CommPhD20

I'm at Ohio State. I'd also be willing to talk to anyone that is conflicted/undecided/unclear about methods. When I started the grad school app process, I really didn't know if I wanted to be a film studies scholar or a social scientist. I applied to programs that were firmly within the critical/cultural tradition, ones known for mixed methodologies, as well as ones that were firmly within the social scientific tradition. OSU is perhaps the most strongly empirical and quantitative department in the field. If you're as unsure as I was, feel free to reach out and I might be able to help guide you or at least help you think things out as I had to.

I'm not familiar with all the specifics, but Ohio State is a top program, is probably the most quantitative-oriented program in existence, and considers psychology among its few specialties. Check them out and PM me if you have specific questions.

ICR has more faculty in advertising, film studies, and generally cross-disciplinary foci that don't fit neatly even into the very inclusive field of communication. There are some great scholars in ICR. It's a new program that is doing some innovative things, but is also a bit more scattered/unfocused; this is the nature of highly interdisciplinary research and is not inherently bad. With that said, the Department of Communication enjoys incredibly high esteem in the field as one of the oldest and best programs. It is a generalist department, meaning they have faculty that cover virtually all niches in communication (though not so much media studies). Internal surveys of communication researchers and assessments of citations and the like always rank this department as one of the best 3-5 programs in the country. Of course, these things aren't so easily measured, but I share that to express the idea that this department is very well-regarded. Having visited there and being familiar with several of their faculty, I myself hold the place in very high esteem. The choice will come down to where you fit best, though.

I think I realize why we're getting this discrepancy - I can't believe I forgot! I'm thinking of mass communication, which is the department I applied to after discussion with the chair of communication. I'm not as well-acquainted with what they are up to, but be aware that they are in the midst of massive change that will be uniting both departments in addition to six others. http://www.colorado.edu/cmci/ I'd make sure to question them thoroughly on that as you don't want to risk a great deal of turbulence just as you arrive.

See if any of your advisors/professors need research assistants. This is, IMO, hands down the best way to get research experience. Like literary_tourist said, try to present at a conference or two as well. Given that you're just getting your feet wet in research, target conferences that are targeted to undergraduates or are otherwise going to be warm and welcoming to someone who isn't exactly on the cutting edge. I'd make it a larger priority to try to find a research assistantship. If you can't find any listings (different schools have different ways of making these positions known), approach the professor you feel most comfortable with and see if they need any help with research tasks like coding, etc. If not, they might be able to give you advice on who could accommodate you. Alternately/additionally, try to do an extended senior research project. This can give you a pretense to really get immersed in your field and find out where your interests fit and if you even fit at all. For instance, I know you mentioned an interest in gender/sexuality and media in another thread. This would provide you an opportunity to see if you are really interested in communication - maybe you'd realize that you're actually interested in media studies, literary theory, or gender and sexuality studies. It would give you something substantive to talk about in your application materials and on any visits/interviews as well.

I do believe CSU has fully-funded MA slots. I never could get a firm answer out of DU. I can confirm to you that CU-Boulder does not fully fund any MA student, short of one special slot for someone interested in environmental studies. I was told that I could roll the dice and hope for additional TA-ships to open up when I arrived but that it was a remote chance, at least in the first year. When they were telling me to take a half courseload to save money, I realized they weren't joking about lack of funds. They fund PhD students handsomely though and have a fabulous PhD program, so there's always that. If you haven't already, I would speak to a trusted advisor who has experience on admissions committees and/or recently applying to grad schools. They will know best and you'll need them for guidance and letters of recommendation soon.

Be advised that I do not believe any of these programs give full funding - I think CSU might offer a full TA-ship to a few MA students. I would only pursue a PhD at CU-Boulder among these schools if you're planning on staying on that track past the MA. I don't know what circumstances lead you to feel like staying in CO is the only financially feasible option or how knowledgeable you are about this process, but be aware that the norm is for graduate students to be funded by their graduate school; ie, you don't pay your tuition. You will find many people who will tell you that if you are being forced to pay for/take loans for anything, then the school isn't worth your time and/or doesn't want you enough. I tend to agree. It is significantly more difficult to find funding for an MA than a PhD, though. Unless there are specific, personal circumstances tying you to CO, I'd cast a very wide net in this search if I were you.

I haven't lived in B-N, but I was raised a half hour away and have spent much time there. I'd be shocked if you can't find very good and affordable housing that is off-campus. My guess is that the places that are snapped up right now are in areas where undergrads live, which is probably not what you would want anyway. Unfortunately, I don't have much to offer in terms of specific housing advice as I've never lived there. If you are interested in more general things about what to do in Blo-No, weather/life in central IL, I'd be happy to help.

Seems like not many recognized that there was some serious risk in engaging the present school's department about maybe leaving. If you're willing to ask, you're willing to do it. That means if they say no and they don't want to give their blessing, they will also not like you very much when you decide to go ahead and stay with them.

Milwaukee is great. It isn't without its issues like any other place, but is generally a place that is safe, friendly like you'd expect from the Midwest, and has the resources/attractions of a big city. You're within a stone's throw of Chicago as well as several nice smaller towns, like Madison. Cold or not, I'd much rather live in Milwaukee than in Tampa Florida. Even better, it sounds like UW-M is clearly the better school for you. Hope this can ease your mind on your decision.

Welp, I just decided to accept my offer to Ohio State. Enjoyed my visit and it's easily the best offer on paper. Wasn't a perfect fit for methodologically, but I'm just going to become one kickass empiricist.

The assumption that overweight people haven't noticed or don't desire to become healthier is always kind of silly to me. When I was a pitcher in baseball, you'd always hear the crowd cheer to "throw strikes." Really? I had no idea that was what I was supposed to be doing. Thanks!

While there are arguments to be made about how much an MA is worth in dollars and cents, I don't know that a lack of assistantship will have that much of an effect on your PhD admission chances. Just be sure that the school that isn't providing you with funding is one that values you and has the resources to help shape you into a successful PhD student.

Turned down my offer at Colorado (Mass Comm.) today, so hopefully that opens up funding for somebody.

I would show you, but that's banned by the NCAA. So just imagine a giant block letter I instead.

Had a fun weekend at UIUC. Tough decisions forthcoming

20th/21st century American/Modernism/Postmodernism, I would say.

If you've been accepted to OSU, you should definitely decline the offer as soon as possible. Just kidding. But my SO is on their waitlist, and I would like my SO to get in. So...you know, consider not going, for me, your friend from the communication side of the academic world. Also for my SO, who is from the English-y parts.

At the least, I would certainly agree that there is a short shelf life on emails. If it hasn't been responded to after a few days, it's likely that it will never be seen again -- whether or not it was intentionally passed over in the first place.

Thanks for sharing. Good luck!

Not making money or paying into social security for 5-10+ years while your debt either increases or simply sits and gains interest is not something to turn your nose at and is the most immediate consideration to make when we go into the process that is graduate education. For me, I had a few first demands knowing the financial non-wisdom of the mere undertaking of the PhD: -Must be funded with all tuition and major fees waived along with a stipend that provides a livable wage in the school's home market without making unreasonable work demands (20 hour TAships can explode into larger commitments). -On that note, no new debt. -School has to be very well-esteemed within its field. Placement rates have to be very good and given to me in non-anecdotal terms. It is not a time to adjust my standards, knowing the job market that awaits me. With that said, the following also matters (but cannot overrule this rule) -Grad school has to be a positive experience. Knowing the bleakness and uncertainty of the future and the potential colossal waste of time (in financial terms) that grad school is, I have to be getting all kinds of intellectual and other kinds of gratification from the experience. There is no use trudging my way through grad school to get to an end where employment is uncertain. -No big commitments unless someone else (spouse) is paying for it: house purchase, baby, new car, things like that. -Grad school can't take forever. If it is looking like an 8 year commitment, I'm getting the hell out. It isn't worth waiting that long unless there is a specific reason that involves me earning enough money to live on before and after defending the dissertation. Assuming all of that goes well, I could still see a totally bleak job market. In that case, I will briefly consider non-ideal contingent positions. However, there seems to be a prevailing thought that non-TT jobs are great with the exception of the job security. That is not usually the case. Usually pay is very low, class loads are very high, and the adjunct is a clear second-class citizen within the department. I will not spend a whole lot of time under those conditions before I seek new kinds of work that will be more gratifying in all ways. Also - I think the biggest issue is the sunk cost fallacy. Entering grad school or entering the job market are not so bad in and of themselves, it is the sticking with it despite clearly awful life/work conditions that is the problem. I'm happy to go to grad school, but I refuse to hate doing it. I will also refuse to spend my time working in academia (if that happens) hating my job. There is an extent to which you take some adversity for the long term good, but there are limits, especially when the long term good outcome often doesn't exist.

Never take on debt and definitely don't bother chasing prestige at the MA level if you have a good funded option like Arizona.

Risks are low, potential payoff is unbelievably high. It isn't cheating, it's bringing you back up with the rest of the world so you can be the real you.

I am. I won't be anywhere except here and the places that I'm going, though.