Wicked_Problem

Decided to start a topic, since my previous inquiries could easily be missed in the very active thread where I posted them... Question: Are there any lurkers out there that applied to Drew University's History and Culture Ph.D.? I would appreciate a PM or response on this thread. I can't believe that I am the only applicant on Grad Cafe even though it is a moderately sized program. Thanks.

I didn't. Are you familiar with faculty doing research on this topic in these departments? I was warned against earning a Ph.D. in an "interdisciplinary" or "boutique" program as that might severely constrain one's ability to be hired in the much more numerous conventional "disciplinary" departments.

I've asked this question before, but if there are any lurkers out there that applied to Drew University's History and Culture Ph.D.? I would appreciate a PM or response on this thread. I can't believe that I am the only applicant on Grad Cafe even if it is a moderately sized program. Thanks.

Intellectual History of the Americas; Institutional History; History of Crime and Punishment; Corrections/Detention I have designed jails and prisons for 15 years and want to understand the larger context of incarceration so that I can impact the public discourse with the goal of reducing societal and human costs of mass incarceration. Advantages: Few. Disadvantages: Those working in this area of inquiry are spread throughout academia: law professors, political scientists, criminologists, sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and others that I am sure I haven't identified yet. I therefore have applied to a range of programs in different disciplines in order to attempt to find where someone with psychology, architecture and criminal justice degrees will best fit into a research area that is ill defined, diffuse, and generally disliked or considered distasteful. I'm on a mission, though, so I will find a way to have an impact based on the truth and not just advocacy.

I concur with Smugpug. I have the Logitec solar kb and a non-3/4G iPad 2 and I consider it a serious tool, not a toy.

Thanks for "bumping" this thread, sloanet... Wouldn't have seen above otherwise...

This is an amazing report. Excellent source of information. Not my field, but passing on to my wife, who works with Architecture students finishing up their programs and deciding on entering the job market or going to grad school etc. Thanks!

Acceptance just up on the board. By the way, I am not applying to UW for History, so it wasn't me.

Thank you to the international applicant that posted their rejection by KU for the Ph.D. program. Hopefully other opportunities will open up for you.

I didn't feel taken aback at all. I thought it was pleasant and respectful. The door isn't closed, however it is clear that I was not in the first round of acceptances like PhDreams was. Everything is information that helps lead to a decision in the end, once all options are clear.

Made that inquiry on 2/1. Response: Our Admissions Committee has selected a group of students that it is recommending for admission, and those students have been notified. I was not given a waiting list this year, however, I have not yet been instructed to notify applicants that they have not been accepted. It may be a couple of weeks before all decisions have been made. We will let you know your final status as soon as possible.

UCI rejectee, my condolences. We have identical GRE scores -- what are the odds of that? I'm assuming that I am out too, but not willing to email the graduate coordinator because I'm unwilling to foreclose on the possibility.

SUNY Albany PhD acceptee, come out come out whomever you are...

According to the results board: University Illinois Chicago UIC Criminology, Law, And Justice, PhD (F13) Accepted via E-mail on 29 Jan 2013 ♦ UG GPA: 3.70 GRE: V 156 Q 150 W 4.00 A (U.S. Student) Was accepted with BA in sociology. Nominated for a fellowship. That's all I can offer other than I love downtown Chicago.

PhDreams: All this talk of UC system funding makes your acceptance to UCI's CLS program all the more remarkable.

University Of California, Berkeley Architecture, PhD (F13) Accepted via E-mail on 28 Jan 2013 International work experience and a very specific SOP. 1. Congratulations! 2. I'm curious about your comments above. Contact me if you ever see this...

Zsick, Did you post your acceptance? Congratulations, by the way.

Based on their website, and ignoring attrition, UCI CLS cohorts sizes were: 12-13 (9), 11-12 (7), 10-11 (9), 09-10 (5), 08-09 (14), 07-08 (8)

PhDreams please confirm, but it was a phone call, followed by an informal email, not a letter.

You might want to take a look at this:

I'm not in your field, but here's my two cents... Your relationship was with the POI, not the school. The school may have rejected you, but given the exchange you described, they may have rejected your POI as well, instead of the POI not going to bat for you. In my opinion, send the email. Straightforwardly acknowledge the rejection and express your regret that you two will not have the opportunity to work together at University "X" but express a desire to keep the lines of communication open. Your are quite right, in a small subfield, this POI may end up a collaborator or if nothing else someone you socialize with at future conferences. Maybe (hopefully) a friend, even.

I also need an app like this. Also, any apps that would assist with oral history interviews.

oneamcoffee offered the following advice on a completely different thread. Thoughts?............................................................................................................................ "I guess it's like anywhere else - you're going to hear every department tell you that they are well rounded and great at what they do. When I spoke of "conservative" and "critical" schools, you have to understand that nobody is going to brand themselves one way or another. They want the maximum number of applicants per year, and like used car salespeople, they (and I mean even the best schools) will tell you what you want to hear. The 'pudding', as it were, is in the CV. Nearly every faculty at most universities have CV's available online. Look at them. ALL of them. Do you see any of them publishing in your area? Are they focused on very specific things that fall well outside your thoughts on the discipline (i.e. biosocial, structural, environmental, neo-classical, critical/radical, policing, law etc etc.)? This, and this alone will tell you what the general theme of the department is. Look for commonalities across cv's (they won't be explicit, but you can usually get a sense of the feel of the department). Don't expect to find a place where everyone researches what you like. Then again, make sure there is at least one, but more likely two people that specialize in your area and depending on where you want to work, it's helpful if one of them is somewhat known in your area. On par with checking faculty in my opinion, is checking up on the current doctoral students. Many of them have their CV's also available online, and if not google/googlescholar them and see what they are doing, if anything. If the students (2nd years and up) aren't publishing, it's probably not a great program to be in, and likely has little in the ways of faculty mentorship. The next step I would recommend is to see what in the sam heck the alumnus of the program are doing. Do a number of them have tenure track positions at universities that you would like to work at (assuming you would want to be faculty)? Are they working as adjuncts or non-tenured faculty at junk universities? What are their salaries (this can be commonly found with google as state university professor's salaries are public knowledge)? Take this information and understand that, for better or worse, this is likely the best indication of your coming future if you attend that program. I hope that this helps. I had very little of this information going into my program and finding schools, but I had great mentorship and have learned a lot since. Know that I am not putting down any program or university in any of the my above statements - they each have their place and fit for all different types of students. Keep in mind also that the Ph.D. is 100% different than an MA/MS program. You are no longer really a student; you're in training for a job. A very complex, difficult, and self-sufficiency requiring job. Who do you want to train you? Best of luck."......................................................................................................................................... Again, I'm curious what thought everyone might have on the above opinion. I would say that I did what he suggested, but not to the extent he suggested. I took some shortcuts. I have read more CVs than one would think is humanly possible in the last four months, though...