Getting a Ph.D.

Chris Lawrence has good suggestions for undergraduates considering a Ph.D. in Political Science, with links to some really interesting discussions by people applying to graduate school. One major source of debate is needing to get a Ph.D. from a “top 25” school in order to get a “good job,” which then launched comments about what is “top 25.” In my view, it makes more sense to look at the school’s website and ask their graduate coordinator about what their placement record is—you can then see what types of jobs you would likely get, and make your decision accordingly. So I agree with Chris, who highlighted one response in particular from a long thread:

Whatever the rank of your program, if you have full funding and they have a decent placement record, strong faculty, and you think you can get the kind of training you want, then go.

And always keep in mind that a Ph.D. takes a long time, you’ll have little money for quite a while, and then the job market is stressful and unpredictable. In many ways it’s a weird profession.

Somewhat related, Dr. Crazy has a long post on the dynamics of publishing once you have a tenure-track position. It doesn’t fit me perfectly (i.e. all my journal submissions have been “cold”) but is still worth a look.