Syllabi
Comparative Politics II
Mixed Methods Research
Politics of the Contemporary Middle East
Political Psychology and Comparative Politics
Information for Prospective Graduate Students
Advising
I am deeply committed to academic mentorship. I benefitted tremendously from an active student-advisor relationship in graduate school and seek to replicate this experience for my own students. I meet monthly with all of my advisees over dinner in the Middle East Politics Workshop, where we present and discuss our on-going research. I also hold regular (weekly) office hours for my advisees and expect that we will be in regular (weekly) communication during coursework and fieldwork. I offer all my advisees the opportunity to co-author a piece during the second or third year of study. This is an opportunity for the student to experience the full research process – from idea, to funding, to IRB application, to collecting and analyzing data, to publication – and to do so in collaboration before undertaking the dissertation project on their own.
While the five+ years spent in graduate school may seem like a long time, I encourage my students to keep their end goals and the academic job market in mind. The market is increasingly competitive and success requires many years of advance planning (in addition to a lot of luck and good networks). I actively support my students in this preparation process. You can find here my thoughts on how to prepare for the academic job market (presented at the 2020 Professional Development Workshop hosted by APSA MENA and POMEPS; more resources here).
Admissions
Like most political science programs, Yale political science does not admit students to work with specific faculty. Instead, admissions decisions are made by a committee that changes every year. You are welcome to mention my name in your personal statement in order to ensure it is sent to me during the admission process. However, to improve equity and fairness in admissions, I no longer have personal conversations with prospective students. This policy avoids favoring students who have received advice to connect with faculty or who have connections with my colleagues (thanks to Betsy Paluck for setting this example). If you are admitted to Yale, I will be eager to talk about working with you and promise to give you my candid assessment about whether our program is the best fit for you. You can learn more about Yale’s PhD program and the application process here.
In preparing your application, I encourage you to consult the following resources:
Comparative Politics II
- Spring 2021 PLSC 778
Mixed Methods Research
- Spring 2019 PLSC 352/523
- Fall 2020 PLSC 352 (undergraduate) PLSC 523 (graduate)
Politics of the Contemporary Middle East
- Fall 2018 PLSC 396/MMES 364
- Spring 2021 PLSC 396/MMES 364
- Summer 2021 PLSC S396-E/MMES S364-E
Political Psychology and Comparative Politics
- Fall 2018 PLSC 744
Information for Prospective Graduate Students
Advising
I am deeply committed to academic mentorship. I benefitted tremendously from an active student-advisor relationship in graduate school and seek to replicate this experience for my own students. I meet monthly with all of my advisees over dinner in the Middle East Politics Workshop, where we present and discuss our on-going research. I also hold regular (weekly) office hours for my advisees and expect that we will be in regular (weekly) communication during coursework and fieldwork. I offer all my advisees the opportunity to co-author a piece during the second or third year of study. This is an opportunity for the student to experience the full research process – from idea, to funding, to IRB application, to collecting and analyzing data, to publication – and to do so in collaboration before undertaking the dissertation project on their own.
While the five+ years spent in graduate school may seem like a long time, I encourage my students to keep their end goals and the academic job market in mind. The market is increasingly competitive and success requires many years of advance planning (in addition to a lot of luck and good networks). I actively support my students in this preparation process. You can find here my thoughts on how to prepare for the academic job market (presented at the 2020 Professional Development Workshop hosted by APSA MENA and POMEPS; more resources here).
Admissions
Like most political science programs, Yale political science does not admit students to work with specific faculty. Instead, admissions decisions are made by a committee that changes every year. You are welcome to mention my name in your personal statement in order to ensure it is sent to me during the admission process. However, to improve equity and fairness in admissions, I no longer have personal conversations with prospective students. This policy avoids favoring students who have received advice to connect with faculty or who have connections with my colleagues (thanks to Betsy Paluck for setting this example). If you are admitted to Yale, I will be eager to talk about working with you and promise to give you my candid assessment about whether our program is the best fit for you. You can learn more about Yale’s PhD program and the application process here.
In preparing your application, I encourage you to consult the following resources:
- Jessica Calarco's Field Guide to Grad School
- Erica Chenoweth’s overview of the differences between policy-oriented and academic degrees
- Joshua Kertzer’s advice on graduate school applications in political science (pay particular attention to the section on ‘signaling you understand the field;’ this is very important for those with backgrounds in Middle East studies who seek additional training in the social sciences)
- Nuno Monteiro’s advice on whether to go to graduate school and tradeoffs between programs
- Steven Wilkinson's advice for international applicants