rising_star

@James D., not sure why you wouldn't locate it. If you scroll down the link I posted to the UMass program, there's a direct link from there to the tuition and fees page...

@James D., that's not at all what I saw on the UMass website... The amount you quoted is for on-campus, non-Massachusetts residents. Online students pay $575 per graduate credit hour. You'll want to make sure you're reading these things as carefully as possible so you don't rule out a potential option too quickly. Also, I just want to note that choosing a grad program based solely on the cost isn't the best idea. Given your goals, you should be focused on finding a program which will set you up to pursue what you want in terms of career and future PhD options. Unfortunately that may not be the least expensive program.

I think I mentioned this on your other post but you may want to look at smaller state universities with online offerings. The first that came to mind (because I know someone that teaches there) was Slippery Rock University, which has a fully online MA in History. (See here) From briefly looking at the info online, it seems they charge about $6000 for 9 credit hours.* An incredibly fast Google search also led me to Western Kentucky University (here) and UMass-Boston (here). UMB also specifically comments on the future PhD application on their website, noting that their program offers good preparation because "Unlike Online History MA programs offered at other universities, all of our online graduate courses are taught by tenure-stream faculty in the History Department. Courses in the Online History MA program follow the same set of requirements and guidelines as our face-to-face graduate courses." That should hold some appeal to you given your interests and plans. Hope that helps! *Would you actually be taking 9 credits online per semester while being active duty in the military? I ask because 9 credits is full-time in pretty much all graduate programs so it would essentially be like having two full-time jobs simultaneously. Given your timeline for the PhD, it seems like you could easily take 2-3 years for the MA and still be on track to begin the PhD when you're out of the military.

This isn't a forum for getting help with your homework.

I don't disagree with you about that. But given what the original question was (which was about whether one could study online and later do a PhD), I don't understand why the conversation so quickly pivoted to questioning the OP's goals and motives to pursue something 4+ years from now. Do you, @telkanuru, ask such questions of literally every person on here who says they might want to go to graduate school? Not in my experience. Yes, there's the usual "the job market is bad" but this took a different tone than that and seemed more like a bunch of people wanting to "school" the OP, rather than actually answer their question.

I wouldn't mention something from so long ago, especially when you have more recent, relevant coursework that you've done well in.

This entire thread has taken a turn toward the bizarre. @James D. originally asked if there were people with online degrees who have been successful getting into PhD programs and now everyone is questioning their motives and reasons for doing a PhD and trying to talk them out of even trying. Why? What incentive do you all have to keep this one person on the internet from pursuing graduate study in an area he's interested in which may--in four years--lead him to enter a PhD program? @James D. didn't say he wants to apply for a PhD right now, but wants to do things which might prepare him to apply for one four years from now (AKA, the length of a "typical" bachelor's degree). I can't say that I'm used to this level of trying to talk someone out of something, even when it comes to posts in response to current college undergrads who have only taken ais the few history courses. So, to answer the original question, it's definitely possible @James D.! Are there any opportunities for you to work with historical materials in your current military job? If so, doing that may strengthen your application as much as or more than doing an online master's. If you are to go the online master's route, I'd stick with schools with a known and strong brick-and-mortar presence, and ideally those who won't note that your degree is earned online. I'm less familiar with specifics for history but I know that Arizona State and Penn State have big online programs. There are also other schools where you may be able to get a master's in humanities or liberal arts online or in a low-residency format, like Regis University or Antioch New England. Honestly, I would just google around for universities and take a look at all of their online offerings to see if there's anything that would work for you. If you're really thinking about teaching high school while in or after the military, it's probably worth it to go ahead and get a teaching credential while the military is paying for it. This will entail taking some education courses but you could focus on secondary school history/social science, which would also mean upper-level undergrad and some grad courses in that area. Most M.Ed. programs require an area of concentration, so you'd get the teaching experience plus the content knowledge. That said, it is likely harder to find one of those online. If you just want to go the teaching certificate route (for now), you may be able to find the courses you need through a community college. I hope this helps! I'm not going to question your motives or desires because anyone who has served for 13 years in the military deserves our respect. Perhaps read the story of the PhD applicant who is going from prison to NYU as inspiration? Not because your cases are similar but because it shows a remarkable ability to triumph over numerous obstacles (including not having access to the internet) to pursue one's ultimate desires. Good luck! Keep up posted on your progress!

This isn't entirely true. Professors at a community college teaching a 5/5 aren't expected to do much (if any at all) research. Same for many of the smaller (aka, directional) state universities. Where the teaching load is higher, the emphasis on research is lower. Consequently, it's not really fair to say that you have to enjoy doing research to be a professor as a universal truth. It's definitely true of R1s, R2s, and most liberal arts colleges* but it really isn't true everywhere. If the OP is comfortable with a FT job with a higher teaching load, they could do just fine without having research as their primary responsibility. *With the caveat that at many LACs, your teaching evaluations and performance are what will get you tenure. Some research is needed but not a lot. But if you don't like teaching 3 courses a semester and working with undergrads intimately and you aren't good at it, you won't get tenure even with a book published.

As @cowgirlsdontcry has said, most PhD programs will give you credit for some of the coursework you did for your master's. Often this is in the form of a reduction in the total number of hours needed to complete the PhD. So I wouldn't view the master's as something you'd have to completely redo. Instead, why not think of it in terms of the valuable experience you'd gain by doing one?

Here's my question: Can you really write a good lit review that will redeem you in her eyes in a weekend? My answer about most topics that aren't in my immediate focus area would be no. Maybe the work you've done with the tables gives you enough to do this but, I would be very careful with your proposed plan because you don't want to end up submitting a literature review which also leads her to question your writing ability, skill set, and/or knowledge. Yes, you disappointed your chair. It happens. We've all done it. (I won't even go into the long list of ways in which I've done that.) But you have to focus on moving forward. One thing you might do is have a meeting where you all lay out a clear set of tasks to be accomplished and deadlines by which they'll be done. Because, really, at this point, if you're trying to graduate ASAP, I would be focusing on your dissertation and what you need to do for that rather than on a literature review you're no longer being paid to work on.

Make sure you get the paper in advance and read it thoroughly. Also, you'll want to be clear about how much time you have. In my experience the best discussants have a nice balance of praising what the author did well, offering critique based on other viewpoints/literature, and asking questions. P.S. Make sure you actually listen to the paper being delivered as sometimes there are differences between what people send in and what they present.

The main downsides are the additional time it will take. But, it sounds like you already have compelling reasons to do a MA first. If you can find funding, the research experience you gain during a MA program can definitely make you a more desirable applicant for PhD programs.

I would look at MA programs in human geography, anthropology, and sociology. Doing a MA is a great way to help you narrow down your interests. It will also help you overcome the GPA if/when you go for a PhD somewhere.

There are a variety of different types of content analysis so it could be that you and your supervisor have different things in mind when you say that that's the analytical method you want to use. I urge you to read more about content analysis and present a coherent case to your advisor about what you want to do and why in a meeting with them. The SAGE Handbooks on research methods are a great place to start. That said, from what you've written, it may be that neither content analysis nor process analysis is the appropriate method. I'd suggest looking at some texts on qualitative research methods (Bernard's Research Methods in Anthropology is a great resource) and going from there.

I would send them what they asked for. You might ask if you can send an additional, more recent writing sample though.

Well, do you really think your writing sample is so great that you should get more space (and thus more of the adcom's time) than the other applicants?

@samman1994, you probably don't need to pick the specific professor right now while you're in the application process. You should be able to wait until after being accepted and visiting to decide which lab you want to join.

I moved over 1000 miles away for undergrad so moving away from home for grad school wasn't a big deal to me. I applied to schools near home and family but also lots of schools that weren't nearby when I was looking at MA programs. I ended up at one where I had family about 90 minutes away but, the family wasn't a factor. It was the program I wanted, had good funding, and gave me the chance to have an excellent advisor. For PhD programs, I looked everywhere in the USA and ended up over 2K miles from where I grew up. Part of being an academic (especially on the TT) is being willing to move almost anywhere for a job... I'm probably less flexible now that I'm done with grad school for a variety of personal reasons. Even still, I'd pick up and move wherever for the right opportunity (what's right of course will vary from one person to the next). The only way in which distance from home/family factored in was that I looked up the price of flights home for the holidays and calculated that into the budget when trying to ensure I could live on the stipend being offered. Oh, and the travel time to make that trip. Otherwise, it wasn't a major consideration.

Of course each thesis is unique (otherwise it wouldn't be making a new contribution to the scholarship). But, there are commonalities in arguments which it would behoove you to identify long-term (Note: not entirely necessary for the writing sample of a PhD application). If you really want to get better at your argumentation, then it might be helpful to map out how each article/chapter you read works. That is, what's their thesis, what evidence do they support it with, and how do they use that evidence in making their argument? It's not just about language but also seeing what texts/sections people are drawing on when writing about your topic. So true about only a Professor being guaranteed to have tenure. There are Associate Profs at my institution that don't have tenure yet (often because the tenure and promotion processes are separated, especially when one comes in with credit of years spent at a previous institution). There are also Teaching Professor tracks at many schools now. In fact, I think the semantic move to "Teaching Professor" is precisely because some people devalue people who are "merely Lecturers" (and there's been evidence of that in this thread!). The University System of Georgia has a teaching-track where one can be promoted and receive tenure, just as there is a research track and the combo research/teaching/service which has historically been most prevalent. There are also tracks where Lecturers can be promoted to Senior Lecturer after six years (so the same timing as going up for tenure if one were on the tenure-track), suggesting another avenue of permanent employment that belies how people typically think of the term.

I saw a job ad today for someone specializing in Trans Studies so there must be programs/people out there... Good luck, OP!

I wouldn't bother trying to get a second master's. Apply to PhD programs and see what happens. Be confident. You may want to consider interdisciplinary options in public policy and other social science fields, in addition to straight environmental science programs.

@EmmaJava, I don't know if it's deliberate or not but you've definitely misinterpreted what I said. My point was that there are people who are professors and have terminal degrees that are not the PhD. You said above (more than once) that only those with a PhD are truly professors. Which means that basically no one in the fine arts or business areas meets your definition of a professor. What do you consider to be the hallmark of a professor? Because I think the definition in your head doesn't match the reality of contemporary academia. Sorry for derailing this thread, OP! (This is what happens when you realize that someone is saying things that are incorrect on the internet...) @Doll Tearsheet, your research skills and writing are like other skills in life: they improve the more you use them. To become a more confident and solid researcher and writer, read other well-written work. One strategy I used for a while was to read one journal article or book chapter related to my interests every single morning before even leaving the house. It helped me not only become more knowledgeable about my field but also let me see a variety of writing styles and get a sense of how I wanted to structure some of my own arguments and work. Have you thought about doing something like that? Another suggestion is to simultaneously read up on the research process so you become more confident with your research skills and gain new ones. Booth's The Craft of Research is a classic. There are probably others that are field-specific that you may want to consult but I'm not as familiar with those anymore.

Except this isn't the case in all fields. There are plenty of fields where the number of people seeking to teach is lower than the number of people available to teach (engineering and business are the first two fields that come to mind). And, like I said, your insistence on the PhD seems to lessen the terminal master's degrees in fields like the fine arts.

FYI- It's "University of Arizona" not "Arizona University". You'll want to make sure you get that right when you do email. I'm not in your field but I'd be surprised if prolific professors given endowed chair positions have to wait 1-2 years to get their lab set up.

If there's a press release announcing that they've joined UA and brought their labs, I'm not sure why you'd be emailing them about Brown...