nimhicaz

do you know any sources that give a list of PhD programs in media and film studies?

yes arth, that is why i asked this question. complit departments concentrate on different literatures and are good at some. overall, these departments require students to learn at least 2 languages other than english. (by the way, i am just explaining the structure of complit departments for those who are interested in, not talking about me) for example, one can shoose french, german and arabic as his or her areas of interest, then focus on these literatures. in some departments, the relatinship between literature and other disciplines of social sciences is analyzed as well, gender, history, culture, film etc. yes you are right that there are many turkish students in the department of comparative literature at binghamton university which have a special emphasis on turkish literature. one of its students holding a BA degree in IR has a similar background to me. and of course toefl matters, otherwise how can they learn the level of applicant in english? in addition, somebody told me that many of complit departments have just started to have an oral interview with potential students -probably to see how good they are in spoken english-

sonofcioran, i did not overestimate my abilities. i did want to pursue a degree in sociology or anthropology so as to study racism in which i have done enough research at my former university. then i found complit departments attractive because of their interdisciplinarity and special emphasis on film studies. my first message on this topic aimed to see my chance to get in, not to prove something. i do not say that you are completely wrong, you were right in many ways. the problem is your style rather than realities. also, i asked many people and received different opinions, pessimistic and optimistic (like you people do here) i liked professor konuk's mail, by the way, she summarized the things in a realistic way. all i need is this. the thing which disappointed me the most was that she did not mention about MA's contribution. yes, i found her mail pessimistic, does this mean that i did not like it? when it comes to my knowledge of english, overall you are right about it (nevertheless, i do not agree with this: "whether or not you have an intermediate knowledge of english is debatable". as i said, i have adequate time (maybe 3 yrs) to improve my written and spoken english with the support of graduate study at an english speaking university. is there a difference between "english" and "complit" departments in terms of english level they expect prospective students to have? i think that complit departments should be less strict about it. anyway, i know admission process is very competitive and probably i will not be an appropriate applicant for american schools. in this case, i will be looking at other options of mine. the book you recommended seems to be useful for my deficiencies.(downloaded it as pdf) thank you.

ok. I am still young and have enough time to improve my skills. (for TOEFL, higher than 104) Otherwise, I can stay here. I love my country :wink:

hi again sonofcioran, thanks for your polite message i said that i am aware that i am not a perfect applicant. i was only curious about my chance to get in any schools in the US. i do not agree with you in some points, however. i am not a beginner in english as you wanted to say , and have no problems in understanding written and spoken english, just explained in my previous message why i thought professor did not get what i have written. i expected her to write something about what graduate study can add to my dossier. but she did not and i meant this. my TOEFL IBT score is 104 (I can improve this in following yrs), and shows my knowledge of English. Also, of course I have another more realistic option, studying Nationalism and Ethnicity in a Socioogy or Anthropology department. I can get in even a Turkish or European university as well, just wanted to learn your ideas. thank you. and thanks arth, i have already talked to a professor at Sabanci University. In previous years, the department (founded in 2005) sent three graduates to PhD programs in Comparative Literature in the US (Berkeley, NYU and Indiana) This department can be a perfect place for students who plan both CompLit and Sociology PhD since the program covers a wide range of topics and theories. ok finally, i will try to get in this department for MA. then i will have time to decide.

thanks for your message i got this idea because graduate study should increase my chance as far as i know. i am planning a master but she does not mention something like this "MA in Cultural Studies helps and can outweigh your low grades". I obtained from her e-mail that undergraduate GPA is everything. But I can not do anything for my past and just wonder if I stand any chance. I got your recommendation about the fact that 3.5 is not enough. I want the best, we will see. However, grading policy does not work here like in the US. We have more strict teachers, and it was really hard for me to get A's in undergad classes. (3.5 is really perfect for my school)

Hi, I am writing this post to get some recommendations about my chance to get in a Comparative Literature PhD program in the US. Firstly, I am an international applicant applying from Turkey with an irrelevant BA which is Economics. This year, I am graduating from Economics and have to make a decision about my future. Let me tell my background, and then I will ask some questions. I have an advanced level of English as well as an intermediate knowledge of German with an A2 certificate which I received in an exam offered by Goethe Institut. I have also reading knowledge of Ottoman Turkish which is written in Arabic alphabet. My GPA would be between 2,97 and 3.02. Of course I hope it to be higher than 3 and work for it. We'll see what happens... Above all, I have a big enthusiasm for Literature PhD and to chance my major. I would like to attend an MA program here in Cultural Studies or Turkish Literature. I want to get in Cultural Studies department of a well-known university which includes 3 professors who hold PhD degree in Comparative Literature from top American Universities (Yale, Chicago and Indiana-Bloomington). So I think that I can receive a good experience in Literature if I can get acceptance. And most importantly, I strongly believe that my GPA in graduate would be good. (suppose higher than 3.5) I am interested in Modern German and Turkish Literature, Film Studies, Ethnicity and Discrimination. I should also emphasize that I did not take related courses in BA level, but I will take them in gradute. In the light of this information, what would you recommend? Does coming from an irrelevant discipline decrease my chanceor can I improve my proficiency with an MA in Cultural Studies? Whta should I do now? Learning more langauges, improving German? I am just curious about your recommendations and afraid that I will not have an oppurtunity to be admitted. I wrote to Professors and received some good e-mails and a pessimist e-mail from a Turkish professor. But I think she could not understand that I want to do a graduate study here in Turkey. Here is her reply to me. " I am delighted about your enthusiasm for working on a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. However, in order to have a realistic chance in the US your grades would have to be excellent and the letters of support outstanding. Above all, you would have to have a training in literature and literary criticism/theory that would convince the committee members of your ability to keep up with the requirements here. Without fulfilling these requirements, I am afraid that you would not have chance of being selected into the next cohort. I wish you good luck and stamina in trying to change the path of your education and career." And now my mind got confused, I need your help.