<p>I have gotten two acceptances at Rutgers and UMCP. Rejected at 4 others, waitlisted at 1, and awaiting decisions from 4 more. I am currently trying to choose between the two, as Rutgers has offered me an excellent full funding fellowship for 5 years and UMCP has offered me basically nothing (a stipend I couldn't possibly live off of as a GA for only 4 years and limited tuition remission). </p>
<p>Maryland is ranked high, but the cost of living here is outrageously high. I'm from the area, so I know what they are offering me is a joke. Rutgers has a lower ranking, but I'm wondering how low. I actually like their program better, based on reviewing their websites, but I wonder if going to Rutgers will lessen my job prospects in the future, while UMCP may enhance them (they have had a higher placement rate in the past than rutgers) because it is commonly seen as a good program in Govt and Politics.</p>
<p>So I'd like your impression, because it seems that the impression the name gives heavily impacts whether a research facility/university wants to hire someone regardless of the work they have done there.</p>
<p>Where would you rank Rutgers' Poli Sci doctoral program vs. UMCP? Or do you even view UMCP as that much better?</p>
<p>From my very limited knowledge on the subject:</p>
<p>1) Don't EVER do a PhD unless it's fully funed.</p>
<p>2) Poli Sci placement is pretty tight presently and it's even tough for graduates from the top schools. Rutgers has a decent program but I'm not sure how well it places in academia.</p>
<p>What is your area of focus? What do you hope to do with your PhD?</p>
<p>I agree with jmleadpipe - neither school is a top department, so you have to make your decisions based on their relative position in your particular field of interest - you don't give us enough information here to allow us to give you any advice...</p>
<p>I'll be specializing in Comparative Politics and I plan on becoming a researcher first and foremost. I'd like to be a professor as well, but probably further down the line or if I do not obtain a research position after completion. </p>
<p>My areas of focus is quite specialized, Racial Politics, sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora, and Gender and Development and also pretty rare for poli sci programs in general (not many scholars/professors work in this area, and most are only at the Ivy Leagues).</p>
<p>Bear in mind that the market for Poli Sci PhDs is absolutely dead right now. I dont know how it will be five years from now, but it's pretty rough. I was speaking to a professor of mine this past week and he said it's the worst he's seen ever, basically.
That said, some fields like Comparative Chinese or Methods are still fairly good markets so if you're interested is something like methods and you plan on working at a Community College after graduation, a funded PhD from Rutgers might be worth considering.</p>
<p>EDIT: We posted at the exact same time! Weird!</p>
<p>Knowing know what you want to do with your degree, keep in mind that positions are research universities have been tight for awhile. I'm not sure how things are for comparative African but I imagine it's rough as well. Keep in mind that specializing in a super narrow subfield is not good for the job search. You want to do something that's popular and where many positions are likely to be open, i.e. research methods or China, as noted above. Take a look over at Poliscijobrumors.com. Someone will be able to give you a better answer than us.</p>
<p>That is weird!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. :-)</p>