Canadian Political Science Programs- Fall 2017 cycle

[sisaidba]

Hey @sonsofeasterly! Have you heard back from BSIA? I haven't heard anything which is strange because I'm at WLU which is the home institution for MIPP). I have seen a few acceptances go out, but honestly there doesn't seem to be a clear pattern as to how they're accepting people (for instance, we all thought it was people that had econ first, etc.) 

Where else have you applied? I am still waiting on MGA at Munk, which I don't think I'll get in but want to see anyways for moral booster (lol). 

Edited March 8, 2017 by sisaidba
typo

[DanielBean]

59 minutes ago, sisaidba said:

Hey friend, I believe the 8th of April is the deadline. Hope this helps!

Great thanks, congrats on the offer too. 

[somuchtoread]

9 hours ago, _Dreamer_ said:

@Pahi sorry to hear that. You've been accepted to great schools though! Good luck with the rest of your applications.

Thank you. Just got an informal offer from Toronto too. Literally got into every school other than the one I really wanted to but oh well..can't really complain. Have you heard back from UBC?

[mstama123]

Hey everyone - long time lurker here. Claiming the U Toronto PhD acceptance on the admissions results!

[_Dreamer_]

Congrats to those accepted to UofT!  Claiming the other UofT offer (details coming tomorrow). Still on the wait-list at UBC, I received another email saying they would be 'delighted' to have me if there is an opening and will let me know as soon as/if they have some news. The deadline for those accepted is March 15 so we'll see soon. I haven't found anyone in the forum who is planning to decline so I'm not sure what to expect.

[boruchan93]

Congrats to everyone that got accepted to Toronto. I received a rejection from them, my third one overall. I really can't figure out what is hurting me during this application cycle.  

[mstama123]

13 hours ago, _Dreamer_ said:

Congrats to those accepted to UofT!  Claiming the other UofT offer (details coming tomorrow). Still on the wait-list at UBC, I received another email saying they would be 'delighted' to have me if there is an opening and will let me know as soon as/if they have some news. The deadline for those accepted is March 15 so we'll see soon. I haven't found anyone in the forum who is planning to decline so I'm not sure what to expect.

Would you happen to know of a place where I can find Toronto's placement record? I've been scouring the website, but to no avail! I'd like to know how their students place, particularly in the American TT arena.

[guest56436]

1 hour ago, mstama123 said:

Would you happen to know of a place where I can find Toronto's placement record? I've been scouring the website, but to no avail! I'd like to know how their students place, particularly in the American TT arena.

Canadian universities rarely - if ever - place in the US markets in political science.

[mstama123]

20 minutes ago, Comparativist said:

Canadian universities rarely - if ever - place in the US markets in political science.

I disagree. McGill has some fairly decent placements in the US, though obviously their focus is the Canadian market and not the American one because that's where the bulk of their students are from. Toronto also specifically advertises that their students successfully place both into the Canadian and American markets. I'd just like to see for myself via a tangible list, which I have yet to find.

Edited March 9, 2017 by mstama123

[_Dreamer_]

I disagree, mostly because of UBC and McGill. I don't know of any list but I do know that UofT doesn't have a great record - at least compared to similar institutions. It was ranked #12 in the QS world rankings but is definitely not as good in terms of that. I think one of the issues is the large size of each cohort and the fact that the average time for completing the program is 7 years! That means that there are way too many students to help in terms of employment when, at the same time, I think the department doesn't help that much anyway. UBC and McGill have a better record within Canada as well.

[mstama123]

1 minute ago, _Dreamer_ said:

I disagree, mostly because of UBC and McGill. I don't know of any list but I do know that UofT doesn't have a great record - at least compared to similar institutions. It was ranked #12 in the QS world rankings but is definitely not as good in terms of that. I think one of the issues is the large size of each cohort and the fact that the average time for completing the program is 7 years! That means that there are way too many students to help in terms of employment when, at the same time, I think the department doesn't help that much anyway. UBC and McGill have a better record within Canada as well.

Thank you! All of this is very helpful to know.

[bubbles1]

17 minutes ago, mstama123 said:

I disagree. McGill has some fairly decent placements in the US, though obviously their focus is the Canadian market and not the American one because that's where the bulk of their students are from. Toronto also specifically advertises that their students successfully place both into the Canadian and American markets. I'd just like to see for myself via a tangible list, which I have yet to find.

I think there is a reason why they don't publish it... They definitely would put it online if they placed well in the United States.

[mstama123]

1 minute ago, PuraVida1 said:

I think there is a reason why they don't publish it... They definitely would put it online if they placed well in the United States.

I agree, that fact doesn't seem very promising. Further, I can't even find a Canadian placement list for Toronto, meanwhile other similar institutions in Canada do have a published placement list.

[_Dreamer_]

I would be surprised if you find one for UofT (either CAD or US) but if you do please share. I did my MA there and remember them admitting that this is an area they need/want to improve. And it is one of the reasons I would prefer UBC, which has the best record in Canada.

[mstama123]

Yes, I will definitely be asking Toronto for a list and will share any info here. It's good to know for prospective students, regardless of the market you are trying to enter.

[guest56436]

26 minutes ago, mstama123 said:

I disagree. McGill has some fairly decent placements in the US, though obviously their focus is the Canadian market and not the American one because that's where the bulk of their students are from. Toronto also specifically advertises that their students successfully place both into the Canadian and American markets. I'd just like to see for myself via a tangible list, which I have yet to find.

This is where you have to be careful about being diligent about 'placement' lists.

The vast majority of people on McGill's list are 'current' positions. I counted 3 that actually got placed as TT positions in the US since 1995 (over 20 years!) either as ABD or post- postdoc. That would qualify as extremely rare.

Secondly, some of the things are misleading...no one got placed at the University of Wisconsin - it's actually the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater (huge difference). A lot of the 'American' schools are just foreign wings located in other countries.

A large number of the 'placements' spent 10-15 years working various positions before finally getting a TT/adjunct position at a US school.

Don't take these lists as gospel. 

Edited March 9, 2017 by Comparativist

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

3 hours ago, Comparativist said:

This is where you have to be careful about being diligent about 'placement' lists.

The vast majority of people on McGill's list are 'current' positions. I counted 3 that actually got placed as TT positions in the US since 1995 (over 20 years!) either as ABD or post- postdoc. That would qualify as extremely rare.

Secondly, some of the things are misleading...no one got placed at the University of Wisconsin - it's actually the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater (huge difference). A lot of the 'American' schools are just foreign wings located in other countries.

A large number of the 'placements' spent 10-15 years working various positions before finally getting a TT/adjunct position at a US school.

Don't take these lists as gospel. 

I can speak to McGill's PhD program if people are curious. The program isn't inherently designed to churn people out onto the academic job market. Students get out of it what they put in, and it's highly dependent on who you're working with. Most faculty will only be more demanding if you're self-motivated. Placement record is pretty good for those who pursued an academic job in North America upon completion, but most students don't pursue an R1 type research position. Many are happy to move on to positions at the college level, as well as the public and private sector. It is true that placement right out of McGill into tenure track positions is also thin (with most working their way to higher ranking positions in time) - but particular faculty place their students well. 

[somuchtoread]

Anyone heard back from Toronto? They said they'll send out funding details today but haven't hear anything yet. Also claiming a U of Alberta offer. 

[rjkingston]

9 minutes ago, Pahi said:

Anyone heard back from Toronto? They said they'll send out funding details today but haven't hear anything yet. Also claiming a U of Alberta offer. 

For the MA level I was notified by the graduate secretary Monday about being nominated and ranking highly for SSHRC CGS-M – I was in touch with him again yesterday and he said he'd been working on mailing out hard copies of MA acceptances in the afternoon, so I'd imagine that's what's been keeping him occupied before sending out funding notices for PhD applicants (perhaps he's on that now?).

[boruchan93]

2 hours ago, Pahi said:

Anyone heard back from Toronto? They said they'll send out funding details today but haven't hear anything yet. Also claiming a U of Alberta offer. 

Did you receive an offer from Alberta without an interview?

[somuchtoread]

3 minutes ago, boruchan93 said:

Did you receive an offer from Alberta without an interview?

Yes..This is what I got in the e-mail:

"I know I had contacted you earlier about doing Skype interviews, but the Graduate Studies Committee has decided that in order to increase our chances of recruiting our very top-ranked applicants to the doctoral program, we should make a select number of offers that skip that step." 

I am likely declining this. 

[sonsofeasterly]

On 08/03/2017 at 0:55 PM, sisaidba said:

Hey @sonsofeasterly! Have you heard back from BSIA? I haven't heard anything which is strange because I'm at WLU which is the home institution for MIPP). I have seen a few acceptances go out, but honestly there doesn't seem to be a clear pattern as to how they're accepting people (for instance, we all thought it was people that had econ first, etc.) 

Where else have you applied? I am still waiting on MGA at Munk, which I don't think I'll get in but want to see anyways for moral booster (lol). 

Hey! Yeah, I heard last Friday I think and then my unofficial offer came on Monday. 

I also applied at NPSIA, UCL and LSE. I'm received acceptances at all three of those, but I'm staying in Canada as the prospect of living in London (even with ok scholarship funding) makes me weep. 

It's more or less between BSIA and Queens now. 

 

Good luck! 

[_Dreamer_]

Did anyone get the funding details from UofT?

[Dwar, Dog Lord of Waw]

Hi all, lurker here. Accepted by Queen's (back in Feb) and Toronto (on March 3) for MA. Queen's is offering full funding; no funding at Toronto as far as I can tell (wasn't shortlisted for the SSHRC CGS-M). Still waiting on McGill and UBC. Good luck to everyone!

P.S. Has anyone applying to UBC heard from Dr. Quirk a second time concerning the status of their CGS-M? I heard from him back in Feb, but nothing since.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Dwar, Dog Lord of Waw

[mstama123]

14 hours ago, _Dreamer_ said:

Did anyone get the funding details from UofT?

Yes, I got my funding package email late last night (10pm EST). Also within the funding package it has details about their placement record for the last 10 years in TT and post-doctoral fellowships.

On a separate note, does anyone know anything about the Ontario Trillium Scholarship for International Doctoral Students? UofT has nominated me for it, but I wouldn't find out if I got it until early April, which is after the deadline for me to give them an attendance decision. I've found that the total funding package for the Trillium scholarship is $40k for 4-years, but no breakdown of the scholarship. But I'm assuming half of that will go toward tuition costs, no?

Edited March 11, 2017 by mstama123