rising_star

Most transcripts have something which explains a bit about the type of institution and the grading scale. Have you checked to see if such information is included with your transcripts? If it is, then you don't really need to say much about completing a 3 year vs 4 year bachelor's in your statement of purpose.

Though this thread is about literature, it might be helpful anyway. As others have said, I wouldn't worry about 100% overlap between your interests and theirs. You're looking for folks who will find your research ideas interesting and be able to offer strong critical insight to help you improve them.

This thread is fascinating, especially EdNeuroGirl's defensiveness in a thread that they didn't actually start. So, I'll focus on answering the original question, even though it's just some variation upon all the questions about fit and where to apply which people have been asking in various subforums (see also Anthropology and Literature for recent convos about this). If the PI is unsure but you still really want to go there, then apply. My PhD advisor often said he would only take one student a year but, in some years he would take two students and in other years he'd pass on everyone. As an applicant, you would've had no way to predict this. I knew this was the deal when I was applying but applied anyway because I figured that spending ~$100 for the chance to work with this amazing researcher was worth it. It may not be to you and that's fine. There were other schools were the POIs were unsure about accepting students and I decided not to apply after re-evaluating the fit and taking a more mercenary look at my finances. In fields where admits are into a lab and the lab needs funding, it can be hard to predict if such funding will be available. You might try asking the POIs if they have any major grants pending or checking to see if they've recently received any major grants. Sometimes that can give you a clue on what's up. It could also be that the department/program as a whole is reconsidering how many students they have given the post-graduation employment issues which have been in the news a lot recently. Have you even tried asking the POIs why they're unsure if they'll be taking any new students?

I know University of Pittsburgh has a medical anthropology program with an option to do an MPH simultaneously, as does UC-Berkeley/UCSF.

I mean, it's definitely odd not to have such a letter. Is there anyone from your master's who would give you a positive recommendation?

I don't know your interests or your field so I can't recommend specific places to apply. But, there are definitely some terminal master's programs out there and also others where you can do a master's and opt to continue on to a PhD if you really want to.

The approach is pretty similar. You want to talk about your research interests and perhaps the courses you want to take while there.

1) It's still competitive because sociocultural anthropology programs are really competitive, especially ones which offer full funding. 2) 6 does seem like too many, especially since it's unlikely you would have six people on your dissertation committee.

You might see if you could split a room with other people going to the conference to save me. That's really common for grad students. Alternately, you could try couchsurfing!

Why not apply to a mix of master's and PhD programs where there are people doing the research you want to do?

Just popping in to say that you that you shouldn't diminish the value of completing a research thesis just because it's on a topic that's not connected to your current interests. When I applied to grad schools, people were impressed that I had done a thesis (esp when I was applying to MA programs) because not everyone has that experience conducting research and writing something longer than a 15-25 page seminar paper. So, whatever you do, don't let any language about how unfortunate it is that your thesis isn't on what currently interests you creep into your SOP or anything else you submit. It is an accomplishment to have done a thesis as an undergraduate because it demonstrates your ability to conduct research!

What you should do is see if the doctoral student and PI can collaborate on a rec letter for you that would be signed by the PI. A letter from a doctoral student will not be valued in any way by an adcom.

If you haven't already, definitely send a thank you email to the PI! But, I wouldn't send her a bunch of updates going forward. Email if you have specific questions and maybe send a quick email saying that you've submitted your application once you've actually done so. Good luck!

Duplicate post. To reply, click here.

You should probably apply to more than two PhD programs if you want to be successful. You really need to identify additional programs where security studies is a focus. Take a look at the posts of other applicants here with similar interests and you'll see a bunch of other programs listed.

I feel like there are a lot of medical anthropologists so, I'm sort of surprised you're having trouble finding some you want to work with! I can think of medical anthropologists at University of Arizona, MIT, Case Western, and UC-Berkeley off the top of my head, though without knowing more about your interests I can't say if those places would be a good fit for you. That said, I definitely recommend emailing more than one professor but only if there's more than one you are genuinely interested in working with. Don't waste their time. Honestly, I wouldn't bother contacting grad students at this stage. Talking to grad students is most useful once you've already been admitted. If you know the program offers funding and has POIs you're interested in, what are you planning to email graduate students about? There's also other interdisciplinary degrees you could consider, like area studies (East Asian Studies or Latin American Studies), or more traditional disciplines like geography, sociology, science & technology studies, etc. You might also be interested in programs like this one at CalTech and this one at Syracuse University. This is precisely what I was trying to say earlier. You really need to have an interesting project that can logically connect to multiple faculty if you want to be a strong applicant.

I wouldn't talk to the graduate coordinator just yet. Instead, I would talk to the professor about your performance. Maybe the professor can help you identify what you don't understand or how you could have more clearly explained things on your take-home midterm.

sjoh197, I totally get what you're saying. But, my experience has been that when I tell people I can't eat pork, they'll say things like "well, it's just a bit of bacon/prosciutto/etc." as if that somehow means I'll have less of a reaction to it. In my case, pork makes me violently ill, sometimes requiring a trip to the ER (though luckily this has been rare). I simply can't eat it. But, outside of places like NYC where there are large Jewish populations, people try to serve me pork even after I say I can't eat it as though the only reason not to eat pork is a religious one. Consequently, I've taken to telling people that I'm allergic because then they stop trying to get me to eat pork. People are weird when it comes to their acknowledgment of other people's dietary issues. The reason I suggested mentioning an allergy rather than saying autoimmune is to avoid the issue I have where people think just a little bit will be okay.

Have you tried scheduling a 1-on-1 meeting with your PI to talk about this? It's quite possible the PI has already noticed some of what you're talking about. It might be that the PI can pull the other first year aside and talk to her about interrupting others, her contributions, etc.

If I suggest all the changes to you, then what do you learn? Since a master's is about learning how to do research and actually doing it, you need to be able to answer questions about your proposal and planned research. If your supervisor has so many questions, then there are obviously things about your proposal that aren't as well specified or as clear as they could be. It's up to you to turn those questions into changes to your proposal if you want it to get approved at some point.

I think you're probably being too narrow in your search overall. Does the entire department's theoretical approach need to match with yours or do you really just need 2-3 people who are comfortable with the approach you want to take (even if they don't themselves use it)? Would you be okay with having a POI who uses the same theories but doesn't do research in the same area of the world? Would it be okay if they did research in a nearby country (e.g., you work in Madagascar, they work in Kenya)? That is, do you want someone who you can copy or are you comfortable having to pull expertise from multiple people (some in the department, some in other departments on campus)? Here's why I'm asking. My PhD advisor didn't do research in the same area of the world or on the same focus that I did. I was explicit about what I wanted to do in my applications, naming a topic, a region of study, and a theoretical framework. Only the latter of those was what my advisor did. This may help you picture it. Let's say I did ethnobotanical work in the highlands of Ecuador and my advisor primarily did work with coastal communities in Papua New Guinea. When I applied, I was clear about my desire to do ethnobotanical work in South America and I knew my POI didn't do that and didn't know much about it. But, my advisor was willing to learn about it, in no small part because the research methods were similar due to using the same theoretical framework. To explain further, there were a variety of theoretical approaches in the department including some that I wouldn't be comfortable taking but, it didn't matter to me since I knew those folks would not be on my dissertation committee. Does all of that make sense?

I would lean toward getting the strongest letter, which sounds like the supervisor from the smaller organization.

I mean, if you're getting paid to teach English, it shouldn't be hard to set aside some money for language lessons, especially if you're willing to live with a roommate or two and not necessarily live in Tokyo. Look into the programs which seek to hire native English speakers to teach. You might need to get an ESL certificate which could cost $500-2000 depending on how you go about it.

Why not go teach English in Japan and then take Japanese courses while you're there?

For some jobs, that will be too late. There are jobs that are basically on the same timeline as grad school apps in that you apply in the fall to start in July or August. But, I guess you're willing to role out things that might interest you. When I was a senior in college, I applied to jobs and MA programs at the same time, since the timelines were similar. YMMV obviously.