getting a poli sci job with a different degree

[changeisgood]

I'm currently working on an M.A. and my research agenda is moving toward political communication and persuasion (as a subset of political behavior), with a strong mass media element.  It has been suggested to me (by my advisor) that I should consider getting a PhD in Communications as an alternative.  I know that there are many Comm professors with PSC PhDs, but how about the reverse?  Would I be shooting myself in the foot if I did this?  Would I be locking myself into the Comm world and out of the Poli Sci realm?  Or would some kind of interdisciplinary degree be beneficial?  I'd appreciate any opinions from knowledgeable people on this.

[ultraultra]

I've talked to a few people about this, since my work straddles communications also. Communications PhDs are less 'marketable' in political science departments than political science PhDs. Generally speaking, you really only ever see senior faculty moving from a communications department to a political science one, you don't really see ABDs getting hired from communications programs into political science departments. If your long-term goal is to get hired directly into a political science department, I would advise you get a political science PhD at a school where the comm dept and the political science dept have a strong relationship (e.g. Michigan, UPenn, I think UVA also - @Bubandis would know).

Edited March 2, 2016 by ultraultra

[PoliPixie]

I as well spoke to people about this and got the same impression as @ultraultra. It was strongly advised to me to stay in Political Science. . 

[changeisgood]

47 minutes ago, ultraultra said:

I've talked to a few people about this, since my work straddles communications also. Communications PhDs are less 'marketable' in political science departments than political science PhDs. Generally speaking, you really only ever see senior faculty moving from a communications department to a political science one, you don't really see ABDs getting hired from communications programs into political science departments. If your long-term goal is to get hired directly into a political science department, I would advise you get a political science PhD at a school where the comm dept and the political science dept have a strong relationship (e.g. Michigan, UPenn, I think UVA also - @Bubandis would know).

That's kind of what I was thinking.  The second part is what I'm already looking at, and I'll probably go that route.  Texas A&M has a strong relationship as well between the two departments, as does LSU. 

[Bubandis]

Political communication, like political psychology, is interdisciplinary in a certain sense. But, in another, pol psych and pol comm have been so fully integrated into the discipline, that I think fewer people are view it this way. At a very basic level, political science can be partitioned into two major parts, the study of political institutions on the one hand, and the study of (mass) political behavior on the other. Political psych, political communication, public opinion etc. all get lumped into the latter category.

That said, if you would like to be placed in a political science department one day, you really ought to do you PhD in political science. And, while it may be possible to secure a polisci faculty position with a Comm PhD, you'd be better off generally with a polisci PhD. There are enough political science programs, spread across the rankings, at which to study political communication to where I don't think it is necessary to apply to comm programs.

These include (but are not limited to): Stanford, Michigan, UPenn, Texas, Northwestern, UVa, Stony Brook, Louisiana State, Washington State (Ridout!)

 

[Determinedandnervous]

10 minutes ago, Bubandis said:

Political communication, like political psychology, is interdisciplinary in a certain sense. But, in another, pol psych and pol comm have been so fully integrated into the discipline, that I think fewer people are view it this way. At a very basic level, political science can be partitioned into two major parts, the study of political institutions on the one hand, and the study of (mass) political behavior on the other. Political psych, political communication, public opinion etc. all get lumped into the latter category.

That said, if you would like to be placed in a political science department one day, you really ought to do you PhD in political science. And, while it may be possible to secure a polisci faculty position with a Comm PhD, you'd be better off generally with a polisci PhD. There are enough political science programs, spread across the rankings, at which to study political communication to where I don't think it is necessary to apply to comm programs.

These include (but are not limited to): Stanford, Michigan, UPenn, Texas, Northwestern, UVa, Stony Brook, Louisiana State, Washington State (Ridout!)

 

Plus, I've seen quite a few polisci PhD's in communication departments, but not the other way around.

[brent09]

I think you'd be surprised by the degree of parochialism amongst some in the discipline. There are plenty of faculty on hiring committees who will openly say that they prefer a political science Ph.D. over an even more highly-qualified Ph.D. from another discipline. I think this is probably typical in a lot of the more 'established' disciplines---communications, policy, international affairs, etc, are relatively newer and relied on interdisciplinary people from the start. 

This is changing, albeit slowly. And it isn't uniform across the discipline. If you can get a Ph.D. in communications from Stanford, you'll have a perfectly good shot at PSCI jobs if you play your cards right. But, ceteris paribus, you're better off in PSCI if you want to land in PSCI. 

[rising_star]

@trossier, have you taken a look at current or recent job ads in the area of political communication? Often job ads specify what fields they expect the applicant's degree to be in. For most disciplines, they're expecting a PhD in that discipline (so communications departments will expect a PhD in comm). Have you thought about why it is that you are so drawn to staying in the discipline of political science? Have you thought about whether you might be interested in working on political communication from within a communications department?

[changeisgood]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 10:25 AM, rising_star said:

@trossier, have you taken a look at current or recent job ads in the area of political communication? Often job ads specify what fields they expect the applicant's degree to be in. For most disciplines, they're expecting a PhD in that discipline (so communications departments will expect a PhD in comm). Have you thought about why it is that you are so drawn to staying in the discipline of political science? Have you thought about whether you might be interested in working on political communication from within a communications department?

I suppose I never thought about it the other way around.  I don't know, I guess I just considered Poli Sci to be more, prestigious?  Maybe this is a conversation I need to have with myself.

[rising_star]

7 hours ago, trossier said:

I suppose I never thought about it the other way around.  I don't know, I guess I just considered Poli Sci to be more, prestigious?  Maybe this is a conversation I need to have with myself.

It's definitely something you should ask yourself! If you get hung up on the "prestige" of the discipline, you might not be making decisions that are the best for you. Another thought is that you may want to think about the types of institutions you might want to work at following a PhD, what departments they have, and what credentials they seek, keeping in mind that where you want to work is likely to change. (For example, I just knew as a MA student that I wanted to be in a PhD-granting department once I graduated. Now, not so much.)