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This thread got super burried. Let's revive it! A question to get us started: Where did you do your field school? Are you still interested in that geographic area/period?

My field school was on an imperial Roman villa. it was a great experience, but I later decided historical American archaeology fit my interests better. A pretty major focus shift! (Especially since classical archaeology is often in an entirely seperate department!)

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I started out doing classical archaeology through the art history department at my undergraduate university. I did my field school at an Etruscan sanctuary near Florence. After completing my BA and doing CRM for a couple of years I decided to go back to school and get my MA with my thesis focused on the Later Stone Age of southern Africa. So now my major interests are the MSA and LSA of southern and east Africa and the effects of climate change on cultural and technological evolution, specifically around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum.

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Archaeologist (of a sort) signing in. Mastered in Ceramic and Lithics, with a focus on the British prehistoric ritual. Eventually want to get into museum curation, and have spent a year as a curatorial intern with the UK govt. heritage body. Will need a PhD to even be seriously considered as a curator! I was accepted to Oxford and my alma mater (Southampton) but at the moment, the funding in the UK is dire so I'm now looking abroad - fingers crossed!

 

I found the American universities odd in that archaeology is subsumed into Art History and / or Anthropology, so trying to pick out programs has been a little difficult. However, what I have seen in the US that I do not see in the UK is a much larger focus on curation. This is why I have hedged my bets towards the Art History side rather than Anthropology and settled on the programs I have. Columbia is probably my main choice, due to the close working relationship with the NY museums.

 

I've never really been a field archaeologist, but give me some finds (any finds, even rubbish bits of pot) and I'm all over that. I hope to study the sacred aspects of material culture in the ancient world, but I wouldn't be averse to heading a little more down the art hist route and looking at ritual / cult / sacred imagery.

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D

 

Archaeologist (of a sort) signing in. Mastered in Ceramic and Lithics, with a focus on the British prehistoric ritual. Eventually want to get into museum curation, and have spent a year as a curatorial intern with the UK govt. heritage body. Will need a PhD to even be seriously considered as a curator! I was accepted to Oxford and my alma mater (Southampton) but at the moment, the funding in the UK is dire so I'm now looking abroad - fingers crossed!

 

I found the American universities odd in that archaeology is subsumed into Art History and / or Anthropology, so trying to pick out programs has been a little difficult. However, what I have seen in the US that I do not see in the UK is a much larger focus on curation. This is why I have hedged my bets towards the Art History side rather than Anthropology and settled on the programs I have. Columbia is probably my main choice, due to the close working relationship with the NY museums.

 

I've never really been a field archaeologist, but give me some finds (any finds, even rubbish bits of pot) and I'm all over that. I hope to study the sacred aspects of material culture in the ancient world, but I wouldn't be averse to heading a little more down the art hist route and looking at ritual / cult / sacred imagery.

 

Did you apply to Joukowsky at Brown?

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Yeah me too!

 

Nice! We can celebrate / commiserate together! (When they actually DO something)..

 

Must admit, I really don't know how my applications are going to go. I have what I understand is a decent GRE, and I think I've worked out my GPA correctly (MA was 3.83, BSc 3.14). Given that the PhD programs generally have an MPhil or a Masters incorporated into them, I don't know if my already having one will work for or against me. Here in the UK it's almost mandatory to have a Masters before thinking about PhDs, so the US system seems very strange to me. Honestly have no clue which way things will go. I hope I'd get into one - that's all it takes!

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Emma- in the real world, not on grad cafe, it is very common to have a masters going in. People will probably say differently but many programs require this and every program I applied to did even if at my current university they say differently the reality at my uni is you must have a masters to be accepted to the phd program.

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This thread got super burried. Let's revive it! A question to get us started: Where did you do your field school? Are you still interested in that geographic area/period?

My field school was on an imperial Roman villa. it was a great experience, but I later decided historical American archaeology fit my interests better. A pretty major focus shift! (Especially since classical archaeology is often in an entirely seperate department!)

 

I did my field school at a Mississippian site in southern Illinois a couple summers ago. I've had no interest in pursuing this particular region, but all other field school options were entirely out of my price range. I had plans to excavate elsewhere (funded!) with my professors on three separate occasions, but they all fell through at the last minute. If I don't get into graduate school due to lack of experience, it won't be for lack of trying! I've been out of school for nearly two years but have continued to volunteer at my local natural history museum and have done some unpaid research assistance. I'm presenting a poster at a conference in March!

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It seems like most of the action thus far has been for cultural and bio anth....

 

I know that UCLA Cotsen had a spade of acceptances/waitlists. I see 1 Berkeley Arch acceptance. Some UT Austin rejections.

 

Anything else going on for the arch side yet? Just curious.

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Stanford has 2 interviews from the 3rd and 4th so far.....ugh....i dont know what to think. Stony Brook has sent out the first round of acceptances and rejections on the 31th....

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Crickets here too.

 

Though I did speak to my POI at FSU, who said everyone would be updated on their status in the coming week or so (this was last Thurs) so I have hope I might hear from one this week. Now I just have to pray for good news..

 

I don't know what to think about Brown - they've invited certain candidates for interview; I'm not one of them, but then I am international. I don't know whether this is a Very Bad Thing or no problem!

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Crickets here too.

 

Though I did speak to my POI at FSU, who said everyone would be updated on their status in the coming week or so (this was last Thurs) so I have hope I might hear from one this week. Now I just have to pray for good news..

 

I don't know what to think about Brown - they've invited certain candidates for interview; I'm not one of them, but then I am international. I don't know whether this is a Very Bad Thing or no problem!

 

Hi Emma,

 

I'm new to the forum part of the site, but I am the one who posted the Brown interview on the results board. From what I understood, they are flying in their top 8 candidates in March for a long interview week-end. I believe three international students have been invited this year (including me). 

I wouldn't loose hope just yet if I were you though! They may contact more candidates later on in the game. I'll let you know if I hear anything more and I will cross my fingers for you!

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Hi Emma,

 

I'm new to the forum part of the site, but I am the one who posted the Brown interview on the results board. From what I understood, they are flying in their top 8 candidates in March for a long interview week-end. I believe three international students have been invited this year (including me). 

I wouldn't loose hope just yet if I were you though! They may contact more candidates later on in the game. I'll let you know if I hear anything more and I will cross my fingers for you!

Hi Melian

I am the same way as Emma and if you are an international and been contacted then we can both lose our hopes. The may waitlist us sth but that doesn't really mean anything at this point.

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To be honest, this application season has been so weird that I don't know what to think in terms of keeping or loosing hope. The place where I thought I was the best fit (this impression was supported by lengthy Skype conversations with a POI whom I knew from a dig) rejected me outright, whereas the school where I thought the fit was most tenuous (Brown!) has invited me to their interview week-end. I really hope that the end of the week will bring good news for everyone! 

I'm a classical archaeologist btw, I should probably have mentioned that when I introduced myself :) 

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Thanks for letting us know Melian, but to be honest 8 students is a fairly large intake for a PhD program, so I'm pretty sure Brown is going to be a non-starter for us.

 

There's also a Princeton Art Hist and Arch acceptance up on the results board (not mine unfortunately!) - this is not doing my health any good!!

Edited by emmaatquoins
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Emmaatquoins -- 

I believe Brown's usual intake is around 4 students. Last year someone I know declined their interview offer because she had gotten in her two top choices by mid-February and I believe they invited someone else; it's still early, and similar things could happen! I hope you hear good news soon xx  

Edited by Melian4
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