Canadian Political Science Programs, Fall 2016 Admission

[belles]

Haven't seen a thread specifically for Canadian programs in the upcoming cycle, so I thought I'd make one.

I don't know a lot about what makes a competitive application, so if someone could review my stats, I'd appreciate it:

• 83% average in my last two years of undergrad at UBC (studied BA in political science and with a minor in economics at the Vancouver School of Economics). According to OUAC, this converts to a 3.7 GPA. 
• decent work experience, but nothing related to political science, policy, or government for that matter
• enthusiastic reference letters from past professors

I'm considering applying to Masters programs for Political Science at York, McMaster, Waterloo, Guelph, and Laurier. Definitely applying for Masters programs in Policy at Ryerson (MPPA) and Laurier (MIPP). 

Do you guys think I'll get into any of the above schools? I'm quite worried. Where are you all applying?

Cheers!

Edited November 6, 2015 by belles

[belles]

oh, I forgot to mention that my reference letters are not from Political Science professors. I have one from an Economics professor and another from a professor of German Studies. will this hurt me in my MA Poli Sci endeavors? Econ is pretty broad and she will be able to speak for my understanding of economic processes and how it relates to policy and political economy, but German Studies will be a stretch. 

[twinsora]

Hello Belles!

I'm currently an MA student at York's Political Science program. In regards to the schools that you're planning to apply to, I got into both McMaster and Waterloo for their MA programs. 

Your stats are fine, infact they're a hair higher than mine for when I applied, as I applied while still in undergrad, I had about a 3.5-3.6 while applying and had strong reference letters from Political Science professors at McMaster (Where I did my undergrad). 

The only thing I would emphasize is to write a strong statement of intent, as its the only part of the application process that you have direct control over. (You can't control your grades, as they're pretty much set in stone, and you can't control what your letter writers will write about you). 

As for myself, I'll be applying to PhD Programs in Canada in Political Theory and International Relations. Looking at UBC, UofT, York and possibly McGill, barring GRE scores. 

[davet73]

What is your area of focus?

[PoliticalOrder]

MA programs are not very competitive in Canada, especially the ones you are applying to.

[belles]

On 11/13/2015, 8:55:21, PoliticalOrder said:

MA programs are not very competitive in Canada, especially the ones you are applying to.

Thanks. I guess that means I'll probably be offered funding somewhere. Ryerson is my first choice. 

[belles]

On 11/13/2015, 7:59:55, davet73 said:

What is your area of focus?

Within an MA in Political Science, it would be Public Policy and Administration. 

[davet73]

On 11/15/2015, 4:12:38, belles said:

Within an MA in Political Science, it would be Public Policy and Administration. 

I can only speak for McGill. As far as Canadian politics, McGill is getting weaker. Out of the 100-120 graduate students that we have here, only a handful (including myself) focus on Canadian politics (and I am an American). If you do want to focus on public policy, Richard Schultz is a great prof here at McGill. However, he is really the only one regarding policy. McGill is becoming more of an IR-Comparative university, unfortunately. 

[Determinedandnervous]

7 hours ago, davet73 said:

I can only speak for McGill. As far as Canadian politics, McGill is getting weaker. Out of the 100-120 graduate students that we have here, only a handful (including myself) focus on Canadian politics (and I am an American). If you do want to focus on public policy, Richard Schultz is a great prof here at McGill. However, he is really the only one regarding policy. McGill is becoming more of an IR-Comparative university, unfortunately. 

How is it for the party/electoral aspect of Canadian politics? I'm applying to McGill (also from the US) for their Masters and I see several people I would like to work with.

[PoliticalOrder]

19 hours ago, davet73 said:

I can only speak for McGill. As far as Canadian politics, McGill is getting weaker. Out of the 100-120 graduate students that we have here, only a handful (including myself) focus on Canadian politics (and I am an American). If you do want to focus on public policy, Richard Schultz is a great prof here at McGill. However, he is really the only one regarding policy. McGill is becoming more of an IR-Comparative university, unfortunately. 

I wouldn't even say McGill is incredibly strong at IR either although their recent hires have tried to strengthen that area. It is predominantly a comparative department. Over 50% of the faculty is comparative politics. Theory and IR are pretty even, although I would say the theory profs are generally more renowned than the IR profs. There are only a handful of Canadian politics people left.

^ Determined...Belanger studies Canadian parties. Gidengil studies Canadian elections/voting behaviour. So it's decent although you won't find many departments which have better scholars on that topic (esp. from a Canadian perspective) except maybe U of Toronto. 

Edited November 18, 2015 by PoliticalOrder

[davet73]

On 11/17/2015, 10:38:51, Determinedandnervous said:

How is it for the party/electoral aspect of Canadian politics? I'm applying to McGill (also from the US) for their Masters and I see several people I would like to work with.

 

On 11/18/2015, 10:04:42, PoliticalOrder said:

I wouldn't even say McGill is incredibly strong at IR either although their recent hires have tried to strengthen that area. It is predominantly a comparative department. Over 50% of the faculty is comparative politics. Theory and IR are pretty even, although I would say the theory profs are generally more renowned than the IR profs. There are only a handful of Canadian politics people left.

^ Determined...Belanger studies Canadian parties. Gidengil studies Canadian elections/voting behaviour. So it's decent although you won't find many departments which have better scholars on that topic (esp. from a Canadian perspective) except maybe U of Toronto. 

PoliticalOrder is right. Gidengil and Belanger (who is my supervisor) are not just some of the best in Canada, I would argue that they are among the most respected worldwide. The problem is that McGill's Canadian politics field has very few classes, and none of them deal with voting behavior or any aspect of elections. In fact, I had to create a reading course with Dr. Belanger just so I can get something on voting behavior. So, if you attend McGill, you will have great professors to do research with and that can advise you on your thesis or dissertation, but you will have to take a lot of classes that do not relate to your subject at all, which is the problem. 

[LiamShag]

Applied to an MA PoliSci at Western and Ottawa thus far,   I'm also applying to GSPIA at UOttawa,  and possibly the Munk MGA at U of T. As for overseas, I found a very attractive and cheap program at the University of Economics, Prague in Czech Republic. Masters in International and Diplomatic Studies. Anyone else looking at IR/foreign affairs schools?

[MauBicara]

I was just approved for Canadian permanent residency this morning

I had been planning to apply to UBC and U of T PhD programs anyway, but now will have the pleasure of doing so as a domestic student rather than international.

I am pretty committed to making my life in Canada, and would prefer not to leave the country to pursue my PhD. Outside of UBC, U of T, and McGill, what Canadian universities are worth applying to for doctoral studies, if my objective is getting a tenure-track position in Canada? My regional interest is Southeast Asia, where I find very little expertise in funded programs outside of the three universities mentioned above. Are there any I've overlooked? 

[Pol]

On 11/28/2015 at 8:30 PM, davet73 said:

 

PoliticalOrder is right. Gidengil and Belanger (who is my supervisor) are not just some of the best in Canada, I would argue that they are among the most respected worldwide. The problem is that McGill's Canadian politics field has very few classes, and none of them deal with voting behavior or any aspect of elections. In fact, I had to create a reading course with Dr. Belanger just so I can get something on voting behavior. So, if you attend McGill, you will have great professors to do research with and that can advise you on your thesis or dissertation, but you will have to take a lot of classes that do not relate to your subject at all, which is the problem. 

U de M is imo. the best place as far as Canadian politics go, the downside being that the coursework is in French. 

[twinsora]

On 12/3/2015 at 1:24 PM, MauBicara said:

I was just approved for Canadian permanent residency this morning

I had been planning to apply to UBC and U of T PhD programs anyway, but now will have the pleasure of doing so as a domestic student rather than international.

I am pretty committed to making my life in Canada, and would prefer not to leave the country to pursue my PhD. Outside of UBC, U of T, and McGill, what Canadian universities are worth applying to for doctoral studies, if my objective is getting a tenure-track position in Canada? My regional interest is Southeast Asia, where I find very little expertise in funded programs outside of the three universities mentioned above. Are there any I've overlooked? 

I would toss an application to York University. I'm currently a student there, and they have a "decent" Canadian placement record for their PhDs. Problem would be the fit in terms of research interests. York has strong faculty members across all subfields, but in terms of your particular interests, I think that you might want to consider checking out Gregory Chin and Laam Hae. 

[MauBicara]

I'm not sure how relevant this is to anyone here, but I just received an email from U of T announcing that they have extended their application deadline to Monday. 

[Determinedandnervous]

2 hours ago, MauBicara said:

I'm not sure how relevant this is to anyone here, but I just received an email from U of T announcing that they have extended their application deadline to Monday. 

That's certainly an interesting development, considering UT usually gets no shortage of applications. Were there technical difficulties?

[PoliticalOrder]

While I am not privy to their application stats...it wouldn't surprise me to see their MA programs get a lack of applicants. Has to easily be the most half-baked 'top' MA political science program in Canada.

[MauBicara]

1 hour ago, Determinedandnervous said:

That's certainly an interesting development, considering UT usually gets no shortage of applications. Were there technical difficulties?

I'm not sure. The email noted that "We have decided to extend this deadline slightly to Monday January 18^th for those of you who are having last minute issues completing application requirements.   (Note:   If your online application indicates that all items have been received you can disregard this email.)"

I turned in all application materials weeks ago and had no issues, so I'm not sure if they've encountered system errors as of late. 

[hdh]

Hey! I've applied to both UOttawa GSPIA and Carleton NPSIA. I'm also concerned about competitiveness - I've got a (contract) job offer in hand that I'll have to decide on way before I'll be hearing back from either program. I'm sitting somewhere around a 3.8 or 3.9 for my last two years of an honours (my undergrad was on a 4.3 so every school converts it a little differently, but it was first class honours), with what I'm assuming are strong references, some policy/partisan experience, and what I'm hoping was a decent statement of intent. Just starting to get nervous about HOW competitive these competitive programs are  

[cbrgode]

Has anyone else applied to PhD @ NPSIA? Has your application status changed? Still going nuts that there is no ''submit'' button.

[POLIS]

Hey everyone,

I see offers for University of Victoria and Dalhousie University have started to go out! Anyone have any insight into when admissions offers go out for Ontario Universities - U of O, U of T, Queen's, etc.? 

Thanks and best of luck to all!

 

[twinsora]

Received a UBC rejection for PhD, York's offers will roll out end of Feb to mid March. 

[POLIS]

Any comments on Dalhousie University for focusing on International Relations and Foreign Policy? What is the university like? Thoughts? Thanks!

[MauBicara]

On 2/12/2016 at 0:21 PM, POLIS said:

Hey everyone,

I see offers for University of Victoria and Dalhousie University have started to go out! Anyone have any insight into when admissions offers go out for Ontario Universities - U of O, U of T, Queen's, etc.? 

Thanks and best of luck to all!

 

Toronto should be rolling out in the first week of March, based on their past record. Rejections often come later.