will a dual degree help my chances?

[ksmith17]

I am currently in seminary. However, I want to get a doctoral degree in Political Science, and I would really like to go to one of the top schools. My UGPA isn't exceptional (3.66), and I don't have any political science background (b.s. in philosophy). I also don't wish to abandon my seminary studies. My seminary does offer a dual degree with other masters programs in other schools, and 1 of those degrees is a masters in International Relations. Would it be a good idea to get the dual degree and raise my GPA before applying to doctoral programs? Would they weigh my graduate work more?

[JC]

I think you'd be better off spending your time rounding out your applicaiton. Get excellent letters of recommendation and write a great personal statement. Plenty of people get in with 3.6 gpas.

what are you talking in terms of top schools? Top 10? top 20?

[ksmith17]

I would like to get into 1 of the top 5, though I will also apply to some middle-of-the-road schools. I just don't know how realistic that is. And, the dual degree would only take 1 more year and half of it would transfer into a PhD program.

[JC]

Yea, I had a 3.6 and got into a top ten school in my field - i think it's like 7 or so. I applied to a range of schools and i think that's wise no matter what your qualifications are. I didn't get into a school that's 1st in my field nor did i get into a school that's about 12th. But i got into my current school and was also accepted to liek the 3rd ranked school. My point is that there is some bit of random to it.

you probably know your situation better than anyone in terms of transferrablility of credits. But anyone who came with a masters in my field had to completely repeat all of the courses. None of them counted. It may be different if you were at the same school for the masters and then opted to stay for the phd. But everyone i've spoken with and met at academic conferences seems to say the same thing. Masters are generally a waste if your intention is to get a phd.

But if you are sure the credits would transfer it may not be such a bad idea. Are you sure you'd get better than a 3.6 though? Because what if it went down??

[ksmith17]

Thanks JC! I'm meeting with the head of the political science department at Baylor (where I'm in seminary) on Tuesday, so hopefully he can help me out too.