<p>Does anyone know where the best poli sci programs are?
Also, if you anyone knows the best psych programs, please share.</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Those are very popular majors, so chances are, many top universities will be excellent in both disciplines. What are your stats like? I could easily recommend Stanford, but are you qualified?</p>
<p>POLITICAL SCIENCE:
The best...
Harvard University
Princeton University
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Yale University</p>
<p>Other good ones...
Columbia University
Duke University
MIT
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Rochester
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>
<p>PSYCHOLOGY:
The best...
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</p>
<p>Other good ones...
Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Harvard University
MIT
Princeton University
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-San Diego
University of Pennsylvania
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Yale University</p>
<p>NRC Rankings of political science faculty quality: 1. Harvard, 2. Berkeley, 3. Yale, 4. Michigan, 5. Stanford, 6. Chicago, 7. Princeton.... etc; other Ivies in the top 50 include #15 Cornell, #16 Columbia and #42 UPenn. Gourman's political science department ranking is 1. Yale, 2. Michigan, 3. Berkeley, 4. Harvard, 5. Stanford. </p>
<p>NRC Rankings of psychology faculty quality: 1. Stanford, 2. Michigan, 3. Yale, 4. UCLA, 5. Illinois, 6. Harvard, 7. Minnesota, 8. Pennsylvania, etc.; other Ivies in the top 50 include #13 Princeton, #14 Cornell, #16 Columbia and #37 Brown.</p>
<p>I attend the Univ. of Michigan and am pursuing a poli sci major. Just wanted to let you know that the faculty is really respected and very approachable. I got a research assistant position my freshman year with a polisci prof and I have learned so much working with him.. Next semester I am taking a course on China and it's taught by the foremost expert in the US on Chinese foreign policy (Kenneth Lieberthal).</p>
<p>Lieberthal is an awesome professor. I had him myself when I was at Michigan, many moons ago. Not only is he one of the preeminent experts on China, he also happens to be a very kind and approachable man who really cares for his students.</p>
<p>there are phenomenal psych departments at LACs too, if you're interested in smaller schools.</p>
<p>PosterX, where is Berkeley in faculty for psych? It's seventh on this list.
<a href="http://www.socialpsychology.org/ggradgen.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.socialpsychology.org/ggradgen.htm</a></p>
<p>What're you using?</p>
<p>uhh what abt LACs rankings? thanks!</p>
<p>It is impossible to rank LACs. Some of them, like Claremont McKenna and Macalester are known for having larger departments than others, but in general, LACs cannot be ranked by department. You need to look at say 20 LACs that appeal to you, and from there, investigate all 20 to see what sort of resources they have availlable to Political Science majors.</p>
<p>In many cases the LACs have the strongest programs in psychology and poli sci. The rankings you see are for GRADUATE programs, where certain labs and resources are ranked. As far as teaching in those departments, it is very difficult to rank. However, in the academic world, professors and admins have their own internal rankings of undergrad programs when looking at students for grad school. In poli sci, Macalester, Duke, GW, Davidson, even UNC are very strong. For psych- Furman all the way- the birthplace of behaviorism with John Watson, major resources for an LAC, also Pomona and Davidson.</p>
<p>Well I wouldn't bank my future that an undergraduate degree from Furman will open lots of graduate school doors, especially as Watson never endeared himself to academic psychology given his rather outrageous behaviors.</p>
<p>i can help you out with the best psych schools as i am extremely familiar with psych departments nationwide. (i was a psych major as an undergrad, got my masters in psych, and now work in a major research institution before i go back for my phd in clinical psych).
just let me know your gpa/sat scores, and any preferences for location and size of school, and i can give you a whole list of schools for you to check out.</p>
<p>huskem55: Is it true that I don't need to major in psych undergrad to get a masters or phd in psych/clinical psych? I heard that if I take enough psych classes, then I can still get into good masters programs and phd programs. Is this true?</p>
<p>Yes its true you don't need a psych major to get into grad level psych programs, but you usually have to have some basic coursework in statistics, experimental design, personality theory, abnormal psychology and either physiological psychology or neuroscience. To get into Ph.D. psych programs you need a competitive resume including a GPA above 3.5, GRE's usually above a minimum 650 on Verbal and Math, and letters of recommendation from professors who can attest to your potential for academic and research achievement at the graduate level. this last variable points to the need for undergarduates to have supervised research experience within an area of psychology. You can get that kind of experience in many different venues, but it is easier to get those appointments if you are a psych major.</p>
<p>dont need to major in psych, but should have some background in psych, such as volunteer work, research experience, etc. also most schools will want you to take the psych gre to prove competency in psych. clinical psych phds are one of the most difficult programs to get into, with the nationwide average acceptance rate of ~5%, so you will need to distinguish yourself in some way.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks for the info. If I were to do a lot of research while getting my masters and possibly do interships/work-study in psych departments at my school during undergrad, would that be sufficient for phd. programs or is research during undergrad pretty much required?</p>
<p>I am not sure. Ask your professors and graduate student friends. I would imagine it would be ok, but the better research and letters of rec the better.</p>
<p>admissions are such a crapshoot that theres not a set list of requirements that will assure you a spot.</p>
<p>Getting an MA in psych on the way to a clinical psych Ph.D. carries some benefits and risks. If you can convince admission committes that the MA was to make up for weaknesses in your undergraduate preparation(i.e. not a psych major, not enough research focus at the undergraduate institution, etc.) and you are willing to be given no academic credit for the MA work at the Ph.D. granting school and you are able to work within a good MA program on good research then it is a good pathway and will bolster your admission credentials. Very few schools make any allowances for a previous MA in terms of credit requirements and thesis requirements. If you go the MA route try to investigate the % of their students who advance to Ph.D. programs. The ones with the best track records are the ones to look into. Although admission to clinical psych programs is more selective than getting into the HYP triad, there is more predictability about the measures a student needs to take to gain admission than the HYP crapshoot.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks.</p>