades to the 4.0 scale this is what I have: Last 2 years = 3.53/4, Overall GPA = 3.36, Political Science GPA Only: 3.66

 

 

I have yet to write the GRE, and will be this fall.

 

The schools I am aiming to apply to in Canada would be: McGill, York, UBC, and perhaps UofT.

In America, the schools I will be applying to include: Johns Hopkins University, New School for Social Research, Columbia, Stanford, Brown, University of Rochester, Cornell, and UCLA/UCB.

 

In terms of admissions criteria for American universities, as I am not an American citizen, will it be difficult to gain admission into an American university?

 

Given that my undergraduate GPA is not stellar, I would be open to any suggestions for institutions in the United States that specialize in Political Theory or International Relations that are within my reach.

Edited May 26, 2015 by twinsora

[victorydance]

It shouldn't really matter that you are Canadian if you are an excellent applicant. You will be viewed as an international, however an international with perfect English skills and a similar university training so that is a bit of a bonus. 

 

I had no problem getting into two very good American programs last cycle as a Canadian. But I made the decision to do my MA at an American school instead of a Canadian school to increase my chances for upcoming Ph.D. applications. 

[rising_star]

If you're hoping to use your master's GPA to offset your undergrad GPA, applying in the first semester of your master's is not a good idea.

[twinsora]

I feel like the question I am about to ask is one that varies between departments - How likely is it that universities will be able to "hold off" on assessing your file until your first batch of MA grades comes in? I know that from a Canadian context, it is fairly common, but I am unsure how it is on the other side of the border!

[rising_star]

It depends on when the application deadline is. For applications due December 1, it's unlikely that they'd be willing to wait a month to review your application.

[cooperstreet]

my bigger worry is your interests: political theory and IR? But you want to apply to rochester? You are simply not going to be doing any political theory there. And New School doesn't fully fund people.

 

What do you want to study?

[victorydance]

^ I also don't think Stanford is the best place to study IR/theory as well. 

[twinsora]

Hello, should have been a bit more explicit about my interests - currently at work so I did the short and quick.

 

My interests are at the intersection of IR and Theory. Specifically, I am interested in studying the debate of global justice from both a quantitative political economy perspective, as well as a qualitative political theory perspective. I am also interested in studying cosmopolitanism and critical theory. In cosmopolitanism, I'm interested in the problems of territory, citizenship and security studies as well as the theoretical nuances of cosmopolitanism - Thinking David Held, Archibugi, Appiah. For critical theory, I'm largely interested in Marx and pretty much anything post-Marx - thinking along the lines of Fraser, Habermas, Foucault, etc.

 

I have a good grasp of what institutions are ideal for studying this kind of work in Canada, but less so in the States. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate them!

Edited May 26, 2015 by twinsora

[cooperstreet]

Ok well there is no one that I know of at Rochester or Columbia where you could do anything close to that. Ditto for Stanford, and probably the same for UCLA and Cornell.