rising_star

I think there are advantages to a two year program, particularly the opportunity to get more training through internships and coursework. I also think it's worth considering that the cost of living in NYC is going to be higher than that in DC... They're all good programs.

Maybe? I straddle three interdisciplinary fields. We NEVER ask for syllabi for all courses taught or sample assignments.* I have seen schools ask for a diversity statement but this shouldn't be more than 1-2 pages of your packet. Same for the teaching statement. And course evaluations should never be sent unedited. You want to lay out the information in a way that makes it easy on the reader who has hundreds of applications to review and sending every narrative comment you've ever received ultimately isn't that helpful. Like I said before, my teaching portfolio isn't that long (I think under 20 pages) because I know people aren't going to read more and I offer to send additional things at their request. I include one sample syllabus and it's linked to things I talk about in my teaching statement. I talk about the kinds of assignments in my teaching statement but these are only available by request because, quite frankly, they're only somewhat illuminating without the broader context (e.g., I have five linked assignments in one course which slowly build the skills needed to do an in-depth research paper but, realistically, no one is going to read all five at the application stage). I guess the moral of this is that people should consult with those in their discipline. I would be aghast if someone sent an 80-100 page teaching portfolio with their application. I'd also wonder about why they thought to send all that, no matter how well organized it is. *This is actually something that schools should be re-evaluating their practices around as it is another way of introducing bias and discrimination into the hiring process. Especially since few grad students have full control over how much or what they teach. But that's a rant for a different day.

Working part-time is definitely feasible, especially when you consider that many assistantships are 15-20 hours a week. However, a part-time job likely won't pay enough to cover all of your expenses if you have pay tuition + living expenses out of pocket. One thing that some do is get an assistantship in another unit on campus (e.g., student union, residence life) so that they get a tuition waiver plus stipend.

I would talk to the professor and ask them if they're willing to help you work to publish this paper.

You don't need to read recent articles of everyone you're meeting with. Have a general idea of their research area and be prepared to ask questions about the department, how they see grad students fitting into their research, etc. You aren't ever going to be expected to have a detailed knowledge of all the major areas of anthropology so this is a good time to start preparing to interact with anthropologists in fields vastly different from your own.

You can politely ask Carleton if there are any updates available on your application. You can also politely ask if they have a timetable for notifying applicants of their status.

There are so many things going on here. I'm going to try to separate them though. 1) Is finishing in 4 years realistic? Would doing so position you well for post-PhD career options or would you realistically need more time? 2) Is your research something that doesn't depend on outside factors (e.g., getting external funding to collect data)? 3) With a three hour commute each way, will you realistically be able to graduate in 4 years? Is there sufficient scheduling of courses so that you wouldn't have to commute to campus every day? 4) Would it be possible for you to sublet a room or get a hotel room a few nights a week so that you aren't spending 6 hours commuting? 5) Would that commute be you driving or would you be able to take public transportation? 6) Would your partner be willing to move so that you have a somewhat shorter commute/ 7) How important is this relationship to you? Are you truly willing to let your partner's desires (live together, stay in this city, move to Europe when they're done) determine what happens with you, your education, and your career?

Research fit, available lab and resources, funding, collegiality, placement record? I mean, any of those are a way to decide. There are lots of posts on here where people discuss the criteria they're using to make their decision.

Have you considered temp agencies? Looking for work dog/cat sitting or dog walking? It's not consistent or regular but it would definitely give you something to do and some income, plus it's very flexible.

Schools will often ask you to submit your evals but I doubt anyone is going to care that you're 0.2 off the average, especially given all the known flaws in student evaluations. Also, @maxhgns, I would never submit a teaching portfolio that long with a job application. I've been teaching full-time for 4 years and mine is less than half that. If an applicant submitted something that long to me, I'd probably never make it past the first paragraph out of sheer irritation.

It's definitely not rude to ask about opportunities to work with that professor in the future. You might also ask that professor how commonly students move their RA from one professor to another.

It's worth looking at the starting salary for assistant professors and thinking about how you'll pay off that debt if you take it on... I would also pay attention to the reputation of each school in your subfield, not just its general reputation.

I would definitely think about placement but also the additional opportunities (graduate certificates, pedagogical training, summer research/funding, conference travel funds, etc.) available to you at each place. If you can, try to video chat with current students so that you can get a better sense of what it will be like at each place.

There's a thread about commuting somewhere if you search for it... I think the bigger question is about your partner's post-PhD plans. Will they remain in the city they're in now? Would they be willing to relocate to a nearby city if you were in a PhD program there? Because if the answer to the first question is "no", then you may want to wait to apply for PhD programs until you know where you plan to settle.

My PhD institution had different pay rates for master's students, PhD students pre-comps, and PhD students post-comps (so ABD status). The ranges you presented also existed. Humanities students were at the bottom of the range and STEM PhD students were getting significantly more (in some cases, literally twice as much per year) for their same 50% time assistantship.

I would politely inquire with whomever made the flight reservation. I also wouldn't worry that much about not having received the itinerary or the hotel reservation. They know when you're arriving, they're making blanket arrangements for everyone to stay (e.g., booking 15+ hotel rooms), and they'll be arranging whatever transportation you need from one location to the next. Since you've already been accepted, it isn't like you need to be studying up for interview meetings with folks. Instead, view all of your meetings as a chance to better know the program, its faculty, and the current students. That kind of preparation doesn't really require a list of who you'll be meeting with in advance...

@deshypothequiez, I totally understand wanting to prepare (and over-prepare). As has already been said, you really don't need to know who you're meeting with in advance. I have legitimately interviewed for academic jobs where I didn't receive a list of everyone I'd be meeting with in advance. Don't pester the DGS unnecessarily, especially for a list of names that shouldn't really change how you prepare for this.

There's really no minimum number of publications. That is, one person may be able to get a postdoc with 2 single author publications for reasons going beyond the sheer number of publications (e.g., research fit, research skills, etc.). To really get a sense, take a look at the CVs of those recently graduated in the field who are holding positions like what you want to hold.

Well, in the sense that it shows that the faculty aren't willing to invest in you, then not being offered funding is a bad thing. Your cousin may end up being treated as a second-class citizen in his department, which could certainly have long-term career effects.

Here were/are my commutes. Undergraduate: lived on campus except during study abroad when I walked about 15 min to class MA program: 10 min drive or 20-25 min bus ride (bus stopped directly in front of apt complex I lived in and right next to the building where I had my office and classes) PhD program, years 1-3: I lived in three different places but all were within 2.5 miles of campus. I walked or commuted by bike. The longest bike commute was like 15 minutes assuming I didn't have to stop at every red light (I lived in a place with a lot of bike paths so that helped a lot) PhD program, final year: about a 10 minute drive Post-PhD: 18 min walk from home to office That said, I'm probably now moving further from where I work, largely due to rising real estate costs where I live. It's going to suck because, as you can see, I've never had a long commute. Once I move, I'll probably be a 20-30 min drive from work.

Honestly, School 2. I say this as someone employed at a teaching-focused institution. When evaluating apps, we're not going to care that you TA'd 20 times. We're going to care that you have taught a few courses successfully, that you have ideas about how to teach our required courses, and have a clear sense of electives you could teach. We also want you to demonstrate that you understand and use high impact learning practices in your teaching. Beyond that, we need to know that you can do research, ideally involving undergrads in the future.

Is there any chance whatsoever that you'd go there rather than to the other programs? If so, then I'd try to do a visit later in March or even in early April.

I would ask what counts as a class. At my MA institution, you could/did take "Directed Research" as a class basically every semester, which you then used to work on your own research. So it was a class and counted as credit hours toward graduation but didn't require the same work that a graduate seminar might. This is definitely an area where you want to talk to current students to get their sense of how the program works.

Have you actually visited WVU? In terms of academic jobs, I'd take a look at the placement records both for the departments and for the specific faculty you're interested in working with. I'm not saying WVU is a bad program but, it may make it harder to get an academic position depending on your interests.

@telkanuru asks a really important question. Will you have the resources (libraries, databases, computing power, etc.) needed if you move to your girlfriend's city? Also, if you move there, how will you support yourself financially? Will you need to get a full-time job in addition to working on your dissertation? If I were you, I would have a serious sitdown with my advisor about the work-related reasons why they don't support you doing this. There very well could be clear professional reasons for this that you don't yet know or understand. While I recognize that the posters above aren't wrong when they say you can do whatever you want, you should also be aware of the serious ramifications this may have on your relationship with your advisor. If you go against their wishes and move away, they may decide to walk away from you as a student, exclude you from publication opportunities, limit your access to data, etc. Are you prepared to find a new supervisor for your dissertation if the current relationship can't be salvaged because you move away? @TheWalkingGrad is also quite right about considering your post-PhD life. What do you want to do post-PhD? Will you be able to secure employment in the city of your girlfriend's dream job? Also, what happens if the dream job turns out not to really be a dream job once she's there for several months?