Canadian Political Science Programs, Fall 2016 Admission

[CitizenFour]

University of Toronto: I will very likely be declining my funded offer in comparative politics. Best of luck to those in the wait list.

[MauBicara]

2 hours ago, CitizenFour said:

University of Toronto: I will very likely be declining my funded offer in comparative politics. Best of luck to those in the wait list.

Seconding this, and will finalize my decision to decline this offer soon (also funded, comparative). Hopefully it helps someone on the waitlist. 

[twinsora]

9 hours ago, belles said:

Hey twinsora. Is most of the MA cohort at York left-leaning? I noticed much of the faculty studies Marxist and/or Gramscian thought, writes for the Socialist Register, etc. Much of my political science work in the past was moderate and even right-leaning at times. I think York would be a good place for me to learn from those I usually disagree with, but I'm not sure if I would attend if this resulted in a detriment academically (and even socially). 

Hello Belles, 

In my own experience, I have found that most of my MA cohort at York is left-leaning, especially in political theory and IR. I think if you have plans to go on with a PhD, doing an MA here would expose you to critical political science, and would likely inform your decision in terms of whether or not you would want to continue down this path or to move to more mainstream political science. That said, York is probably one of the best departments in all of North America for this kind of work.

For me, I was drawn to left-leaning poli sci from the beginning of my undergrad, and so chose to go to York. The problem with York's poli sci, is that there are no real faculty members that do "mainstream" political science. I am sure that they are all aware of mainstream political science, but it isn't their strength. 

York has a fantastic environment for learning, at least in the graduate level. (I have heard horrendous things about York undergrads). One shocker that I wish I had known going into York's program is that they do not have any formal methods/stats courses or sequences. (This may make it difficult for you to transition into political science programs in the states, as most will have a methods/stats requirement) [This is less so in Canada, where Political Science is not nearly as quantitative, but it is still something to consider]

All of this to say, the MA at York does open doors in America and Canada, but PhD admissions are a different demon altogether. 

If you have more questions, let me know! 

 

 

 

[twinsora]

8 hours ago, POLIS said:

Hey everyone,

My area of research interest in IR is non-state actors, the Middle East, counter-terrorism, and foreign policy. With that said, I was offered admission into Queen's University and the University of Toronto and have been struggling with the decision of where to go for my MA. Would anyone be able to provide some insight and opinion on this. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Go to where there is funding: Queens (Unless you got a funded MA offer from Toronto, in which case that would be unheard of and quite impressive)

Pedigree doesn't matter much in the Canadian context for the MA. 

[POLIS]

On 8 March, 2016 at 5:33 PM, CitizenFour said:

University of Toronto: I will very likely be declining my funded offer in comparative politics. Best of luck to those in the wait list.

Good afternoon CitizenFour,

May I ask why you are declining a funded offer for that of the University of Toronto? I am in the process of making a similar decision. Thanks!

[CitizenFour]

3 hours ago, POLIS said:

Good afternoon CitizenFour,

May I ask why you are declining a funded offer for that of the University of Toronto? I am in the process of making a similar decision. Thanks!

Hi POLIS, I have received a better funded offer from a better ranked university in the US. This pretty much sums it up. U of T is currently trying to top off my other offer, but I doubt it will be possible. Do you have a similar reason?

 

[POLIS]

1 hour ago, CitizenFour said:

Hi POLIS, I have received a better funded offer from a better ranked university in the US. This pretty much sums it up. U of T is currently trying to top off my other offer, but I doubt it will be possible. Do you have a similar reason?

 

My decision is between Queen's University and the University of Toronto.

[puffingtonbear]

15 hours ago, CitizenFour said:

Hi POLIS, I have received a better funded offer from a better ranked university in the US. This pretty much sums it up. U of T is currently trying to top off my other offer, but I doubt it will be possible. Do you have a similar reason?

 

CitizenFour - is this for the MA or PhD program at UofT?

[twinsora]

Toronto PhD Rejection on Friday (Theory Subfield)

 

[belles]

Anyone fully committed enough to a school yet that they clicked the "Accept Offer" button???

[twinsora]

Waiting on a result from the states before I click yes to UCI. Sadly won't be able to stay in Canada, but Irvine is a good fit for my interests. Especially with the move of JK and SC from Toronto. 

[CitizenFour]

On 10/3/2016 at 9:44 AM, puffingtonbear said:

CitizenFour - is this for the MA or PhD program at UofT?

For the PhD program.

[belles]

Hey guys. I posted this in the Government Affairs thread, but it's a possibility that some of you don't check that part of the forum.

Please oblige in helping me with a quandary: I've been offered admission for both MPS at Waterloo (with co-op) and MA Political Science at Waterloo (with co-op). 

I'm heavily leaning towards accepting the MA offer because it comes with $15,000 in funding (TAship as well as scholarship money). MPS offers nothing. 

I do want to work in government affairs (whether for the public service or the private sector), but I'm mainly interested in picking a program that is superior in both co-op placement and eventual real-life employment possibilities. Because I am very open to working for the private sector, I think the MA program may be better suited than the MPS.

What do you guys think?

[twinsora]

On 3/28/2016 at 2:58 PM, belles said:

Hey guys. I posted this in the Government Affairs thread, but it's a possibility that some of you don't check that part of the forum.

Please oblige in helping me with a quandary: I've been offered admission for both MPS at Waterloo (with co-op) and MA Political Science at Waterloo (with co-op). 

I'm heavily leaning towards accepting the MA offer because it comes with $15,000 in funding (TAship as well as scholarship money). MPS offers nothing. 

I do want to work in government affairs (whether for the public service or the private sector), but I'm mainly interested in picking a program that is superior in both co-op placement and eventual real-life employment possibilities. Because I am very open to working for the private sector, I think the MA program may be better suited than the MPS.

What do you guys think?

Presuming that both co-op opportunities are equal (since you're at the same school, different program/department), I'd go for the funded offer. Having an MA might be beneficial for working in the private sector, as compared to the MPS, as the MPS focuses a lot on government-related training. 

If I'm not mistaken, I think the MA program is normally 1 year, but extends to 2 if you are doing co-op, whereas the MPS program is, by default, a 2 year program with the co-op work term built into it. You might want to look into whether or not the MA program will fund you for both years, or just one. 

 

[puffingtonbear]

So has everybody made their decisions?

[belles]

On 4/3/2016 at 11:38 AM, puffingtonbear said:

So has everybody made their decisions?

Officially accepted UWaterloo MA Political Science. Could not say no to the $18,000 they offered me.  Plus a strong political economy program (my focus)!

[POLIS]

On 20 March, 2016 at 11:49 AM, belles said:

Anyone fully committed enough to a school yet that they clicked the "Accept Offer" button???

Queen's University

[POLIS]

On 3 April, 2016 at 0:38 PM, puffingtonbear said:

So has everybody made their decisions?

Queen's University. You?!

[belles]

On 3/30/2016 at 5:05 AM, twinsora said:

Presuming that both co-op opportunities are equal (since you're at the same school, different program/department), I'd go for the funded offer. Having an MA might be beneficial for working in the private sector, as compared to the MPS, as the MPS focuses a lot on government-related training. 

If I'm not mistaken, I think the MA program is normally 1 year, but extends to 2 if you are doing co-op, whereas the MPS program is, by default, a 2 year program with the co-op work term built into it. You might want to look into whether or not the MA program will fund you for both years, or just one. 

 

MA Poli Sci and MPS students at Waterloo have access to the same pool of co-op opportunities. Who knew Waterloo had the largest co-op program in the world? I didn't. Thanks for your advice. (Picked the MA btw -- they threw in an extra 3k). 

[twinsora]

On 4/6/2016 at 2:30 PM, belles said:

MA Poli Sci and MPS students at Waterloo have access to the same pool of co-op opportunities. Who knew Waterloo had the largest co-op program in the world? I didn't. Thanks for your advice. (Picked the MA btw -- they threw in an extra 3k). 

No worries! Glad I could help, and congratulations on your offers. 

[Volition]

On 4/3/2016 at 11:38 AM, puffingtonbear said:

So has everybody made their decisions?

Yes, I have accepted my offer for MA Political at Waterloo -- I was intrigued by what the program offered for topic areas, and I was incredibly fortunate to get a well-known adviser as well as an excellent funding package! I withdrew all of my other applications just a few days ago and informed the respective programs that I had accepted my offer elsewhere (I had been waitlisted for some programs and the others hadn't decided yet), but today I received an admission offer for the Public and International Affairs program at the University of Ottawa! It seems like I'm being tempted here...

Edited April 8, 2016 by Volition