<p>Hello, I’ve finished MSc in politics at LSE, now I want to enroll in either Harvard or Columbia. But I don’t know which is better in terms of academics and network. By network I mean to meet influential people or potential politicians, you know. So I want to combine academics and ambitions.</p>
<p>This forum focuses on undergraduate programs (“College Search & Selection”), so you’re not in the best place for the kind of advice you want.</p>
<p>However, for what it’s worth…
A major objective of a PhD program is for each student, in the PhD dissertation, to make an original contribution to human knowledge. So it is important to have fairly clear, mature research interests that coincide with the interests of at least one prospective mentor on the faculty. Is Harvard, Columbia, or someplace else best for you? That depends on your research interests and preparation (and whether one of those schools has an appropriate mentor(s) with whom you’d like to work). </p>
<p>I don’t think very many American politicians have PhDs in political science.
Consultants, or career civil servants in some federal government agencies, might be a different story.</p>