GRADUATE SCHOOL INFO

Many students are interested in going on to pursue a graduate degree, either a masters degree or a Ph.D. Use available resources to learn about grad school options, preparing for graduate school, and life in grad school.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND ON THIS PAGE: A) Deciding to Go to Graduate School B) What Kinds of Graduate Programs Are There? C) Finding and Selecting Programs D) Paying for Graduate School

A) Deciding to Go to Graduate School

Whether you go to graduate school or not should depend entirely on your interests and career goals. If you really enjoyed your Political Science and International Relations classes and did well in them, and your overall GPA is good, give it serious consideration. A graduate degree is essential for an academic career, and can also be a valuable preparation for careers in government, think tanks, advocacy, and non-profit or non-governmental organization.

 

"So, You Want to Get a Ph.D. in Political Science"
Episode I	Episode II

B) What Kinds of Programs Are There?

You can pursue either a terminal Masters degree or a Ph.D. in Political Science (any sub-field), International Relations, Public Policy, and Public Administration.

A terminal Masters program will typically take about two years, and will give you a broad skill set that you can use to work in a variety of applied settings. Terminal programs tend to have a specific focus and prepare students for professional careers in the area—they are for people who want to work at a high level in international relations or public administration or political polling and so on.

A doctoral (Ph.D.) program is harder to get into and typically takes 5-7 years to complete. It will give you a solid grounding in the theories of the discipline as well as specialized knowledge in your research field, and prepare you for an academic career of university teaching and research.

MTSU - Department of Political Science Master of Arts in International Affairs

Our Masters is a terminal program where you can specialize in either Security and Peace Studies or Development and Globalization. It gives students the analytic, research, and practical tools for a career in government, international and foreign policy organizations, multinational businesses and development organizations dealing with risk analysis, poverty alleviation, environmental organizations, human rights, homeland security, and the military.

 

C) Finding and Selecting Programs

Graduate school is entirely about developing an area of specialization, so you first need to know what you want to do. What specific area/research question in political science or international relations do you wish to develop expertise? Talk to your academic advisor and professors, read, and think—these are the essential starting points in finding a good program.

Once you know what type of specialization you want, your concern should be individual faculty members in the sub-field that interests you. Are they first-rate scholars in your area of interest? Can you put together an excellent thesis committee from among the faculty that covers all four of these issue areas? Do they have a reputation for being attentive to, helping, and co-authoring with their graduate students? Beyond the subfield, you should be somewhat interested in the overall reputation of the department, but you should have little interest in the overall reputation of the university, as all but one or two of your courses will be in your chosen program or department. It is far better as a graduate student to go to a stellar department at a mid-level university than to go to a mid-level department in an otherwise stellar university. Look for a department or program whose comparative advantages fit your interests.

GradSchools.Com This is a quick online grad school search program, to get you started. Once you get a list of potential programs, go to each program individually and read extensively about the program, faculty members and their research areas, and how well they place their grads.

Search programs by region and state, and by the following areas:           - Political Science           - International Relations           - Public Administration and Policy           - Urban Affairs and Planning           - Non-Profit Administration

 

D) Paying for Graduate School

Grad school is expensive, but you won't (shouldn't, really) pay for it. Graduate schools only accept a limited number of applicants, so if they accept you it's because they want you to come, and they will put together a financial package to make it possible. Most go to grad school with an assistantship, which covers tuition and fees and offers a monthly stipend to live on in return for work as a teaching or research assistant.

Aim to attend the best program you can get into in your area of interest where they will pay you.