PhD in American Studies

ticklemepink
Fri, 14 May 2010 11:40:48 +0000

Not all political science departments are very quantitative. You need to do some research and searching for those who reflect your approach.

Unfortunately, a good number of graduate courses DO focus on methodological skills because they are designed to help you prepare for your own dissertation research. I didn’t love them but they have forced me to consider different perspectives and methods when I did my MA research.

The job market for American Studies PhDs is horrid. Nobody really wants to hire one except for American Studies departments that actually have standing faculty, not full of joint-appointments. Many departments don’t see a lot of value in American Studies PhDs because they ddin’t get the same kind of training as those who did get their PhD in History or English. You would need to look at job placements in American Studies PhD programs and find out how long it took for their students to find jobs.