mybattleship

Honestly, I don't think there's going to be significant differences between an MA in Anthropology and an MA in Geography for these topics. There's a lot of overlap between the two disciplines. I think any good department (in anthropology, geography, sociology, etc) is going to be drawing on ideas and scholarship from a variety of disciplines. I would suggest keeping an open mind, developing a project a little more robustly (maybe something site specific so as to help guide your thinking), and then tracking down professors who are doing similar work regardless of their disciplinary orientation.

I think 4 years is doable if you've already got an MA and you can cut your coursework down to a year. That leaves you a year for additional coursework, a year for comps and dissertation prospectus, a year for field work and a year to write up. Not top crazy. I hope to be on the four year track myself, but I'll be in Geography.

I've also heard things about Berkeley not actually existing and that it's a big scheme to pocket application fees. Genius really... I'm waiting on UGA and I'm feeling confident!

I think you're a strong candidate for any of those schools assuming that your reseach interests meld well with the respective departments. Your GRE scores aren't bad by any means. I'm pretty sure you're above the fiftieth percentile across the board which is more than enough for the schools you're applying to. Assuming you've done your research on how to write a good SOP and spent a lot of time seeking departments that will help develop your academic interests, you should be fine. I wouldn't worry.

Ultimately, I think it's up to you and when you feel the time is right. I will say that during my MA, the students that were older and had more life experience were almost categorically able to manage their time better and were subsequently more successful. I'd say, take the year off from academia. Hone in a good research project. Read some relevant literature and then start contacting prospective POIs around next August/September.

I can't really imagine a paper without some kind of theoretical framework. I guess it depends on what your doing, but I think all science depends on theory to some extent. Otherwise, what are you doing? What are you trying to prove/show/say?

I don't think you ought to bother applying to Columbia, NYU, Cornell, or Irvine. If you really want to be in aPhD program net year, take a look around and see what other schools you see that interest you. There are plenty of great programs out there that have a lesser rank, are less competitive, but still offer great educations with excellent placement rates. For example, my partner is in a top 30 anthropology program that places 90% of there graduates in tenure track positions or NGOs. The other 10% took a different path on their own volition. I should also mention that my partner had lower GRE scores than yours.

My scores are V159/Q148/5.0. I was accepted to the University of Kentucky with funding but had to decline my offer. I was nearly accepted to UGA on those scores. I'm reapplying this year and feel confident that I'll be accepted. UGA might be a bit different because their first round of acceptances go to people who qualify for university wide funding awards, which is based on an applicants GPA and GRE scores. They then make offers in subsequent rounds based on those that either don't accept the initial offer or receive university wide funding.

It sounds like you're generally very open to the type of research you're looking to do which I would say is mutually liberating and constraining. You are correct in that a lot of schools are doing the research you are interested in doing, which makes things difficult to some degree. I would start looking into schools based on nonacademic factors and then narrow down your choices based on that. So, for example, if you just REALLY want to live in the mid west, the University of Kansas might be a good option. You can also help narrow your choices down to places where you might reasonably be accepted based on the strength of your application. If you've got a GPA under 3.5 and your GREs are in the fiftieth percentile, chances are you're not going to get into Berkeley. You're probably reasonably acquainted with schools in the northeast; Google the department website and browse the faculty research interests. Binghamton might be a good place to start. The department specializes in historical sociology and world systems. It's also not TOO competitive (at least compared to other schools in the region). Many people apply to 10-15 programs. I think the rule of thumb is to only apply to programs that you really want to go to. Do what you're comfortable with. Once you pick out a few schools you can start to develop an interest based on the programs that you find most interesting. I think there is no shame in contacting a POI, asking for some background literature and a few publications of their's to start off with. Read up on that and then develop a research project that's in line with what the department is doing. Senior faculty are probably going to have more sway in the admissions process, but there is also nothing wrong with junior faculty as POIs. It's more important that you find someone you would want to work with. I would also consider applying to a few MA programs as well. If you're not accepted to a PhD then an MA will help you define your interests a bit better.

Apples and oranges. It would be more similar if you came on the board and said you are having trouble finding 'economic sociology' programs.

No I can't, but it doesn't mean that there aren't scholars out there with overlapping interests.

I think it's a gross overstatement to say that nobody is interested in this type of work. Science and technology studies is a growing field of interest among many scholars and there is plenty of room for this type of inquiry. My advice to the original poster would be to consult some of Bruno Latour's work and go from there. He doesn't deal with 'astro-sociology' specifically but could probably provide some insights into how to approach this field of research. If you wanted to go the Latourian route, then there are more than a few scholars out there you could potentially work with. Also, York University and Cornell have PhDs in Science and Technology studies. Those might also be worth looking into.

Has anyone heard any news from UGA?

I think UGA made their first round of TA offers in mid-February. I'm in a very similar limbo position with them, although I'm feeling confident I'll eventually be offered a place. I was told that none of the university wide awards for highly qualified applicants have been divied out, and that if any of the geography applicants were accepted for those, then some TA money would be freed up for second round offers.