PhD!

Hey, so I did English undergrad at Peterhouse, Cambridge and my masters at Warwick, so not to be boastful or anything, but both institutions are extremely well known in the states due to their academic reputation, hence why I applied. I am planning on applying for a PhD (in politics) to the states. Is there anybody who has an idea of the likelihood of getting an acceptance? I am originally from the States.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

Carnationlilyrose

Original post by PeterhouseKIL

Hey, so I did English undergrad at Peterhouse, Cambridge and my masters at Warwick. I am planning on applying to the states for a PhD. Do anybody know the likelihood of getting an acceptance?

Posting in the A levels forum is not likely to get you the right answer. I'll move this to Studying In North America, but you might also want to post in the Postgraduate Applications forum.

Reply 2

PeterhouseKIL

Original post by Carnationlilyrose

Posting in the A levels forum is not likely to get you the right answer. I'll move this to Studying In North America, but you might also want to post in the Postgraduate Applications forum.

Sorry, that was accidental!

Reply 3

Tcannon

What is your GRE score and how does it stack up with average of your target unis in the US? Most departments publish the data of admitted PhD intake each yr.

I am just intrigued. What is your area of academic interest in PolScie? Can you enter a PolScie PhD programme in the US with an English BA/MA? Have you taken any politics modules?

Reply 4

sj27

Original post by Tcannon

This, plus a bit more info than "where I studied" ....like grades, which do actually matter, and what the target unis are. Politics programs at the top universities are extremely competitive. Furthermore, many of the U.S. politics programs have required quantitative modules, and it is unlikely that a British languages degree has provided any quantitative skills. Not a deal breaker for admissions perhaps, but OP might need to indicate how he/she plans to deal with those. So the "likelihood of getting accepted" all in all will probably increase the further down the rankings you go, unless there is something more relevant about grades or modules studied that we haven't been told about yet.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

madamemerle

Original post by PeterhouseKIL

Not sure if totally serious :sly:

I'll echo everyone else and say: just knowing the institutions that you've done your degrees at tells us almost nothing that would help us estimate your likelihood of acceptance.

And, like TCannon says, unless your MA is in politics, or you have significant coursework in politics, it's unlikely that you are sufficiently prepared for PhD study in the discipline.

You give no indication whatsoever of your research interests; being able to locate and articulate specific areas of research within your discipline will be essential to putting together a convincing application for PhD. Additionally, it is really your research interests, rather than "reputation" at the university level, that should be guiding your decision making process as to where you want to apply. For example: what departments have faculty strengths in the areas you are interested in, which departments offer particularly strong coursework in your areas, are there particular centres and/or archival collections that you may want to use/be a part of?

In general, most PhD programs in high-demand social science or humanities discipines accept between 2% and 10% of their applicant pool. In numbers terms, examples from my discipline: 300 - 600 applicants and 12 acceptances would be about average for a very competitive school, but even at middling schools the numbers are often not much better. To have a chance, the absolute basic requirement will be that you can pinpoint your interests and show an admissions committee how your educational background has specifically prepared you to carry out research in those areas.