Value in Advanced Degrees in the Humanities / Social Science

[bwgvsu]

Hello, everyone. I am planning on enrolling in a PhD program in Political Science (specifically, political theory) at either the University of Chicago or Michigan-Ann Arbor. Being that my focus is on political theory (very philosophy-oriented), I often ponder the value of advanced scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. To those that are currently pursuing an advanced degree, what are your reasons? What motivates you?

Personally, I am so passionate about my field of study because it is so relevant to everyday life. Political behavior drives everything.

[turnings]

Totally.

[ExponentialDecay]

[AppliedScience]

On 12/10/2015 at 10:46 AM, bwgvsu said:

 I often ponder the value of advanced scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. To those that are currently pursuing an advanced degree, what are your reasons? What motivates you?

It seems "value" is such a broad term that it will be interpreted differently (from personal achievement to financial gain to the ability to contribute to improving society).

I would like to think that the research I am doing is increasing the knowledge base that will eventually has a positive impact on the health of individuals and communities, especially those who need it the most.

Edited December 15, 2015 by AppliedScience

[sackofcrap]

If you're talking about monetary value, I think it's still very valuable. If you have a PhD, you can get a job at a university and they still pay well, last I checked. It depends on the degree you get, but if you get a degree in something like psychology, then you can always be a practicing psychologist and that still pays well. I would say the same for many other social science / humanities PhDs. There may not be as many jobs as there used to be, but they are still out there. So, monetarily speaking the degrees still hold value.

 

As far as educational value, they hold a lot of that too. They also can hold a lot of value to society, but that would depend on the field, I suppose. The research you do can benefit society at large.

[reddog]

are you talking about PhD or advanced Master?

[PoliticalOrder]

A Ph.D. in political science focused on political theory has relatively no real value...both academically and financially. It is VERY difficult to get a TT job as a theorist, nearly impossible. And no private or public sectors have any interest in theorists for employment.