matecocido

@pears: Yes, I have been accepted, and given that you are currently in California you could give me a great insight on the university public system there. Anyway, I think grad school is not only about yourself, but the people you work with and your colleagues around the country as well, and , of course, the 'location'. I live in Europe, so you shouldn't presume the same familiarity you have with the american system in an international student like myself. Hope you can help me with Californian financial crisis. And what do you mean with 'sequestration nonsense'? @miscellaneous: great to find a fellow spirit!! Congrats for your admissions! Thanks for the advice on grad housing in princeton; another friend of mine has confirmed it!! I share your opinion on the distinguished work of prof. Gumbrecht. Thank you very much! Hope to hear your voice again on the forum))

Ok, let's try this way Where are the best programs in the humanities? PRINCETON, BERKELEY, STANFORD OR JOHNS HOPKINS?????????? Thanks guys!!

RECTIUS: *are well cultivated as well as other romance traditions (from Spanish to Portuguese lit.) and German.

Hello everyone: I would like to start a thread on a topic very much neglected, i.e. Medieval and Renaissance Studies. I see with pleasure that there are many prospective grad students in fields such as French, German, Spanish and Italian and I am sure that many of them share my interest in the field or will encounter these subjects while making their way through the graduate program. I would like to assess which Cal institution is better in these fields because I will have to make a choice between them very soon and there are many pro's and contra's in each case. California Budget Crisis is not helpful at all and I am looking for a competitive and stimulating environment to write my dissertation. My focus is Late Medieval Intellectual History (Middle-Latin and Italian mainly) but I have been trained in Romance Philology so I am looking for a place where Medieval Latin, Italian and French (particularly Old French) are well cultivated as long as other romance traditions (from Spanish to German lit). Diversity is very important in my choice. Please feel free to include your experience of other programs, such as those on the East Coast, from Yale to Notre Dame, or from Columbia to Johns Hopkins. I am just trying to spark an interesting and informative conversation. Ciao! Matecocido

Hello everybody: I wondered if there's someone who could give a little insight on humanities programs in the USA. Engineering, Computer Science and hard sciences in general, are a way too much inflated currency on this forum, even if it is clearly justifiable given the number of students enrolling each year in those fields. I will have to make a choice among the universities I listed in the topic title (Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Johns Hopkins). What I am interested in, are the programs in Comparative Literature, French and Italian, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, but I am trying to understand what the strenghts of each place are, even if they are let's say in 'English and American Literature' or 'Linguistics'. So please feel free to join this 'conversation' whatever your field in the humanities is. I think the right choice for me is Berkeley, but I am still waiting to hear about the financial aid, which could be a real hazard given California Budget Crisis. Anyone already studying there who can give advice on how to navigate through Californian rough sea? How are lthe atest measures affecting public university? My field of interest is Late Medieval Intellectual History. Medieval Studies are not very strong at Stanford, at least so I have been told, but are prestigious at Berkeley (I see they have been importing and breeding the best faculty from the east coast for decades; all the faculty seem to hold a Ph.D. from Yale and I am already in touch with scholars I admire) and very strong at Princeton, where Renaissance Studies are great, too. Johns Hopkins has a great, big department, the German and Romance Languages and Literatures dept., where I have already been reassured of the opportunity to have extraordinary mentors and excellent job placement opportunities. But the idea of living in Baltimore is not very appealing, even if I have been told it is not how detractors describe it. On the other hand, Berkeley is a paradise on earth, and it's less expensive than Stanford in terms of everyday expenses (rent, food etc.). But money is a minor argument here, so let's talk about scholarship first! Any advice or opinion is welcome. Diversity of interests is very much welcome. Please join the forum! Matecocido