jmu

FWIW I loaded a huge file today and Arc froze for a minute but no crash.

I use QGIS/GRASS/PostGIS at home since I don't use windows. They are different and not as powerful but don't lack in functionality.

FWIW we just went to 10.2 here (after litereally two weeks on 10.1) and were told that crashing should be even better as long as we kept our scaling in check.

The crashing is supposed to be better in 10.1. We'll see.

I took it 10/31. Also, you can choose which scores to send if you pay to send them but I don't think you can choose in the ones included.

I contacted a few professors before applying and they told me they weren't taking any new students and, aside from each other (they were at the same program) couldn't think of anyone else I might contact. I applied anyway and was waitlisted. Two other programs, ranked about the same, I didn't contact anyone until after I had already applied. I was waitlisted at one and accepted at the other. My current program, where I did talk to a number of people as I did my undergrad here, and the other one I was accepted outright were, by far, my best fit. In my field, I think that was far more important than whether or not I spoke to someone.

Bring an ID and as little else as possible.

It seems there are very few people at universities doing astrosociological research. As a result, finding a specific person to work with may not be the best route (though if you do find someone contact them and apply.) Instead, I would suggest finding some substantive area of astrosociology that you are interested in. This might be the political economy of space travel, or something to do with media representations of space travel. Find some specific field and find people working on the same empirical area (in these cases political economy or media studies) and contact them. A word of warning: some of these fields (astrosociology, paranthropology, etc) are not considered legitimate by everyone. Be prepared to get brushed off and don't take it to heart.

Depends I guess. If they are going to use the book again next time they teach the class I get wanting it back. It's rare in my department that you TA for a class that will have useful books for grad students. The ones that have interesting reading are usually smaller and don't get assigned TAs (Third World Sociology and Geography of Food being notable exceptions as these are popular outside the department.) There are also a lot of younger professors here that don't assign books but use journal articles instead.

Writing statements is awkward. I've had senior faculty tell me that it remains that way for your whole career. What helped me was having a professor who was willing to sit down with me and work through the clumsy parts.

Citations are a no-brainer. I would never reference someone else's work without citing it. My references take about just a bit under 1/3 of the page, which I've been told is normal. The title I'm debating still. I get what you are saying, Monochrome Spring, but my proposal is complicated as I'm using a mixed-methods approach that needs some justification (it is interdisciplinary research being done in an interdisciplinary program.)

Professors provide them here if you don't want to buy them. You just return them at the end of the semester.

I'm actually glad to see that the two have been merged. My program is asking (read: requiring) incoming PhD students to prepare for the GRFP and we have been working on them this summer. I had written the two based on last years instructions but being able to combine them cut a lot of overlap and made the overall ideas more cohesive. Question for you all who are applying: are you including a title on your proposal? I know the title gets entered separately but some of the samples I've seen include them. It, along with citations, is eating up valuable space!

I mean from top ranked programs in that field. Anthropologists, sociologists, and geographers from Berkeley (including one who spent more than 30 years as tenured faculty there), geographers from Washington, sociologists from The John Hopkins, etc, etc.

I wouldn't attend an unfunded program and turned down an underfunded offer. I had a backup plan that would allow me to continue to do research and reapply the next year. I considered myself a strong candidate (summa cum laude, conference presentations, travel grants, all rare for my field) so I wasn't going to give up easily. At the same time, I wasn't interested in only attending a top program either so it wasn't really that bad. I applied to programs that would allow me to do the research that I wanted to do. I am in the program now that best allows me to do that. Based on my research, I put this program above many of the "top" ones. I think its unfair to the departments to put the blame solely on them. Many departments have X amount of funding and need to spread that over as many students as possible. They also need to enroll a certain number of students each year to ensure that the graduate school does not drop required classes due to underenrollment. It's a tricky balance on their part and it can suck for departments as well as students. There is a lot of talk on here about how unfunded offers means they don't really want you or how they are a cash cow. I think this was true once, probably even recently, but I don't think it is true now. Especially among public research universities. Many graduate students are funded through assistantships. These students exist in sort of three planes of existance for the university: as students, as faculty, and as commodities. The first is obvious. As an assistant, you are a member of the faculty. In my case, I'm now an employee of the state of Florida. I even had to swear an oath to uphold the constitution of the state and country, as uncomfortable as that made me feel as an anarchist. We are also commodities in that we produce research which the university and the university system use to bring in more funding and increase prestige. It is in these last two realms that GAUs can help. Non-worker students unions can help as well, but I think they need to be much larger since, in the US, they don't have legal representation. Ideally, I think a system such as the one for undergraduates in Canada needs to be the goal of student unions, both labor unions and not. To extend on how the unions work a little bit more, in Florida, you are required to have 50%+1 of all assistants in any particular college or school sign cards before gaining official recognition. Who represents the GAUs varies, sometimes it is the adjunct union, sometimes AFSCME, sometimes the faculty union, and sometimes it is independent. Membership is fluid due to the fluid nature of assistantships but it can and does work. There are also cases where GAUs are able to fight for the rights of non-assistant students by, for example, changing fee requirements for candidates or students on other forms of stipend. These are typically not part of contracts but are a part of the power of an organized mass.

I'm not doing my PhD for any reason other than I am passionate about research. I think the financial question is legitimate but also limited. I did my undergrad living on an average of $12,000 a year. My $20,000 a year is a huge improvement in my living situation. I know others who feel the same. As for ways to make it better, I think unions are a great tool to that end if properly run. Many GAUs are fighting for fee reductions and living wages. On the other hand, unfunded offers are becoming more common. A major program in my field only made 4 funded offers and needed to fill 10 spots. Even my program only initially made three, although they were able to add more later on by working with other departments. I don't think these issues are isolated to universities or doctoral students either. Thus, I don't think they can be looked at without also looking at the progressive neoliberalization of the public sector. As knowledge producers, we're low on the totem pole. Cuts will come to us before other sectors because, very often, we are not producers or reproducers that are viewed as beneficial to society. That makes me sad to type, but it is true and can be seen in the much higher stipends found in fields that can produce a tangible product.

I think any school with a MALS and enough courses/faculty in Queer Studies will be able to offer you something. I know the MALS program here requires you to choose topical area and requires you to take 18 credits in that area across at least three departments. (I don't know if there are enough to recommend FIU, though.) Contact some interdisciplinary programs and ask what their policy is toward topical studies that they don't explicitly offer.they may have a similar setup.

TakeruK - don't forget that many "top" programs also grab already tenured faculty. Those few positions are not only filled by recent grads. It isn't unusual for a person to "work their way up" over a very long period.

jimmy_01, I would hazard that a number of PhD students don't see the degree as simply a means to an end. I certainly don't. jeffster, I went to a low/unranked school in most categories (it is top 50 in schools under 50 years old) and most of my professors came from top schools.

I was told by multiple people not to include it. For whatever that's worth.

Tthe people in your field will know how good your background is whether you come from a "big name" or not. Programs that have respectable people will have respect in the field.

It should be fine and a good way to open up discussion with them.

We have a required 3 day orientation and an optional certification. I would not be comfortable going in blind.

Rather than look for specifically development programs, I think you may be better served in departments with strong economic anthropologists and folks with regional and/or theoretical backgrounds. I would hazard that most professors are familiar with development schemes in their research areas. For example, if you are interested in GaD programs in Ghana, a department with a feminist africanist scholar would be a better choice than someone who studies forest industries and the role of REDD+ in the Amazon.

This is really something that should be catered to your interests and talked about in conjunction with your advisor.