After earning an interdisciplinary MA, 30 credits of on-campus graduate work in IR at a European school, and 2 years of experience doing research under a federal grant at a Top 10 university, I have decided that it's time to pursue a PhD. But I'm having a very hard time deciding between Political Science and Public Policy programs, and this is causing me a lot of anxiety since application deadlines are about a month away.
Since I'm almost 30 and have ample research experience under my belt, my questions of interest are, well, more concrete than a lot of the applicants' would. Having said that, I constructed my SoP based on the areas I'm interested in, the questions I hope to answer, how my personal and professional expereince prepared me to study these on a doctoral level, and how I anticipate my research to contribute to the existing literature. I recently met with a Political Science professor at a DC university and had a rude awakening. He basically said that my research sounded significant but it wasn't "theoretical enough" to be a Political Science project. Rather, he said in a condescending way, I should pursue Public Policy and/or International Relations programs. In all honesty, I'm more interested in theory based applied research to evaluate existing policies and programs and offer ways to improve them, anyway.
I currently have about 10-12 schools on my list: 5 Public Policy, 3 IR, 4 PoliSci. Based on my interactions with the faculty members and the information on program websites, PubPol and IR programs are ideal places. But, these 4 PoliSci programs I'm considering applying have Public Policy/IR tracks and encourage applied research.
Should I not apply to PoliSci programs at all? What do y'all think?
Question
devilinthedistrict
Hi all -
After earning an interdisciplinary MA, 30 credits of on-campus graduate work in IR at a European school, and 2 years of experience doing research under a federal grant at a Top 10 university, I have decided that it's time to pursue a PhD. But I'm having a very hard time deciding between Political Science and Public Policy programs, and this is causing me a lot of anxiety since application deadlines are about a month away.
Since I'm almost 30 and have ample research experience under my belt, my questions of interest are, well, more concrete than a lot of the applicants' would. Having said that, I constructed my SoP based on the areas I'm interested in, the questions I hope to answer, how my personal and professional expereince prepared me to study these on a doctoral level, and how I anticipate my research to contribute to the existing literature. I recently met with a Political Science professor at a DC university and had a rude awakening. He basically said that my research sounded significant but it wasn't "theoretical enough" to be a Political Science project. Rather, he said in a condescending way, I should pursue Public Policy and/or International Relations programs. In all honesty, I'm more interested in theory based applied research to evaluate existing policies and programs and offer ways to improve them, anyway.
I currently have about 10-12 schools on my list: 5 Public Policy, 3 IR, 4 PoliSci. Based on my interactions with the faculty members and the information on program websites, PubPol and IR programs are ideal places. But, these 4 PoliSci programs I'm considering applying have Public Policy/IR tracks and encourage applied research.
Should I not apply to PoliSci programs at all? What do y'all think?
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