Canadian Political Science Programs- Fall 2017 cycle

[rimbaldienne]

57 minutes ago, Pahi said:

Just heard from York. No news from the other schools although I heard that McGill has started sending out offer. The wait is torturous :S 

My application at Mcgill is "in review" since yesterday. No news from UBC. 

[Volition]

2 hours ago, rimbaldienne said:

My application at Mcgill is "in review" since yesterday. No news from UBC. 

I did not know that McGill required a GRE exam from Canadian applicants -- yet another Canadian university with a strange admission requirement... Damn, that's $100+ down the drain. Oh well, thankfully all my eggs weren't placed in that one basket.

[boruchan93]

I am expecting to hear from Victoria soon. The deadlines were roughly similar to York so it should be rolling in couple of days.

[BellaAung]

I have not heard anything from UBC yet but heard from Simon Fraser 3 days ago. Please let me know if you guys have heard anything!

[xxxxxxxplz]

Results from UBC came out pretty early last year, but now it's almost mid-Feb I still haven't heard anything. This is torture. =(

[rjkingston]

17 minutes ago, xxxxxxxplz said:

Results from UBC came out pretty early last year, but now it's almost mid-Feb I still haven't heard anything. This is torture. =(

I got an e-mail from Paul Quirk today saying the department's forwarded my SSHRC CGS-M application to the university-level competition – although I think the adjudication for that is separate from the MA political science admissions, so still unsure about actual acceptances. Perhaps they're close though?

 

As far as Canadian schools go, I've also applied to the MA political science programs at Toronto and McGill, but have heard nothing from them either.

[xxxxxxxplz]

20 minutes ago, rjkingston said:

I got an e-mail from Paul Quirk today saying the department's forwarded my SSHRC CGS-M application to the university-level competition – although I think the adjudication for that is separate from the MA political science admissions, so still unsure about actual acceptances. Perhaps they're close though?

 

As far as Canadian schools go, I've also applied to the MA political science programs at Toronto and McGill, but have heard nothing from them either.

I have applied to UoT and McGill too!  Best of luck to all 

[bubbles1]

16 hours ago, rimbaldienne said:

My application at Mcgill is "in review" since yesterday. No news from UBC. 

Mine still says 'submitted'... At least it doesn't say 'rejected' haha.

[somuchtoread]

On 2/11/2017 at 1:36 AM, xxxxxxxplz said:

I have applied to UoT and McGill too!  Best of luck to all 

Is that for the MA or PhD program? Good luck

[somuchtoread]

On 2/10/2017 at 8:18 PM, BellaAung said:

I have not heard anything from UBC yet but heard from Simon Fraser 3 days ago. Please let me know if you guys have heard anything!

Nice! Congratulations! I did my undergrad and my first MA from SFU. I see that you also have an offer from SOAS which is a great school! Do you have a preference between the two?

[somuchtoread]

On 2/10/2017 at 7:00 PM, Volition said:

I did not know that McGill required a GRE exam from Canadian applicants -- yet another Canadian university with a strange admission requirement... Damn, that's $100+ down the drain. Oh well, thankfully all my eggs weren't placed in that one basket.

I know! I had to write the GRE only for McGill. it's actually $250 to write the GRE and you're paying $50-$100 for test prep material...not to say the hours you have to put in to write the exam required by only one school. It was a frustrating process but McGill is one of my top choices so I went for it. Glad it's done. Waiting for the results now with a baited breath. 

[BellaAung]

2 hours ago, Pahi said:

Nice! Congratulations! I did my undergrad and my first MA from SFU. I see that you also have an offer from SOAS which is a great school! Do you have a preference between the two?

 

Thank you so much! I actually prefer SOAS as they have faculty focusing on conflict and political violence but SFU offered a really great funding package so at this moment, I am leaning towards SFU. How did you like your time there if you don't mind me asking?

[xxxxxxxplz]

5 hours ago, Pahi said:

Is that for the MA or PhD program? Good luck

MA. Good luck to you too!

[somuchtoread]

3 hours ago, BellaAung said:

Thank you so much! I actually prefer SOAS as they have faculty focusing on conflict and political violence but SFU offered a really great funding package so at this moment, I am leaning towards SFU. How did you like your time there if you don't mind me asking?

SFU is a decent school. Considering it's a young university, it has persistently been ranked as the best comprehensive university in Canada. I think in the years to come it will definitely be counted in the top league, at least in Canada. SOAS is a different world altogether though. I had a chance to visit SOAS last summer and just roaming around campus was an amazing experience. Plus the added benefit of being in London and the exposure that comes with that. As a campus it is much smaller but at a global level you can feel the impact in terms of its research quality. I focus on South Asia and there are many renowned scholars in my field who studied at SOAS. It's a shame that schools in England have poor funding at graduate level. 

[BellaAung]

5 minutes ago, Pahi said:

SFU is a decent school. Considering it's a young university, it has persistently been ranked as the best comprehensive university in Canada. I think in the years to come it will definitely be counted in the top league, at least in Canada. SOAS is a different world altogether though. I had a chance to visit SOAS last summer and just roaming around campus was an amazing experience. Plus the added benefit of being in London and the exposure that comes with that. As a campus it is much smaller but at a global level you can feel the impact in terms of its research quality. I focus on South Asia and there are many renowned scholars in my field who studied at SOAS. It's a shame that schools in England have poor funding at graduate level. 

 

Being a South Asian myself, I also focus on South and Southeast Asia. SFU lacks faculty who does extensive work in that area, but my potential supervisor seems to be very open to exploring my regional interest so I am a bit hopeful. Dr. de Rooij, if you have any perspectives about her, please let me know. I'd definitely want to go to SOAS but it's a shame I won't be able to afford it even if I win a major scholarship because most scholarships for my program are around 10000 GBP max and one-year tuition costs up to 19000 GBP. Do you think a degree in SFU can possibly work against students who want to pursue PhDs at Oxbridge or Ivy League schools later on, or not?

[somuchtoread]

8 minutes ago, BellaAung said:

Being a South Asian myself, I also focus on South and Southeast Asia. SFU lacks faculty who does extensive work in that area, but my potential supervisor seems to be very open to exploring my regional interest so I am a bit hopeful. Dr. de Rooij, if you have any perspectives about her, please let me know. I'd definitely want to go to SOAS but it's a shame I won't be able to afford it even if I win a major scholarship because most scholarships for my program are around 10000 GBP max and one-year tuition costs up to 19000 GBP. Do you think a degree in SFU can possibly work against students who want to pursue PhDs at Oxbridge or Ivy League schools later on, or not?

I don't know faculty in poli sci since my degrees were in other disciplines so I'm afraid I can't comment of Dr. de Rooji. Definitely don't think a degree from SFU will disadvantage you in any way in future. If you maintain a good academic record, get SSHRC, have good references and manage to present at conferences and/or publish, you could be a great candidate at the top schools. For funding, Cambridge offers the Gates scholarship and you also have the Rhodes and Commonwealth scholarships if you meet the eligibility requirements. 

[bubbles1]

Does anyone know how long applications generally take from being in review to having a result?

Edited February 13, 2017 by PuraVida1

[BellaAung]

On 2/12/2017 at 7:04 PM, Pahi said:

I don't know faculty in poli sci since my degrees were in other disciplines so I'm afraid I can't comment of Dr. de Rooji. Definitely don't think a degree from SFU will disadvantage you in any way in future. If you maintain a good academic record, get SSHRC, have good references and manage to present at conferences and/or publish, you could be a great candidate at the top schools. For funding, Cambridge offers the Gates scholarship and you also have the Rhodes and Commonwealth scholarships if you meet the eligibility requirements. 

 

Thank you so much for your insight! I really appreciate it. I grew up with the American education system so I am a bit nervous having to navigate through the Canadian one this time! You've been very kind.

By the way, have you (or anyone) heard anything about UBC offering acceptances to candidates yet? I sent the department an email asking when we would hear back, but still no response yet.

[_Dreamer_]

On 2/14/2017 at 6:24 AM, BellaAung said:

Thank you so much for your insight! I really appreciate it. I grew up with the American education system so I am a bit nervous having to navigate through the Canadian one this time! You've been very kind.

By the way, have you (or anyone) heard anything about UBC offering acceptances to candidates yet? I sent the department an email asking when we would hear back, but still no response yet.

The Canadian system is not that different than the American, especially compared to European. By the way, SFU has some great profs at the International Studies program as well. I think it's a good school for a BA/MA but not for PhD. As for UBC, they're supposed to release the PhD admissions in a couple of weeks. I asked when applied and their response was that they notify the applicants of the admissions committee’s decision between end of February to March. 

[somuchtoread]

On 2/14/2017 at 3:24 AM, BellaAung said:

Thank you so much for your insight! I really appreciate it. I grew up with the American education system so I am a bit nervous having to navigate through the Canadian one this time! You've been very kind.

By the way, have you (or anyone) heard anything about UBC offering acceptances to candidates yet? I sent the department an email asking when we would hear back, but still no response yet.

Exactly what _Dreamer_ said below. The Canadian system isn't all that different. Some of the scholarships require Canadian citizenship or Permanent Residency but other than that it's pretty much the same. 

I'm waiting to hear back from UBC as well. Just got accepted into the University of Calgary program yesterday. 

[BellaAung]

5 hours ago, Pahi said:

Exactly what _Dreamer_ said below. The Canadian system isn't all that different. Some of the scholarships require Canadian citizenship or Permanent Residency but other than that it's pretty much the same. 

I'm waiting to hear back from UBC as well. Just got accepted into the University of Calgary program yesterday. 

 

Congratulations!

[somuchtoread]

Just received an offer from McGill!! Really excited because my research interests are an excellent fit with the department and overall Montreal would be a great place to live in but I still slightly prefer UBC for family reasons and U of Toronto for the university and department strenght. Aaaaaaghhhh!! So many decisions to make!! 

[Crème brûlée]

@Pahi Congratulations! Montreal is a fantastic city. May I ask if your status has been also updated on the portal? 

[boruchan93]

Well I received another rejection. This time from UVic. 

[Volition]

2 hours ago, boruchan93 said:

Well I received another rejection. This time from UVic. 

Sorry to hear. Was this just a general rejection letter? May I ask what your specialization is in?

Edited February 18, 2017 by Volition