New School (for Social Research)

[Miss. K]

Thoughts on the quality of education at the New School for Social Research?

I hadn't heard of it until very recently. The professors seem to be focused on topics that align with my interests... very closely, in fact. But it's nowhere near the rank of other schools I'm considering, and I can't find much about it beyond its own website.

Know anyone there? Is it rigorous? Positive/negative reviews?

Thanks in advance!

[misterpat]

No funding = no go.

[soc_leah]

Negative on the New School. I know it sounds cool and everything, but they are really bad about funding, not to mention treating their few graduating doctorates well by finding them jobs (they don't post their stats for a reason). I spoke w/ three of their grad students this past August at the ASA and they all hated life.

[2010Applicant]

Miss K, New School has an excellent reputation historically. Its underlying paradigm is very much based on 20th century (1st half) European philosophy, and sometimes Marxist, which makes it very unpopular with mainstream US academia. That's why its ranking is so low.

Having said that, soc_leah is also correct that the management of the school, esp financially speaking, has deteriorated quite a bit in recent years. Students pay very high tuition for very limited resources.

I think your saying that New School 'focuses on topics that align with my interest' is telling, because most US grad students won't be able to appreciate how seemingly abstract New School foci are actually pertinently relevant to our society while the seemingly practical/empirical foci adopted by other US schools are in many cases speaking only to themselves. What I want to say is, if you find New School interesting, you really need to be very selective in your grad study.

Can you elaborate more on what your interests cover?

I think you may check out CUNY (Graduate Center) Sociology dept as well. Not exactly like New School but sufficiently different from the mainstream as well. Check out their course list and see if those courses interest you. BTW, CUNY isn't exactly super-resourceful either, but the tuition is much lower.

[misterpat]

I remember browsing their site and checking out the "Liberal Studies" program and finding this, to my considerable horror:

"What can a student write about? Almost anything. Take, for example, these recent theses:

Exploring Single Women in Sex and the City and Beyond "

That's the FIRST example. Knowing that this student paid to write this thesis is kind of depressing and, at least for me, says NSSR will happily take your money no matter how trivial you research interests are.

From what I can tell, New School's programs are like the UChicago MAPSS program or NYU and Harvard's Liberal Studies MA degrees, only without the benefits of a prestigious name on your degree and access to world-class faculty.

[cyclingsociology]

With regard to 2010Applicant's comment on the financial situation developing at the New School, to add my 2 cents, I heard that the School recently got a new President. Apparently this man is way more conservative than any sort of administrator the School has ever had--given their focus on the critical tradition this is not hard to imagine. One of the things this President has done is increase the cost of attendance. While this is certainly a negative, a positive (at least for me) can be drawn from the response of students who have responded with direct action-style protests. (Check out YouTube for videos if this intrigues you.) I have also considered the New School and the campus' activism is a big bonus for me--possibly large enough to overcome the ridiculous fact that they do not admit students directly into their PhD program without first having earned a MA.

Hope this helps!

[misterpat]

I have also considered the New School and the campus' activism is a big bonus for me--possibly large enough to overcome the ridiculous fact that they do not admit students directly into their PhD program without first having earned a MA.

Activism isn't going to get you a job or help you pay off the debt you accrue there.

They booed John McCain when he spoke at their graduation. During the election, I thought that was cool. In hindsight, it just makes them look like a bunch of dicks.

[Miss. K]

Thanks, everyone, for the very helpful insights. So no funding for the MA? Ever? Or just not much?

I'll be up there this Monday for NSSR's open house, and will report back. (Hey, it's free and a good excuse to go to NY.)

2010applicant: Broadly speaking, I'm interested in Political Sociology. More specifically, I'm interested in citizen interactions with various levels of government, public involvement in plan-making (such as city planning and education), and how the media influences the public's participation in both quality and quantity. All good subjects for polisci as well, but I like the frame of sociology.

Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, and Chicago seem like other good choices...but I'm not confident I could get in to any of those as I've been out of school for a few years and don't have close connections with professors from undergrad (at Chicago).

[2010Applicant]

Your interest doesn't seem as 'New School' as I would have imagined. Your interest seems to be heavily related to the professional schools (education, urban planning, public policy etc.) although I understand that it isn't 'professional' per se. New School sociology, according to my impression, is highly philosophical, with things like Marxist critique on modern and postmodern culture.

BTW, since you're out working for a few years, why don't you try getting into a professional school of one of these top schools (which is easier), during which you'll do research for a professor, and then apply for the real thing, i.e. PhD? Try apply for a professional master degree that is flexible enough for you to take a few PhD-relevent courses seems like a good option.

[Miss. K]

2010applicant: thanks much for your advice. That is definitely starting to sound like the best idea. I was just hoping that I could get away with not paying boatloads for my masters and doctorate. Fat chance, I'm sure.