As today is June 1, I guess that means that my third year as a PhD student is finally over. Technically, it ended sometime in May when final grades for the semester were submitted, but today seems as good a day as any to take stock of my progress.
I’m currently in the “field stage” as anyone who has been following my trek knows. I’ve submitted two of my three fields. Of the two, I still have some updating left to complete on one. I’m currently working my third field and should have my first draft submitted by the end of the month.
Fields Status:
Bureaucratic Politics and National Security Policy – Complete
Russian Foreign Policy – Submitted, rewrites necessary
Nuclear Proliferation to Non-state Actors – In Draft, submission by the end of the month
This puts me in good shape to have all three fields finalized into my overall field statement by the end of July in order to take the field exam in early August. As long as all goes as planned, I will spend the Fall semester writing my dissertation proposal and hope to defend the proposal in the October/November 2013 timeframe.
My PhD Experience 
I came across your blog as I was searching for PhD Public Policy program reviews. I’m currently going into my second year in a MA program and I will be applying to doctoral programs this fall. I’m debating between public policy and poli sci currently. May I ask, why did you choose a Public Policy program over Poli Sci program and what are your career goals?
Hi Akeelah – thanks for the note! I chose a Public Policy program because I was able to take a wider variety of courses than in a traditional Political Science program. I have also taken PoliSci courses as part of my PP curriculum to round out my experience. My career goals also lend themselves more to PP than PoliSci – though I would like to teach some, I am more inclined toward being a practitioner.