top 10 in pol science

[strategery]

top 25 is a benchmark for where newly minted Ph.D.'s try to get tenure track jobs, not where you should aim for going to graduate school. think of it this way, tenure track positions are far far far more competitive than graduate school admissions. each of the top schools brings in an incoming phd cohort from 10-20 (or even larger for schools like princeton) but only makes a couple of hires if that, a year. simple supply and demand is the reason for the conventional "top 10 (not 25) or bust" thinking.

if you go to notre dame's website they mention "80% of Political Science Ph.D. degree recipients obtain full-time academic employment within two years of market entry." most respectable programs will differentiate between tenure track/non-tenure track positions, and research university placement (much more competitive to get) vs. teaching at a non research oriented school, and the fact that ND doesn't is suspicious. i would be very wary of any program that does not publish its full placement record for the last 5+ years.

Originally Posted by AWGREPREP2008

I don't know if anyone is still checking these threads, but I'm curious if anyone else has anymore information. I also want to pursue a phd in poli sci, but it is highly unlikely that I will get into umich, harvard, duke, etc.

Does anyone know anything about Notre Dame's department? Poli Sci programs seem to be divided into the top 25 which are all difficult to get into and every other program which may not be worth the time.

[shunian]

here is a ranking of programs based on placement (which, if you are considering a career in academia) is probably one of the most important factors to consider:

A Ranking That Would Matter :: Inside Higher Ed :: Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education

it is interesting because the ranking based on this measure does not necessarily comport with other popular rankings based on reputation. harvard is still tops, however.

[macroeconomicus]

The recent PhD placements for Political Science PhDs from Rice University are posted on their web site. I thought that it is kind of remarkable that since 2000 Rice had numerous placements into respectable research universities like the University of Central Florida (2), Vanderbilt, University of Missouri, Penn State (2), U Cal-Riverside, University of Nebraska, etc. Not too shabby, and much better and more consistent than the academic placements of PhD candidates from the Rice Economics Department.

[Fatrapa]

Hi,

I am a PhD economics student admitted to U of Chicago. I have a strong interest in understanding how democracy works from a political science/philosophy (theoretical) point of view. Do you think the Pol sci department of Chicago is a good place to study this problem? It seems to be high in the different rankings but what are its specialities? Thank you for your insights.