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Banstaraí

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    New England
  • Application Season
    2017 Fall
  • Program
    Notre Dame History

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  1. My backup was my actual plan, and my (actually crazy) "whatever, I'll only apply to my two dream programs this year just to get myself motivated" plan panned out, weirdly enough. I was planning on applying to Trinity College Dublin's PG Diploma in Old Irish and heading off to dear, dirty Dublin for next year-- somewhat sad I can't do it, but c'est la vie. And because anxiety more or less dictates everything I do, I do in fact have a plan B and a plan C in place if things don't work out (for whatever reason) where I'm headed. Plan B is the perfectly rational plan of transferring to UConn and working with a different person in my field, one who is slightly more interested in the sorts of sources that I do than my current advisor. Plan C is to change fields entirely, going into Early American History and returning to my alma mater and work with a delightful colonialist I had had as an undergrad. Plan C is basically the security blanket plan.
  2. Sorry for taking so long to reply-- finals and graduation and whatnot. After speaking with my adviser (and every other history professor in my department, haha) I more or less decided to go with what Missmend suggested. Particularly since several professors in my department have interests that are divergent like mine: they told me I just need to stick with one for grad school and I'd be fine to pursue both when I'm past the PhD. With some strong hints that it would be better to get the training in medieval as there is a great deal more technical expertise needed. So medieval Ireland it is! Thanks for the replies, everyone!
  3. I can't really be the first medievalist to reply to this, can I? Unfortunately for me my interests are largely obscure (socio-cultural history of late medieval, Gaelic-speaking Ireland) and the best researchers in the field are in Ireland & the UK. So I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel to put together my application list; I really wish I had the luxury of only sticking to top programs, but I was informed that I should stick to people who are in Irish history as its going to be difficult to properly advise me. Which is disappointing as I wanted to try to apply to Yale (seriously, the Beinecke is amazing), but it was a stretch in terms of advising, so c'est la vie. 1. Harvard Celtic. While I'd be technically leaving history (heresy, I know!) and venturing into languages and literatures, my focus on Irish language manuscripts automatically means I'd be better positioned in Celtic rather than in Harvard History. I also lean towards studying the Gaelic literati (the poets in particular) and want to try looking at taking a comparative approach (vis a vis Wales), so I'd think that both O Cathasaigh and McKenna would be great to work with... I just worry that O Cathasaigh will be retiring (based on some job postings) and so I'm wary of tailoring my SOP towards working with him. I'm also concerned that 1) my lack of overtly majoring in Celtic or Irish Studies [something that the current grad students overwhelmingly did; I technically have 40+ credits towards it, but I was just a plain history major] 2) my lack of languages on my transcript (seven years of French in K-12 allowed me to skip language in college; self taught in Irish and used that on my honors thesis; taking Latin currently along with German] and 3) the fact that I didn't attend CUNY or U Toronto or UCB [which all appear to be feeders for the program based on the current grad students] would ultimately hurt my application. What I particularly love about the program is that there's an obvious encouragement to study the Celtic languages and read the original writings sans translation (that seems like a no-brainer, but American Celticists have a bad habit of working from translations alone), that there's an option to learn Welsh immersively, that Harvard offers an Ad Hoc PhD option that would allow me to apply to work with the History department (in conjunction with Celtic) which means I can stay a historian (yay!), and that I could also do a secondary field in Historical Linguistics which I discovered was a passion of mine in undergrad. Quite frankly, given my weird interests I'd probably be a poor traditional historian and I think this offers me the best chance to engage with my weird, seemingly disparate interests. 2. Notre Dame Medieval Institute (History Track). I would not be sad to get in here instead of Harvard, to be quite honest. Having the resources of the Medieval institute and the Keough Naughton Irish Studies Institute would make my life 1000x easier. While there isn't an Irish medievalist at ND, there is a historian of Tudor Ireland, Rory Rapple, as well as someone who does Irish literature, Amy Mulligan, which is honestly more than good enough as far as I'm concerned. The placement records here are impressive to say the least. I'm just concerned about languages again, however, as ND requires competency in French, German and particularly in Latin... While I'm working on the latter two, I'm concerned it may be too little too late for this year's admission cycle, so I'm mentally preparing myself for this to go on for several years. 3. University of Washington History. On the plus side, I'd be in a traditional history department, aiming to work with Robin Chapman Stacey whose name carries a great deal of weight in the study of Early Irish Law. Given how relevant the law is in later centuries to Gaelic society, this could be a very productive advising relationship. I've also previously taken a course in Early Irish Law with Prof. Daibhi O Croinin at NUI Galway, so hopefully I'd stand out in admissions due to that fact. I just worry about being isolated as a Celticist within the department as well as hiring potential. I gather that UW has a good reputation on the West Coast, but I'm a native New Englander and attended college in Virginia and hence have a preference for being employable on the East Coast (though I know I can't be picky). 4. UConn History. This one I need to do more research on, as this was entirely off my radar until a professor on my honors thesis committee mentioned it to me. Again I think the program has a respectable, if not prestigious, regional reputation. I'd get access to both Boston College's collections as well as Harvard's, so the location offsets that factor, particularly if I can publish some decent articles and make a name for myself quickly. I'd want to work with Brendan Kane as we have more than a few overlapping interests and he's friends with one of my UG professors. While I think I could have a really good advising experience here, I'm wary of the lack of "name" as well as the resources (inherent to the university) issue. 5. USC History. Between the location and the very tenuous link between my research interests and my potential adviser (Lisa Bitel) interests, I'm not terribly sold on this one, to be honest. Bitel definitely has a name amongst medievalists as even my thesis adviser (whose research pretty much never involves anything Irish) knows of her, so I'm loathe to remove the program from the list. I plan on reading more of her works to continue to see how I feel about it. I once had Boston College on my list-- I love BC and grew up a BC fan-- but more than a few professors convinced me that the slim employment prospects with a BC PhD would not be worth the effort, so I nixed it, even though the Irish Studies program is pretty strong... Though admittedly very, very sparse in terms of medieval offerings. Which is weird for a Jesuit school if you ask me. Speaking of, I have a weird history with Fordham and NYC (ie also NYU), so those were automatically gone. Other than Harvard Celtic, I'm also unwilling to leave history, so I didn't apply to some of the usual suspects in terms of Celtic (UC Berkeley and even Virginia Tech [the Eska's have done some really interesting work]). I just really, really do not want to be in a position where I'm forced to become an English professor. Teaching freshman comp sounds like a horrific way to start one's career. 100-level history surveys? Fine. Comp? Nopenopenope.
  4. I have to second eteshoe's advice, particularly for PhD apps. Most of the professors I spoke to at my undergrad institution (top 5 for colonial history PhD programs) framed the GRE-- and the GPA-- as gate-keeping measures. You need a high GRE score (and high GPA) to get better consideration in admissions, but it's not something that will help you beyond that initial winnowing phase. I was also lead to believe that there's some wiggle room in the "off" section-- ie for history there was an expectation of getting a perfect score on verbal and a near perfect score on writing, but no one was really going to care if your math score wasn't amazing (within reason).
  5. The situation is a bit complicated... Essentially I'm applying to the Celtic Department with plans of doing an ad hoc degree between Celtic and History. There's another department at the university, Literature and History, where this person is a lecturer. Lit & Hist has a connection with the more traditional History department, though Celtic tends to be more tied to the English department, however my plans will bring me back into the orbit of History (and hence Lit & Hist). Just to clarify Lit & Hist also doesn't produce grad students, so again, not looking for an adviser type person.
  6. Hey everyone, So I'm applying for a variety of programs in medieval Irish history. However, prior to my fascination with the medieval period I was something of an obsessive student of the early twentieth century in Ireland-- and my coursework and CV (awards/ presentations) reflect that early on. The thing is, after I get my doctorate I don't necessarily see myself as sticking solely to the medieval period-- I love twentieth century history and always have more than a few ideas on hand for research. So I'm probably going to end up publishing in several time periods; this is not terribly unusual amongst Irish historians, honestly. For the SOP however, should I mention this, or stick completely to the medieval period? I do want to make it clear that my graduate studies will be focused on the medieval period and that anything modern would be "extracurricular." Additionally, however, there are relatively few historians (in the US) in either field... Yet my top choice school, in addition to having insanely good resources for the medieval topic I want to work on, has a historian of the early twentieth century period who publishes on some really interesting things. She's not in the history department (not that I'm applying to the history department either), but nonetheless she's there. Should I make an attempt to contact her, and if that's successful put a subtle mention of that in my SOP-- to demonstrate that I would indeed get a lot out of being at that specific program in addition to all the awesome things that my normal program offers? It's not that I would expect her to go out on a limb and advise me or anything-- just that there's someone I could engage with as a member of the scholarly community who has incredibly similar interests.
  7. No one answered his question at all. You all just danced around it. 1) Are you in the top ten percent of your class? Depending on what honors societies you're in, you can tell. If not, then you don't really have a shot at a PhD program. 2) SAT does not equal GRE. Absolutely not. Take a practice test; ETS' practice test seems to be a good indicator. Depending on the program you apply for there will be a minimum threshold. Graduate school admissions are not undergraduate admissions; a range is not a guarentee. In fact the GRE can do nothing but hurt you, as there are so many applicants that its just used as a way to cut down on what the AdComm has to look at... Some programs require perfect scores in certain subjects; for history focus on the verbal and analytical sections, but don't forget that quantitative analysis is important to historical study, so quantitative DOES count. There is no longer a history GRE subject test, so no worries there. 3) Have you done any real research work? You don't list any, so I'd stay away from the PhD programs. Most bare-minimum PhD applicants that AdComms are willing to look at have research under their belt, ie an honors thesis or undergraduate research. 4) English schools... Good for an MA, bad bad bad for a PhD. I'm dealing with this dilemma myself (focus in Irish history), but Academe is a mess over in Europe and you simply won't get the publication experience or teaching experience. If you ever find yourself in applying for a PhD, don't screw yourself out of a career by doing it in Britain. Now, doing a PostDoc over there is an entirely different story... 5) Have any well-connected professors that know you well? To a certain degree it can come down to who you know, as admissions cycles are fiercely competitive, esp. for a PhD. Now I don't necessarily mean famous professors, but those who perhaps have an academic pedigree from a school you're applying to, or says he knows so-and-so over in that department and you should work with him, blah blah blah. 6) Again there doesn't seem to be enough info to write a basic SOP for a PhD program, which needs to focus on ORIGINAL RESEARCH. 7) This is the one that'll get everyone's knickers in a twist. The AHA did a study not too long ago about the undergraduate origins of PhD students. 25% of all PhD students come from the same 25 schools (think about that math); Penn State is not one of them. You should be fine, as far as school goes, as Penn State is still a fairly decent school, but its good to be aware of these things. 8) Read the Chronicle of Higher Education; under the Advice Tab is a Graduate School section. You and every other PhD aspirant owes it to themselves to read the Thomas H. Benton articles on Why NOT to pursue graduate school in the humanities. It's highly informative and its better to come to terms with the reality now rather than later. My Verdict: Too green for a PhD. Go for a masters and get some research experience; it'll likely be easier to get into a program you want to be in, with the right POI after that anyways.
  8. Just going through the threads and decided to put in my two cents on this one. Ever considered taking on a gap year? While I sympathize with wanting to "get on with things" the application schedule for graduate school seems to give those who apply a little after graduation an edge in terms of knowing professors and what you can send in terms of your writing sample. Especially as it sounds like your ug diss supervisor will be a good source, but you need to let him get to know you and your work better. The only thing I would caution with this route is making certain that you make good use of that year- full-time job, internship in your field, some sort of volunteer organization. Good luck!
  9. My first school I completed 15 credits at; my second I did 52, and actually took on the senior research thesis (as a sophomore) there, as my AP credit put me so far ahead in the department. I presented it at our chapter's Phi Alpha Theta symposium. At W&M because many of my credits didn't transfer (taking 300/400 level history classes is the culprit there) I actually have to do 3 years here (not complaining at all! Love this school), so it sounds like I'm on track, which is a relief. Should all my LORs come from W&M or should I attempt to get one from a prof at my second school? I did have one professor there for three semesters straight (actually my thesis advisor too), and he is in the subfield I'm interested in. I don't forsee having problems with getting all three from W&M, but I was wondering if I should attempt to cover all bases in terms of my transferring with one of my LORs, or just leave it for the personal statement?
  10. I saw a casual remark in a CHE fora that gave me pause a few months back and I've been considering for a while. A professor noted that she had to take a much more difficult route as she had transferred during her undergraduate. Her grades were stellar at University B, but at University A where she spent only one semester, they were so-so and when she asked about her rejection from a program it was tied to not only the grades at University A, but the fact that she transferred. This worries me quite a bit as I've followed a similar path. I absolutely loathed my first school and left after one semester, with a 2.93 GPA. My second school wasn't ideal either, but it was a quick fix; over 3 semesters I kept up a 3.965. Now I'm where I originally wanted to be, W&M, but it is my third school... Has anyone else, as an undergraduate transfer, felt any sort of bias in PhD admissions? Or at this point do you think its simply become an accepted part of "college culture" given that roughly 1/3 of all undergraduates transfer at least once?
  11. Hi everyone, So I'm a sophomore History/ Anthropology double major at W&M and am planning on attending grad school (clearly). I've been researching various programs for some time, but there was a piece of advice I got from a doctoral candidate at GW that's making me a little nervous. I'd asked her about the marketability of a DPhil from Oxbridge over here in the US, and she more or less told me that the DPhil is great-- so long as you want to live in Europe for the rest of your career: if I want to work in the US, the lack of teaching/publishing experience at the UK and Irish schools is going to cripple my job prospects in an already highly competitive academic market. I wasn't entirely happy with this pronouncement as all my top programs choices and POIs had been in the UK/Ireland, but I started my research over again, with less-than-satisfactory results in the US programs. To clarify, my subfield is Modern Irish History (particularly 1913-1923; no interest in the famine era. whatsoever), though I have some side interests in Ancient Ireland, the Ancient Celts, Celtic Folklore, the Irish Rebel Ballad Tradition, etc. Anyways, the US programs for my subfield are few and far between, and most US-based Irish historians are Famine-centric, which would likely grate on my nerves a bit. I really like Harvard's Celtic Languages and Literatures department, but I'm just worried about losing the flexibility/marketability that comes with a history PhD, rather than the Celtic Lang/Lit. PhD. And Boston College has a fairly decent program too, though they shy away from the Ancient stuff. Essentially, while there are programs for what I'm interested in, there aren't really all that many POIs that I'd jump to work with at these places, or I simply don't fit their interests (ie if I did History with a secondary field of Celtic Lang/Lit at Harvard, I'd be working with a Britainist and it would be like my current undergrad research experiences all over again...) Whereas Oxbridge is filled with names I recognize from books and articles I was impressed with and a wealth of different programs. Any thoughts on any of this?
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