Visiting schools

[applying12010]

I am going to visit Duke this weekend (Princeton and Harvard a little later), and I plan to keep a record of the answers I got to my questions from the professors, general feeling of the program etc. Do you guys think that it is a good idea for us to post our information and thoughts on different schools here? It can help us to decide where to go and the future applicants to decide where to apply to.

[Yes]

I am going to visit Duke this weekend (Princeton and Harvard a little later), and I plan to keep a record of the answers I got to my questions from the professors, general feeling of the program etc. Do you guys think that it is a good idea for us to post our information and thoughts on different schools here? It can help us to decide where to go and the future applicants to decide where to apply to.

I think that's a very good idea. It might also help future applicants. I will be looking at Stanford, Princeton and Columbia, so I will share my impressions as soon as I get back.

[applying12010]

School Review!

Duke

faculty: I really like the faculty there - they are brilliant but also very friendly. I actually got to ask some of the professors at Duke on my other potential choices, and they were very kind to give me some advices. The department is very collegial.

prospective cohort: Some of you guys are probably on this forum too! I really like the students Duke admitted - smart and serious about political science but also very nice. Lots of people also seem to be fun (in the sense that their lives are more than just about PoliSci!)

grad students: all very nice and friendly, and seem to be pretty happy living/ studying at Duke.

miscellaneous observations:

1) Seem to be a department that provides very good formal/ method training. I was impressed by the grad students' strong methods knowledge when I visited.

2) Seem to be a place where someone may learn a lot, but also relax (not a competitive environment at all, according to my observation)

3) The departmental supporting network for grad students seems to be very strong - you will not "sink" if you attend Duke

4) According to a professor, Duke can "make sure that a second rate student to at least place at a second rate school, and a first rate student to definitely place at a first rate school". I agree with the professor.

5) Note that Duke does not provide grad student housing, so grad students need to find apartments/ houses on their own (the department and other grad students would help you though).

6) Definitely need a car if you attend Duke. Need a car to get to anywhere.

7) Last, but really important, Duke has radically revamped its Political Science department. Now Duke is not longer divided into the four subfields of IR, American, Comparative, Theory. Now it is: political economy, security and peace, political institutions, religion and politics, identity and politics, methodology, normative theory (I might not remember all of the names exactly right, and I might have missed one or two fields, but you can get a general idea). Duke Ph.D students will graduate with the qualifications above instead of the old ones.

The rationale for the new organization, to put it simply, is to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The Duke professors make a pretty compelling argument that original divisions are pretty idiosyncratic, and that they wish to transcend traditional boundaries.

The cohort's reaction to the reform are mixed. For international security, political theory and methods people, there's actually not much change. The new organization, on the other hand, probably benefits the comparativists the most. My feeling is that the Americanists are the most skeptical of the changes. And as someone doing IR theory and IPE, I am a little nervous about the new organization too. However, in sum, I think the new reforms are revolutionary and reflect the department's drive to pursue top notch research at the frontiers of political science.

8) There are a lot of German students, and a lot of them are studying comparative.

In sum, a great school!! I am quite impressed, to be honest. And Duke provides a very nice benchmark for me to evaluate the other schools that I am visiting.

Post your review, people, when you have time! We can help the future applicants, and even people from our cohort to make decisions on where to attend grad school!

Edited March 4, 2010 by applying12010

[wustlug]

School Review!

Duke

faculty: I really like the faculty there - they are brilliant but also very friendly. I actually got to ask some of the professors at Duke on my other potential choices, and they were very kind to give me some advices. The department is very collegial.

prospective cohort: Some of you guys are probably on this forum too! I really like the students Duke admitted - smart and serious about political science but also very nice. Lots of people also seem to be fun (in the sense that their lives are more than just about PoliSci!)

grad students: all very nice and friendly, and seem to be pretty happy living/ studying at Duke.

miscellaneous observations:

1) Seem to be a department that provides very good formal/ method training. I was impressed by the grad students' strong methods knowledge when I visited.

2) Seem to be a place where someone may learn a lot, but also relax (not a competitive environment at all, according to my observation)

3) The departmental supporting network for grad students seems to be very strong - you will not "sink" if you attend Duke

4) According to a professor, Duke can "make sure that a second rate student to at least place at a second rate school, and a first rate student to definitely place at a first rate school". I agree with the professor.

5) Note that Duke does not provide grad student housing, so grad students need to find apartments/ houses on their own (the department and other grad students would help you though).

6) Definitely need a car if you attend Duke. Need a car to get to anywhere.

7) Last, but really important, Duke has radically revamped its Political Science department. Now Duke is not longer divided into the four subfields of IR, American, Comparative, Theory. Now it is: political economy, security and peace, political institutions, religion and politics, identity and politics, methodology, normative theory (I might not remember all of the names exactly right, and I might have missed one or two fields, but you can get a general idea). Duke Ph.D students will graduate with the qualifications above instead of the old ones.

The rationale for the new organization, to put it simply, is to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The Duke professors make a pretty compelling argument that original divisions are pretty idiosyncratic, and that they wish to transcend traditional boundaries.

The cohort's reaction to the reform are mixed. For international security, political theory and methods people, there's actually not much change. The new organization, on the other hand, probably benefits the comparativists the most. My feeling is that the Americanists are the most skeptical of the changes. And as someone doing IR theory and IPE, I am a little nervous about the new organization too. However, in sum, I think the new reforms are revolutionary and reflect the department's drive to pursue top notch research at the frontiers of political science.

8) There are a lot of German students, and a lot of them are studying comparative.

In sum, a great school!! I am quite impressed, to be honest. And Duke provides a very nice benchmark for me to evaluate the other schools that I am visiting.

Post your review, people, when you have time! We can help the future applicants, and even people from our cohort to make decisions on where to attend grad school!

Out of curiosity, how many attended the Duke political science visit weekend? Were most still visiting other places (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc.?) And were people already talking about their decisions with regards to either Duke or other programs? (As you can probably tell, I am on the alternate list at Duke: my first choice). Thanks!

[applying12010]

Out of curiosity, how many attended the Duke political science visit weekend? Were most still visiting other places (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc.?) And were people already talking about their decisions with regards to either Duke or other programs? (As you can probably tell, I am on the alternate list at Duke: my first choice). Thanks!

About 25 people came. Several of us are probably turning down Duke, so good luck!

[Concentration]

Anyone care to debrief (publicly or privately) on their impressions of UNC - CH?

[wustlug]

About 25 people came. Several of us are probably turning down Duke, so good luck!

Gotcha -- thanks for the update and the good wishes: best of luck to you as well!

[The Lorax]

I am officially reviving this thread, as I have a visit this weekend. Share your experiences with programs for those of us who don't get to make thorough rounds. Also, taking suggestions for MUST ASK questions while away.

[maicondouglas]

I am officially reviving this thread, as I have a visit this weekend. Share your experiences with programs for those of us who don't get to make thorough rounds. Also, taking suggestions for MUST ASK questions while away.

I am going to WUSTL for grad weekend in a few weeks and would like to know what I should expect format-wise. Also, what the hell does one wear to one of these events?!?

[firefly28]

I'll provide one for:

University of Georgia

Faculty: I met nine different professors, all of whom were very friendly. Georgia has an interesting mix--Keith Poole, one of the top 5 methods people in the country (and probably one of the top 2 on polarization, along with Morris Fiorina), and there are a few other older faculty, but a lot of the faculty is younger. The faculty also seems to genuinely enjoy it there. Georgia has a VERY strong methods crew--along with KP, Ryan Bakker, Jamie Monogan and a few others have terrific backgrounds in methods.

Cohort: Can't answer this one too well as I didn't meet a sizable amount, but from whom I met, I can say that I do think it will be a strong crop of serious but not cutthroat graduate students.

Grad students: Only briefly met a few. They too seem to enjoy it and there is good rapport between students and faculty.

Misc. stuff:

I'm from a lousy-weather city. Athens was absolutely beautiful when I visited--temps in the lower sixties, sunshine. It had apparently been even warmer the week prior.

Athens is every bit as football crazed as you might have heard. 'Dawg' stuff everywhere. If you like college football (I'm meh about it), you'll like your time there.

The overall student population is more diverse than I would have expected.

There is definitely a large party scene--as someone put it, 40 restaurants and 40 bars. That being said, I get the impression that one can also mostly avoid this contingent of the population.

It is very possible to get around the city without having a car. There's a pretty good bus system--the buses look newer and nicer than the ones in my city, and Athens isn't geographically a huge area, with most of the relevant restaurants etc. in relatively small clusters.

I ate supper at a nice Indian restaurant. The dish had some veggies in it, and the onions were the freshest and best tasting that I've ever had; I'm guessing they buy them local.

I didn't notice much in the way of 'suburbs'. Basically you go from Athens to the country (and I mean country) pretty fast.

I only noticed one confederate flag, and it was way out in the country in between Atlanta and Athens.

Finally, about the program:

I get the impression that the program is going to rise up in the rankings over the next few years. Keith Poole will be doing some very interesting stuff, and a few of the younger professors have some very good stuff in development. I think that in 4 years, UGA may be ranked at Pitt's level. So, right now I consider it to be one of the best deals in the country. The school seems to really be ramping up efforts to distinguish itself. At the undergrad level, the average SAT score admitted last year was 1300. So, if you're thinking about a poli sci program for next year and have an interest in methods, I'd certainly endorse applying to Georgia.

Note that Georgia splits international politics/affairs from American/comparative, which is somewhat uncommon. As a grad student you can still take an IA course but it is a different department in a different location. As a result, I know fairly little about it, though there are a few professors who do work on subjects of interest to me (violent political conflict, ethnic politics)

All in all, I was very satisfied with my visit to Georgia. The faculty (and the weather) couldn't have been nicer.

Edited March 10, 2011 by firefly28