<p>I am seriously considering a Ph.D in Political Science, and had a few questions as to how I should prepare while in college and the admissions process.</p>
<p>My school does not offer a statistics/methods course in Political Science. I do have to take a seminar on research before my undergraduate thesis. Is this sufficient in lieu of an actual course? If not, will a similar class in another social science, say, Economics be sufficient? </p>
<p>How difficult is admission to the following programs: George Mason, U of VA, Georgetown, GWU, NYU, and JHU. I may apply to some ivies, but I have no illusions considering the college I attend isn't well-known. I'm particularly interested in George Mason and GWU. My GPA is solid, and practice GREs are looking promising. </p>
<p>My college offers a Master's degree, and I'm fairly sure I can get fully funded. They also have a few really good faculty members in the field I wish to study. Is it worthwhile to do this before I apply to a Ph.D program?</p>
<p>A statistics class in another social science will be sufficient. If your college doesn’t offer statistics in poli sci, I encourage you to take it in another department. Economics would probably be best (although they may require 1-3 semesters of calculus). Psychology departments also offer introductory stats classes. And there’s always taking stats & prob in the math department, although that usually necessitates 2-3 semesters of calc.</p>
<p>As for research methods…that’s trickier, since each field is a bit idiosyncratic when it comes to research methods. I would take one either in econ or sociology. I think it depends on the kind of research you intend to do.</p>
<p>Undergraduate institution isn’t very important in the admissions process, and many many people go from unknown or not-well-known colleges to top programs every year. I’m at an Ivy League university and in my department are people from Ivies and top SLACs as well as people from mid-ranked universities and LACs and people from colleges of which I’ve never heard. So if you want to apply to top programs, don’t let your school’s name hold you back. (That said, I know nothing about the competitiveness of the programs you listed.)</p>
<p>The MA may or may not be a good idea. <em>shrug</em> It really depends on your needs.</p>
<p>Thanks. One of the reason I’m considering a Master’s is so I can get my feet into the required methods etc,. </p>
<p>It’s pretty funny. My school has an OK reputation, but known as fairly easy to get into. But almost every faculty member in the Political Science department received their doctorate from a top school (Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, UChicago, Michigan…). Perhaps they may be able to assess my ‘chances’ (which I know is a silly term for graduate admissions)</p>