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Aspiring legal historian here: what's your time period, out of curiosity? My thesis and article were both based entirely upon 14th century legal writs from the Kings Bench and Court of Common Pleas. As there was no real historiography for what I was examining, there is very little discussion of it in my work that pertains to the documents themselves. In my case the writs were definitely primary source documents, so yours are too. I would say that a brief discussion of the historiography at the beginning, structured to highlight the point you will be arguing, should do just fine.

Well, they say if you have a thesis, to upload it. What I actually ended up doing is putting a 23 page published article in front of the thesis, and adding a cover page that basically said "Please feel free to only read the article, but you asked for the thesis, so here it is." That way, they could either go the short way or the long way, but either way I was covered.

Hi there! Folks that are applying to Wisconsin -- a quick question: I submitted my complete application on 10/30, with the supplemental form and all necessary documents (writing sample, SOP, etc.) I just did a final check to make sure everything was there, and they do not have my writing sample checked off as received, but they do have the supplemental form checked off. Has anyone else had the same happen? Is this normal? The only thing I can think of is that maybe my writing sample was too large (though it didn't say so when I uploaded it). I submitted my thesis, because they asked for it, which came in at 300 pages. Anyone have any information, or similar experience? I have an email in to the Grad Coordinator, and I will likely call on Monday, but I'm concerned because of the holiday. Thanks!

Has anyone heard any word from the anthro program at Notre Dame? I know that they were supposed to start inviting interview candidates "mid-January" but I haven't seen anything posted.

Thanks for that, it honestly didn't even occur to me to look there. Looks like no news there either, sorry about the post in the incorrect section :/

Has anyone heard anything out of Cornell for Medieval Studies? I would have expected at least a rejection by now. I'm not worried, as I have a funded offer and Cornell was a HUGE longshot, but it would be nice to know -- closure is a lovely thing.

Hey y'all, Anyone who's waiting on Texas -- if you haven't heard already, you're not on the list. I called on Monday, and the really nice graduate associate person let me know that everyone who had been admitted had been contacted. Heartbreaking for me, as this one strikes me out for the year. Congratulations if you got in, and condolences to you who, like me, didn't

Hi there! To the person admitted to Texas -- was it a formal letter, or change to the webpage, or was it an informal email from a professor. I've been waiting on them, so i'm a little curious thanks!

I really loved RW Southern -- he writes beautifully (which I suppose is beside the point, but love his phrasing and word choices) and The Making of the Middle Ages is a great read. Norman Cantor's Inventing the Middle Ages really is a good introduction to the last hundred years or so of historiography, and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Whether he meant to or not, and I honestly haven't decided, in some places he seems like he's gossiping, other places he's incredibly snarky, and I just loved that about the book. If you're looking for a few chuckles with your historiography, this ones for you. As for what I last read, it was Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314 It's a very good discussion of baronial politics in high medieval Scotland, from a perspective other than that of Robert Bruce or William Wallace, which I appreciate. If you're into Scottish politics, its a good one to have.

crazy! Maybe someone declined?

The one thing I can say about being rejected this year -- it gives me the chance to take some German and French classes before reapplying to new and better programs next year. I'm aiming for Notre Dame for Medieval Studies next year (among other places) and the practically require that you have German, French and Latin before you start, at least, thats what it seems like from what I've been reading. So yeah. Definitely taking all of your advice -- do you recommend something like Rosetta Stone, or a physical academic class?

Dear UT: You are really starting to annoy me. Can we get some kind of response? At this point, I'd just like the closure. Give me something. Anything. Please? Puppies and rainbows, A. Edited to Add: Rejected.

So has anyone heard anything yet? Other than the rejections yesterday, has anyone heard any good news?

Hey All, I saw two rejections by website on the results page for UT-Austin, so now Im wondering if maybe Im not looking at the wrong page. Mine only says that my credentials were sent to the graduate committee for review. Has anyone else checked to see if their status had changed?

Out of curiosity, what is your subfield? You can message me if you like, but now I'm intrigued.

Yeah -- my guess is that this round is the end, and if we don't hear anything this weekend, its a bust. I still think its very strange that out of all the people that applied to UT here, only one has already been accepted. Congrats to you, AMC! It makes me wonder if maybe the prof jumped the gun and was really excited. Does anyone know of anyone being accepted besides AMC? I'm really curious what the breakdown was in terms of numbers.

Ok, my friend just got off the phone with UT - Austin. They said that they will be making a few notifications this weekend, and that all applicants will know by the second week in March. So I guess if you don't hear anything this weekend, you weren't accepted? What do ya'll think?

So has there only been that one acceptance to UT - Austin then? That seems so very strange! Does anyone know when notices should be going out or the status page will be updated?

Well, to be fair, my latin is pretty good. I took three years of it in college, and worked on my own quite a bit on more medieval stuff. The reason my languages tend toward Celtic is because while I am a medievalist, I specialize in the British Isles -- the Celtic fringe in particular. This probably won't help me with the language requirements, but I'm hoping that the languages I already have will at least exhibit my ability to learn languages.

What about people who do weird/dead languages? I am pretty good with Latin, but I have next to no French or German -- I took Spanish in high school and Scottish Gaelic in college. I'm in the process of learning Middle Welsh and can muddle through very basic Irish. Would that look good on an application, or would i look more like a dilletante?

Hey AMC, I'm european history with my eye on the medieval studies program. I'm guessing they probably won't start officially notifying people until next week, but who knows. For myself, i am increasingly pessimistic.

Congratulations! Do you mind telling us what your field is? Im...freaking out a little here.

hey all, I've just been told that the UT admissions committee met on Monday (11th) to begin reviewing applications -- so, possibly in the next week or so? just passing it along from who_got_in. :wink:

Hi! I'm also a medieval studies person, specifically northern europe -- Britain and Scandinavia -- but this year I only applied to one program. Where did you apply, and what are your research interests?

I got my BA in 2006, and I'm planning to be in grad school next year. I think that it is pretty normal to take a year or two off these days, and alot of universities almost prefer that you have some real world experience. Especially doing what you're doing, I don't see how taking another year would hurt you, if you are enjoying what you are doing and wish to continue.