rising_star

Not a historian but, you really should try to save the Fulbright research/study grant for when you're actually in your PhD program if at all possible. If the country has ETA (English teaching) awards available, that might be a better choice since it won't preclude a Fulbright in the future. Deferrals can be tricky and I definitely wouldn't count on being able to get one. That said, the odds of getting a Fulbright to a competitive country and of getting into a PhD program are equally crappy. Good luck!

This is probably going to sound crazy but, you could probably work out something similar to what pregnant grad students work out. That is, they get a lighter TA assignment that they can do partially or completely from home so they aren't earning no money at all while on leave in the late stages of pregnancy or while on FMLA. It might be done unofficially in your department but it is a possibility in many places.

I would be wary of the idea that you'll get additional funding after 4/15. I think according to the CGS agreement, you cannot accept two offers, but you can ask to back out of your commitment to one school so you can go to another.

What is making you lean toward UT? The two stipend amounts are pretty similar, so I don't know if that should be a deciding factor. You should probably decide based on some combination of ranking and fit. Have you visited either department?

Can you contact the program to find out what their alums are doing now? That might be helpful to you.

Totally late to the party but, a few things. 1) Carney and Diamond are technically in the same geography department at UCLA. That said, geographers have huge issues with GGS and spent a lot of time at a conference a few years ago telling Diamond that to his face. Interesting stuff if you want to look it up. 2) People must be reading popular historians because some of them appeared on "The Colbert Report" to talk about their books and others are on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart". I assume they get the "Colbert bump" so to speak and that people at least buy their books. If and when that happens, that probably means they get read more than most other academic historians. As a non-historian, I'll say that Cronon and Foner are both very easy to read.

Is either program offering you any funding?

Scheduling for me was key. I'd set aside specific time for research, time for classes, time for TA duties, exercise, etc. and then do everything in my power to stick to that schedule. So, maybe I'd say 9-11am was for reading articles, writing summaries, and working on a new grant proposal. Then, a break, then time for classwork, etc. I also never really did all the reading for grad seminars once I was at the Ph.D. level...

This is a tough decision! I'm leaning toward geoscience for you, if only because it's a broader field and you could probably do the same research you'd do in the marine science program there. That said, it's not clear to me if there are other POIs you'd be interested in working with if the current one leaves. If you don't, then that rules out that option.

Don't go to School A. Take the funding at School B and don't look back.

You'd be visiting to meet the faculty, talk to current students, etc. You don't have to rush it but, it would be good to go while classes are still in session so that more people are around. Also, ask if they're willing to cover or reimburse any of your travel expenses...

I think you need to read some books on qualitative research design and methodology. It would really help you understand what goes in a qualitative thesis/dissertation and how to get yourself there.

I personally wouldn't be super worried about it. I'm in the social sciences and my advisor is not (and never will be) a specialist in my narrow research area. We work within the same theoretical framework but on completely different topics. He was fine with it and so was I.

I think it'd be hard to build the kind of relationship that would lead to a good rec letter online. But, if you want to do this, you'll want to be a top-notch student, attend virtual office hours if offered, and try to converse with your professors via email/Skype about your interests and the class.

You'll get research experience regardless of whether or not you get teaching experience. Some of that will come from writing your thesis and dissertation. You can (and should) also do additional research.

I started my master's in the summer. While I'm not in a lab science, it was still helpful for me because it gave me a chance to begin working with my advisor, get up to speed on some of the literature (I was switching disciplines), and also get to know what was expected of me. I did it through a summer program the Graduate Division offered, so I also got to make friends in other departments, which was cool. In the end, I don't regret it because it did help with the transition from undergrad to grad school.

I'm in the social sciences. Funded MA programs exist and they mean that you TA (grade papers, lead discussion sections) each semester in exchange for a full tuition waiver (both in-state and out-of-state tuition, if applicable) and a stipend ranging from $12-20K/year depending on the program.

Reputation in literature programs is key. You'd have to ask in the Literature subforum about the specifics since I'm not an expert on the rankings in that field.

virtua, there's no guarantee you'd be happier in the MSc program than you were in the PhD program. If your goal is to get a PhD, this kind of program switch is an especially bad idea.

What Sigaba said! I was actually surprised to see Northwestern on the declined list. I'm not in history at all but I know that Northwestern has a fairly well respected African history PhD program. I really do think the training, resources, and placement record matter a lot. You didn't talk about your career goals or where those departments are placing graduates but that is definitely something to consider. And when I say placing graduates, I mean where the African history grads are working because, for your purposes, it really doesn't matter where the American history or Latin American history PhDs are placed.

Do grad students in UA's English department typically take 6-7 years to finish? When they say they aren't admitting you with "Advanced standing" do you mean that they're admitting you as someone that doesn't already have a MA? I ask because I'd be totally surprised if they didn't let you count any of the literature courses from your MFA program toward the coursework requirement for the PhD. You'd be amazed at how much counting even 9 credits can be helpful for finishing in a timely fashion. Four years of guaranteed funding at UW doesn't sound like it's enough for you to finish, to be honest. If Arizona is offering funding for more years, I'd lean in that direction. And yes, if not everyone is offered the same package, it will cause bad feelings. It'll be obvious when people are TAing or otherwise working outside the department and grumbling about it because they didn't get departmental funding.

Yea, here's my advice. Your research is likely going to require trips to the archives in those countries, right? So you need to be also looking at the success of students in getting the types of grants you'll need (Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, SSRC, etc.). It's also worth considering what kind of work is required in exchange for that funding. Some schools (esp. private schools) will let you have a year of funding where you don't have to TA/RA, which means you could potentially use that year for data collection if you strike out on getting a grant. You do want some teaching experience but not so much that it delays your progress and you start to worry about running out of funding. You need to think about summer funding and its availability for taking preliminary trips to those archives so you can begin your research. And, you also need to be thinking (and asking) about what happens beyond the 5th year if you're not done. I don't know many history PhDs that have gone straight from undergrad, done research internationally, and finished in 5 years. I didn't see any discussion of this in your posts, though you did mention "full funding" for 5 years. For me, I would view living in a tech oriented area as an asset. Think of the dating prospects! But also, you could potentially get a summer internship in the tech field that could expand your skill set and marketability post-Ph.D., which is worth considering. Good luck! Let us know what you decide!

Why is it your dream to go to BU? I'm just wondering since you admit that it's the weaker program for what you want to do. Also, I think many people would say that BU is the weaker geography program overall. Honestly, I don't know that I'd pursue either given the cost of getting a master's in geography without minimal funding, especially when there is funding for geography master's programs available (though not for professional GIS degrees).

I would do google searches, check LinkedIn, and ask the department.

I think these distinctions aren't that important but, I also work in an interdisciplinary field. Which is to say that I am a social scientist who works along with natural scientists all the time, in addition to folks in the "soft" and "hard" social sciences. Getting into debates about the value of these different fields is a timesuck unworthy of your time. That said, there are real academic battles between the natural and social sciences, in no small part because universities, legislators, and governors are privileging the former over the latter when it comes to resources and funding. These battles do matter for departments and thus ultimately for undergraduate and graduate students.