UNC PhD Political Science

[amripley]

I'm a prospective applicant to the PhD program in the Department of Political Science at UNC Chapel Hill. My focus is in the IPE arena, and I'm interested in working with Thomas Oatley, Layna Mosley, or Tim McKeown. I'd like to hear from a current student or recent graduate of the program about funding opportunities (is the program fully funded? this isn't immediately clear from UNC's website), RA, TA, and fellowship opportunities within the Department, student engagement with faculty, and perceptions of faculty overall. Is the general feeling that PhD students are well supported throughout their time at UNC? Side-comments about living in Chapel Hill are also appreciated. 

[PizzaCat93]

Incoming student in CP, so I cannot answer your questions about life in the department quite yet, but I will say that the department does fund everyone it accepts. For most, this is in the form of TA work every year, although the first year consists of mostly grading, so not very time-consuming. There are a few university-wide fellowships available as well, so if you got one of those, you'd not have to TA. And always, you should try for outside fellowships too, which will be on top of department funding. 

[amripley]

@PizzaCat93 Thanks for the insight. So you're saying that UNC fully funds (e.g. tuition + ) everyone it brings in?

[PizzaCat93]

Yes, full funding - tuition, health insurance, stipend, and a summer stipend as well.