Anyone Studying for the Msc Political Science in Trinity?

Byron85

As the thread title says, is anyone here doing the Msc in Trinity? Just wondering as I want to apply for it in the next month or two and would like to ask current students some questions if possible.

gutenberg

I'm not studying it, but I did study in that department for my undergraduate (so I know some of the lecturers), plus one of my best friends did the M.Sc International Relations in TCD, so if I can be of any assistance I'd like to help

Byron85

gutenberg wrote: »

I'm not studying it, but I did study in that department for my undergraduate (so I know some of the lecturers), plus one of my best friends did the M.Sc International Relations in TCD, so if I can be of any assistance I'd like to help

Well, I suppose, what's the department like? Teaching quality etc.

Also, the modules for the Msc seem to be very Irish/Euro centric. Would I be right in thinking that? I know you said that you didn't do the Masters there but was your undergrad like that?

gutenberg

Byron85 wrote: »

Well, I suppose, what's the department like? Teaching quality etc.

Also, the modules for the Msc seem to be very Irish/Euro centric. Would I be right in thinking that? I know you said that you didn't do the Masters there but was your undergrad like that?

Personally, I loathed PolSci as a department for my undergraduate. A lot of my lecturers were terrible, and tutorials (which were run by postgrad teaching assistants and not lecturers, to be fair) were next to useless. I dropped it as soon as I could in favour of my other subject. You always got the distinct impression from first year through to fourth that students were & are an inconvenience.

Having said that, I think it would be a better experience for postgrad study- you'd actually get some class time with the lecturers and get to discuss things properly, and a lot of them are well-respected academics in their respective fields (some not so much... :P) However, be warned about thesis supervision. My friend who did IR got practically NO help from his supervisor; the department also apparently have a policy whereby after a certain cutoff date in the summer, there's an embargo on contact with your supervisor?! I could not believe this. He was not allowed to even email his supe with questions, never mind ask him to read drafts etc. Now they might change this, as I know it was universally unpopular, but it's something to bear in mind perhaps.

Yes a lot of the undergraduate modules were quite Irish and Eurocentric. Even the more general courses such as the first year 'Intro to Political Science' was essentially European Politics 101, but it depended on who teaches it: in other years it was more Irish-focused, for instance. The department have recruited a few IR specialists who are a bit broader in terms of their geographic outlook, but it's not a great department for American politics, for example. Their real strengths (elections, policy analysis) are largely Irish and EU I'm afraid.

Byron85

gutenberg wrote: »

Personally, I loathed PolSci as a department for my undergraduate. A lot of my lecturers were terrible, and tutorials (which were run by postgrad teaching assistants and not lecturers, to be fair) were next to useless. I dropped it as soon as I could in favour of my other subject. You always got the distinct impression from first year through to fourth that students were & are an inconvenience.

Having said that, I think it would be a better experience for postgrad study- you'd actually get some class time with the lecturers and get to discuss things properly, and a lot of them are well-respected academics in their respective fields (some not so much... :P) However, be warned about thesis supervision. My friend who did IR got practically NO help from his supervisor; the department also apparently have a policy whereby after a certain cutoff date in the summer, there's an embargo on contact with your supervisor?! I could not believe this. He was not allowed to even email his supe with questions, never mind ask him to read drafts etc. Now they might change this, as I know it was universally unpopular, but it's something to bear in mind perhaps.

Yes a lot of the undergraduate modules were quite Irish and Eurocentric. Even the more general courses such as the first year 'Intro to Political Science' was essentially European Politics 101, but it depended on who teaches it: in other years it was more Irish-focused, for instance. The department have recruited a few IR specialists who are a bit broader in terms of their geographic outlook, but it's not a great department for American politics, for example. Their real strengths (elections, policy analysis) are largely Irish and EU I'm afraid.

Wow. Thanks a million for all of the information. You've just saved me a pointless application. It was probably my first choice of postgrad but I was a little unsure as the modules seemed to be very Ireland and Euro centric, which you've just confirmed for me.

I've got plenty of other options lined up though. : )

Thanks again for the reply! : )

sureitsgrand

I'd just like to echo the previous poster's comments: the Political Science department in TCD could not give a toss about students. The lecturers are mostly disinterested in teaching (with 1/2 shining examples!) and to be quite honest the recent MA courses are mainly there as moneymakers for the department.

Now - I, like above, also did it for undergraduate (but for the full four years), so wouldn't really be an authority to talk about their postgrad courses but I would still caution people from going there.

HOWEVER, if you are interested in quantitative political science (Irish or EU), it's the place to be. Trinity political science academics see this type of work as the only worthwhile type of research in the discipline and are quite dismissive of anything else. It's what they're good at and they stick to it - which would be fair enough if there job was purely research. Now, because of this expertise they have an excellent reputation in Europe and beyond and the Trinity brand does travel well....so that's something to keep in mind.

After my undergraduate I was disillussioned with the study of politics but thanks to getting on an amazing Masters course elsewhere it rekindled my interest in the discipline and I'm now doing a (funded!) PhD at a third university. In both my Masters and PhD I met some people who were passionate about teaching and encouraged me, whereas over the course of four years I didn't find one person at TCD who inspired me or took any sort of interest in how I was performing.

Personally, if I was in the Dublin area I would recommend the MA in UCD. I never went there, but I've only heard good things and met some great lecturers from there. There also is a wider and more diverse range of courses to choose from.....think it's cheaper too!

Best of luck with whatever you choose!

gutenberg

sureitsgrand wrote: »

... and to be quite honest the recent MA courses are mainly there as moneymakers for the department.

.....think it's cheaper too!

This. I couldn't believe how much they were charging for the courses; I wonder if it's 'cos it's an M.Sc rather than an M.Phil (in that classic political science self-delusion)....

Byron85

sureitsgrand wrote: »

I'd just like to echo the previous poster's comments: the Political Science department in TCD could not give a toss about students. The lecturers are mostly disinterested in teaching (with 1/2 shining examples!) and to be quite honest the recent MA courses are mainly there as moneymakers for the department.

Now - I, like above, also did it for undergraduate (but for the full four years), so wouldn't really be an authority to talk about their postgrad courses but I would still caution people from going there.

HOWEVER, if you are interested in quantitative political science (Irish or EU), it's the place to be. Trinity political science academics see this type of work as the only worthwhile type of research in the discipline and are quite dismissive of anything else. It's what they're good at and they stick to it - which would be fair enough if there job was purely research. Now, because of this expertise they have an excellent reputation in Europe and beyond and the Trinity brand does travel well....so that's something to keep in mind.

After my undergraduate I was disillussioned with the study of politics but thanks to getting on an amazing Masters course elsewhere it rekindled my interest in the discipline and I'm now doing a (funded!) PhD at a third university. In both my Masters and PhD I met some people who were passionate about teaching and encouraged me, whereas over the course of four years I didn't find one person at TCD who inspired me or took any sort of interest in how I was performing.

Personally, if I was in the Dublin area I would recommend the MA in UCD. I never went there, but I've only heard good things and met some great lecturers from there. There also is a wider and more diverse range of courses to choose from.....think it's cheaper too!

Best of luck with whatever you choose!

Thanks for the info! I've seen the one in UCD and i'm definitely applying for it. The options are far better than the one in Trinity, which has no optional modules. I'll be applying for Sociology and Criminology too so fingers crossed i'll get something!

Is there anything in particular you've heard about the politics MA in UCD? I'm coming from UCC myself.