Choice of grad school and main research interest

[Monody]

Hey there,

I am a current student at the Freie Universität in Berlin (4th term) and am currently strongly considering applying for a PhD program in the US for the fall term 2017. A week ago I started to create a shortlist of programs that particularly interest me. In this regard Ive to say that the choice of the faculties and in connection to that the definition of my main research interest proved to be rather difficult. Starting with the latter I would describe my interests rather broadly as interstate conflict, autocratic systems, civil war and quantitative / formal methodology. Currently I think that these are too broad to justify the choice of a specific program I want to apply too. The university I am currently at and the one where I spent my first two terms at (Humboldt University in Berlin) didn't really offer that many courses in these areas so that I developed these interests based on what I read on the side and I am still unsure what I want to specialise in. I would be very thankful for any helpful thought on how to choose the right faculty and whether my interests currently are too broad and if yes what I should try to do to narrow it down.

Some thoughts on my profile for the applications would be nice as well. I studied 2 terms at the Humboldt University with a strong focus on quantitative methodology something the university is known for (at least that's what I was told) and now 2 terms at the Freie Universität where I put an emphasis on IR in general and peace and conflict studies. I will spent the next two terms at the University of Copenhagen (not funded) or at the National University of Singapore (scholarship; German academic exchange service (DAAD)) but I am still unsure which one I should choose. I am currently receiving a scholarship, my GPA is around 3.7 I guess (we use another system here ranging from 1-4; I am at 1.3) and I already did all the required courses and modules aside from my bachelor thesis, but I have not yet done my GRE while my TOEFL is fine (114/120). I suppose that my LoRs will be strong (hopefully 1 from my IR prof, 1 from a comparatist and one from a theorist).

Best regards

[AP]

1 hour ago, Monody said:

A week ago I started to create a shortlist of programs that particularly interest me.

Currently I think that these are too broad to justify the choice of a specific program I want to apply too.

How did you create a short list? What things did you take into account? 

I understand if these reasons are not purely academic, but I am sure you have academic reasons as well. For example, when I was deciding where to apply, stipend played a major role and sometimes outgrew scholarship. If I couldn't be guaranteed funding, I wouldn't apply because as an international student like yourself, I don't have access to student loans. 

In my experience, what makes a good justification is intersecting your interests with faculty work. Have you contacted any professor to discuss this? If not, you should. Yes, it's weird at first, but it works very well! I had several informal interviews with many professors before applying. 

As regard your "profile", I am sorry. I really don't understand why people display numbers to other people asking for an assessment. I have nothing to say here, I would feel very uncomfortable doing so.

Finally, in your post you sound a little shy. Your grammatical structure -though perfect- lacks the assertiveness you need in your applications. And this is easy to fix. Instead of using "long" verb phrases, be more direct: 

1 hour ago, Monody said:

I am a current student at the Freie Universität in Berlin (4th term) and am currently strongly (no need of these adverbs) considering applying (or thinking of applying) for a PhD program in the US for the fall term 2017. A week ago I started to create (created) a shortlist of programs that particularly interest me. In this regard Ive to say that the choice of the faculties and in connection to that the definition of my main research interest proved to be rather difficult. Starting with the latter I would describe (Broadly,) my interests include interstate conflict, autocratic systems, civil war and quantitative / formal methodology. Currently I think that these are too broad (These are still too general) to justify the choice of a specific program I want to apply too.

Get the hint?  

Now, something I have learned from people that helped me with my application is: do not (I mean it: DO NOT) disclose what you don't have. Specialization? Don't worry, many people make it to grad school unsure of what they want. Show what you do have, be assertive and straight-forward (I love this word) about your application. Show that the best decision the admission committee will make is to accept you.  (By the way, I know this was totally unsolicited advice, so my apologies...)

[Monody]

Firstly, I am really grateful for your advice, unsolicited or not.

Regarding the shortlist: what I looked most strongly at so far was the general focus of the department, their respective scholars, and some pros and cons that don't really fall in the former categories (e.g. the crime rate in Chicago, full funding, special strengths in methodology or the partnership of the Columbia University with Science Po). Funding was not something I looked specifically for but I would be unable to attend a program without one even though the scholarship Ive here would probably pay for it to some degree.

Ive not yet contacted any faculty members, because honestly it feels somewhat weird contacting someone to talk about something I am personally not yet sure about. Tomorrow I will have another meeting with a professor with whom I already talked about the general idea of attending a PhD program to discuss the selection process with regard to my interests and once I reached some degree of specificity contact some faculty members.

As for the number thing, I looked through the forum and it seemed like this is some sort of common courtesy. Also my knowledge of the US system isn't that big, so I considered that the safer option. 

Lastly, I indeed know that assertiveness is key and I spend considerable amount of time rewriting my texts after the first draft to improve on that. I suppose that its some sort of habit.

Again thank you for your advice.

 

[Monody]

So after Ive now created a list that consists of universities that interest me.

• Stanford 
  • strong focus on quantitative methodology and IR (apparently), they also have Fearon, Weinstein, Fukuyama, and Krasner whom I find interesting), their program is also fully funded as far as I can see
  • they seem to be very selective
• Columbia University
  • again a good focus on quantitative methodology and IR, Doyle, Jervis, Snyder, and Fortna interest me,
  • fully funded,
  • partnership with Science Po
• NYU
  • good focus on methodology
  • fully funded, student housing
  • De Mesquita
• Emory University
  • again very good focus on methods, authoritarian systems, and IR
  • fully funded, their admission criteria do not seem to be extremely strict
  • Gandhi
• MIT
  • good focus on methodology, IR, and Foreign Relations
  • Van Evera, Oye
• other mentions: University of Chicago (interesting, but very high crime rate in the city), UCSD (low number of interesting scholars aside from Walter)

I would love to get some feedback regarding the correctness of these assumptions or possible things I missed. I would also be interested to know about other programs I missed but might be interesting.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Monody

[kafcat]

6 hours ago, Monody said:

So after Ive now created a list that consists of universities that interest me.

• Stanford 
  • strong focus on quantitative methodology and IR (apparently), they also have Fearon, Weinstein, Fukuyama, and Krasner whom I find interesting), their program is also fully funded as far as I can see
  • they seem to be very selective
• Columbia University
  • again a good focus on quantitative methodology and IR, Doyle, Jervis, Snyder, and Fortna interest me,
  • fully funded,
  • partnership with Science Po
• NYU
  • good focus on methodology
  • fully funded, student housing
  • De Mesquita
• Emory University
  • again very good focus on methods, authoritarian systems, and IR
  • fully funded, their admission criteria do not seem to be extremely strict
  • Gandhi
• MIT
  • good focus on methodology, IR, and Foreign Relations
  • Van Evera, Oye
• other mentions: University of Chicago (interesting, but very high crime rate in the city), UCSD (low number of interesting scholars aside from Walter)

I would love to get some feedback regarding the correctness of these assumptions or possible things I missed. I would also be interested to know about other programs I missed but might be interesting.

 

 

Hey don't be too hard on yourself...you're doing a great job in your search and I was in the same boat last year when I was applying for...you don't have to be ridiculously assertive like others have pointed out..it's okay to doubt yourself Don't worry about your grammar mistakes, you came here for advice not grammar corrections Be careful with what "fully funded" actually means..because most PhD programs are fully funded..but that doesn't mean that you will receive a stipend all years. Sometimes you will have to TA so don't worry too much about that. I actually would encourage you to reach out to professors you're interested in working with even if you are still in the stage of deciding what you want to study..sometimes speaking to them helps you narrow down research interests and they can give you an idea of how to improve your application. Otherwise, I highly encourage to reach out to current students in the programs. Sometimes they are more willing to provide advice, especially since they have been in the same situation as you!