incognegra

Does anyone know what's going on with NYU? I've heard nothing as of today. Should I expect the worst?

Thanks for the updates, all. I'm admittedly sad to know that I didn't score one of the interviews but best of luck to you all in securing some of those coveted spots!

Hi cheeks and ivandub, Are they still doing the prospective students interview/visit weekend on campus? Is everything via Skype now?

After reading more of the results from previous years, I feel like I have a little more (however anecdotal) information than I had earlier in this thread. I noticed that last year, some prospective students received interview invitations on 1/23 and then another crop of applicants received invites on 1/30. I'm not sure why they would send out notifications to people a whole week apart (?!) but if they're doing this again, those of us without invites may still be in the running...at least until Friday :S

In addition to the obsessive web activity that has already been mentioned, I've been consuming herbal teas that make dreams come true (e.g. mugwort which promotes lucid dreaming-- "I don't care if you didn't accept me, Yale adcomm. I'm coming here anyway!" "Okay"), going on long car trips and amassing piles of books from academic libraries in the region in hopes of filling in gaps in knowledge (because September is around the corner and time is running out!), restoring myself through pleasure reading on non-academic subjects, and then dulling my thoughts completely training for the "Tough Mudder"-- you know, the 10 mile military obstacle race where they shock you with electric wires. I'm likely to compete in one of the safer, non-electrically charged races instead but the underlying message is the same: April, you cannot come soon enough.

Speaking of the Lit program, does the program interview all applicants that they are considering admitting? Seeing the number of interviews posted for previous years, I am just wondering whether they use it as a way to decide between similarly qualified candidates or something that they do with every student that they ultimately admit. I only ask because I see that a couple interview invitations have gone out and I want to know at what point I should give up hope. Thanks!

Thanks for your replies.

Hello, Can anyone comment on whether MTL at Stanford would be an appropriate program for someone who is not strongly invested in studying literature in and of itself? The interdisciplinary nature of the program and faculty working on STS/ecocriticism are appealing to me but I'm having trouble getting a sense of whether the ultimate focus of the program is literary study. Thanks!

Hello, Can anyone comment on whether MTL at Stanford would be an appropriate program for someone who is not strongly invested in studying literature in itself? The interdisciplinary nature of the program and the presence of faculty working on STS/ecocriticism are appealing to me but I'm having trouble getting a sense of whether the ultimate focus of the program is literary study. If it is, that would be a problem for me. Thanks!

Thanks very much for your replies.

Hello, Is anyone aware of programs where one can study political theory and philosophy only? I am very interested in 19th and 20th century political theory/philosophy as well as contemporary thought surrounding identity politics. I find political theorists within poli sci departments to have some of the most compelling reflections on these topics in their work.. However, I do not have the background necessary to pursue a PhD in straight-up philosophy and am not interested in the other areas of political science that I would need to study and in which I would need to be examined in the poli sci programs I've considered. Can anyone recommend a theory/philosophy-heavy Poli Sci doctoral program or an interdisciplinary program that could meet these criteria? Rhetoric at UCBerkeley has certainly crossed my mind but the funding situation in the UC system combined with Judith Butler's possible exit from the program make me wary. Thanks!

I somehow missed your message until now, Gilbert. Thanks for taking the time to share so much insight. I've had some experiences over the last 8 months that have helped me to clarify what is truly important to me. Though I intend to complete my MSW program and psychotherapy internship in the interest of having a professional degree to fall back on, I've realized that I spend most of my time reading academic titles, imagining how I would extend/challenge them, and wishing that I had a community with which to share these ideas. Though the idea of publishing work for a popular readership and "community engagement" remain, admittedly, appealing to me on some level, the uninspiring and anti-intellectual professional world in which I've been working and living is truly suffocating me. Despite my frustrations about the hierarchical and popularly inaccessible nature of academia, I feel sick of being in social and professional environments where I'm routinely chastised for being "too intellectual" or "thinking too much" about the issues at hand (even though I actively try to avoid taking up space in conversations and speak fairly little in work settings). I even recently had a Psychology PhD-holding supervisor pathologize me for supposedly "putting on" a performance in the "overly intellectual" way that I speak and carry myself. Apparently, the way that I embody blackness did not meet with her expectations. The idiocy of that supervisory relationship aside, I know that I won't be long for this profession because it feels much too lonely and depressing to have to suppress my candid thoughts and alter my manner of speech just to avoid intimidating (and, apparently, confusing) supervisors and other practitioners. As you mentioned in an earlier reply, I'm realizing that, for me, sharing my ideas with a community (any community, however "exclusive") would feel infinitely better than attempting to repress those passions and "fight the good fight" in politically correct ways. Thanks for helping me to come to terms with the reality of the situation. My GRE preparation book calls!

I appreciate your comment, Econosocio. It's definitely true that a TT position is not my ultimate career goal and perhaps that is reason enough to skip the PhD altogether. On the other hand, I think that the PhD could help me to achieve my long-term goals related to community engagement. My research interests are centered, in part, around the contemporary educational discourse and I would like to have the option of eventually starting my own experimental educational project or crossing over into educational leadership in an alternative learning community. Though I know that the actual PhD training is primarily about socializing grad students for academe and emphasizes communication in language used exclusively in that domain, I do have a desire to publish straight up academic writing as well as writing serious nonfiction for a more popular readership but I am concerned that I will struggle to publish the latter without the PhD (or a strong background in journalism). Though I often try to convince myself that it doesn't ultimately matter, it seems difficult to deny that I would be better able to circulate my fairly radical ideas with that academic stamp of approval. The disturbing politics aside, I'm aware that most people in this society will be more apt to listen to someone with an Ivy League PhD even though the Ivy League is principally an athletic organization. As I'm thinking about it now, these points feel like reason enough to pursue the degree even though I've been told (and often told myself) that the PhD is only for someone sure they want that coveted TT job. The more I think about it, the more I realize how important writing and speaking are to me and I'm concerned that I'll set myself up for an endless uphill battle if I attempt to do so without the credential, however shallow that might be. On the other hand, maybe what you would want to suggest is that the PhD process itself is such a soul-crushing uphill battle as to warrant extreme caution and enrolling only if one's future career goals absolutely require the degree. In view of the things I've elaborated on in terms of my goals, how do you think I should proceed? Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. After reading your replies and thinking about this more, I think I may be ready to face the music, so to speak. I guess it's time to start studying for the GRE...

I'm not sure if the OP shares my question on this subject but I am wondering whether simply having "AK Press" on a CV would raise eyebrows and make me look like a less-than-serious scholar. I agree with what you're saying about the peer-review component impacting how much having published would help ones application but I'm more curious about whether, and how much, it could hurt.

Thank you for your helpful input, magicunicorn. Though this is probably not the best place to raise this question, does anyone have any advice about how to break into journalism without the PhD as you mention today? It seems that some people have been able to build a web presence and following through a blog and then pitch their material to online publications as a start but I am curious about other tricks for entering the trade. I do have a few reservations, though. As much as I might enjoy journalism and as pretentious as I know this sounds, I usually end up rolling my eyes at most of the social/political analysis that I find in newspapers/magazines and feel that it might kill me to have to water down my ideas to make them more palatable to a mainstream readership. Though I know this is not an equivalent scenario, I distinctly remember being reprimanded by my high school journalism teacher for trying to publish content that was, in her view, inaccessible to my peers. Though I think that may have been the case for some of our community, I found her perspective infuriating and incredibly patronizing in its presumptions about what people can and cannot understand. As I reflect upon all of this more, it seems increasingly obvious that I should seriously consider pursuing the PhD if academic writing is this important to me. On the other hand, maybe first trying my hand at journalistic writing could help me to clarify my priorities. Do readers here think that a MA from a top Ivy would be sufficient to help someone break into journalistic writing related to the subject or should I just suck it up and realize the importance of the PhD?

Thanks for all of the feedback, everyone! I feel like I can now relax and see how the next few years unfold without as much worry. I'm also seeing that it would help me to begin gearing my clinical work toward a population relevant to my ultimate research interests.

Hello, I am considering pursuing a PhD in Sociology or in an interdisciplinary program strong in theory and cultural studies and am primarily interested in the top (R1), fully-funded programs. Given my undergraduate and master's institutions, academic record, academic awards, and plans to publish a text in a previously unresearched area related to my interests prior to entering, I believe that I would be reasonably competitive for these programs if I were to apply in the next year. However, I am considering postponing application three to five years to establish a strong foothold in a non-academic field to which I can remain peripherally connected and return full-time in the future, if necessary. I am currently working toward the credentials necessary to practice as a psychotherapist and am finding this work both rewarding and illuminating from an intellectual standpoint. Though I thoroughly enjoy helping people to explore their inner worlds, the questions that are ultimately most compelling to me are fundamentally social. I have a desire to publish scholarly writing which seems to weigh on me, occupying my thoughts almost constantly. I am aware that having a professional master's degree will inevitably prove limiting if I wish to share my ideas more widely but I am reticent to leap back into academia without having established a decent foothold in a non-academic profession given the realities of today's academic job market. Furthermore, it is my hope that in three to five years, I will have developed the licensure and experience necessary to practice psychotherapy independently and that I could continue to practice on a very limited basis and/or attend occasional professional seminars during the PhD coursework in order to keep one toe in the field and leave the door open for a full-time return to the profession post-PhD, not knowing what lies ahead. Though I am not yet 25, I am concerned that waiting 4 years to apply to top (e.g. Ivies, etc) programs could go poorly. Knowing that faculty at top programs are primarily interested in reproducing and ultimately replacing themselves, there seems to be a strong preference for younger applicants with long careers ahead of them. While some programs seem to value applicants who took time off after undergrad to be sure about PhD study, is there a general age at which applicants become significantly less attractive to top admissions committees? Thanks!

Hello, I am considering pursuing a PhD in Sociology or in an interdisciplinary program strong in theory and cultural studies and am primarily interested in the top (R1), fully-funded programs. Given my undergraduate and master's institutions, academic record, academic awards, and plans to publish a text in a previously unresearched area related to my interests prior to entering, I believe that I would be reasonably competitive for these programs if I were to apply in the next year. However, I am considering postponing application three to five years to establish a strong foothold in a non-academic field to which I can remain peripherally connected and return full-time in the future, if necessary. I am currently working toward the credentials necessary to practice as a psychotherapist and am finding this work both rewarding and illuminating from an intellectual standpoint. Though I thoroughly enjoy helping people to explore their inner worlds, the questions that are ultimately most compelling to me are fundamentally social. I have a desire to publish scholarly writing which seems to weigh on me, occupying my thoughts almost constantly. I am aware that having a professional master's degree will inevitably prove limiting if I wish to share my ideas more widely but I am reticent to leap back into academia without having established a decent foothold in a non-academic profession given the realities of today's academic job market. Furthermore, it is my hope that in three to five years, I will have developed the licensure and experience necessary to practice psychotherapy independently and that I could continue to practice on a very limited basis and/or attend occasional professional seminars during the PhD coursework in order to keep one toe in the field and leave the door open for a full-time return to the profession post-PhD, not knowing what lies ahead. Though I am not yet 25, I am concerned that waiting 4 years to apply to top (e.g. Ivies, etc) programs could go poorly. Knowing that faculty at top programs are primarily interested in reproducing and ultimately replacing themselves, there seems to be a strong preference for younger applicants with long careers ahead of them. While some programs seem to value applicants who took time off after undergrad to be sure about PhD study, is there a general age at which applicants become significantly less attractive to top admissions committees? Thanks!

I have the same question, Sanfram. Hopefully someone will chime in to shed light soon.

Thanks to everyone who's responded so far! Thanks especially to Eigen for posting the links concerning "independent scholarship". They're giving me a lot to think about.

Hello all, I graduated with academic distinction from one of the most highly-ranked liberal arts colleges where I studied Sociology with an emphasis on cultural sociology, theory, and black cultural studies. I also participated in a fellowship program for students preparing for careers in academe, though I realized prior to my final year that I needed to take a break from the academic world to reassess. After graduation, I found myself in the field of academic administration and am now pursuing a professional degree (MSW) that will enable me to work in college mental health counseling and psychotherapy. Though I am very glad that I took this break to re-evaluate my priorities and develop a marketable skill set, I have a strong desire to write books of a scholarly nature concerning today's prevailing educational discourse and related visions of Black uplift from an anarchist perspective. However, I am wondering whether I can really "have my cake and eat it, too" and am curious about how I will fare in today's publishing market without the PhD. Based on the little internet research I've done, it seems that even for those with PhD's today, academic book publishing can seem a near impossibility since the academic presses rely on library purchases to stay afloat and the libraries have diverted much of their spending to expensive online journal subscriptions. In speaking with friends and acquaintances currently battling with the injunction to "publish or perish", I worry that more and more PhD's will turn to non-academic presses and effectively crowd-out those without the degree. Perhaps this concern is completely unwarranted (or simply symptomatic of the global decline in book sales) but I would be glad to know whether this is indeed occurring or on the horizon. Additionally, though I imagine that there is a great range, I am curious about how non-academic publishers respond to scholarly submissions. Do they require authors to water-down their work into the pop sociology lining the shelves of Barnes & Noble? Will self-publishing on Lulu.com be my only recourse? Would a PhD provide my only hope of publishing on the abovementioned subject today without having to "dumb down" the content? Though it seems that completing a PhD in Sociology might help me share my ideas more widely, I am primarily interested in independent scholarship and community engagement rather than working toward a tenure-track professorship. Though I'm hoping this changes in the next 5 to 10 years in response to the dwindling academic job market, it seems that most programs are still focused on socializing their students for non-existent professorships above all else. As a result, I am concerned that many programs would feel like a waste of time for me and that advisors and others would perceive me as a waste of (academic) space. Is anyone aware of top (i.e. fully-funded) PhD programs that would welcome students who explicitly state out front that they intend to pursue careers as scholar-practitioners outside of the academy? Thanks for reading!