Kai210

I guess this was not such a big deal after all.

African American History is my primary field. PM the schools you got into and what your research interests are, and I might be able to give you a good indication of where I would rank the schools that accepted your application.

What are your research interests? You cannot choose programs simply based on rankings. Rankings matter to some degree; however, it is more important to locate the right "fit." Better for you to go to a lower-ranked school but a place where you can study with a top scholar in your field than to go to a higher-ranked school but only work alongside a marginal scholar, that is, if you even find someone there who research is germane to yours. Because the 20th Century is broad in scope you would have to pinpoint for some of us the specific areas that excite you and we would better be able to guage places where your reesarch could be situated. If you rely simply on rankings it is my belief that you will find the task of locating the right place for your research to be daunting. Worse, you might not have the success in gaining admission if programs determine that your research just does not fit what the scholars they have in place are doing.

Actually, it is not bad advice. But I have a different reason for suggesting why it should not be done. "Dr." sounds detatched in a personal statement. You are looking to work with these individuals. You have not matriculated so you cannot begin to see them as potential colleagues. But you can see them as your potential professor. So it is just better to say, for example, "I am delighted to see that Professor X and Y holds a joint appointment in the Department of History at yada yada yada as her research on yada yada yada has influenced my interest in studying yada yada yada" than it is to say the very same thing while referring to the person as Dr. X and Y. Using "Dr," in this context, just seems to place distance between you and the very person you are looking to work with in the program.

Spot on! I tend to only call a professor "Dr." on my CV as well; I also will do it sometimes if I am in the company of undergraduates. I do so to prevent undergrads from believing that they have the license to call professors by their first names. I saw a situation like that once with someone, and it was not good. I think it is important to be formal when the situation arises, and I tend to find that even professors will incline themselves to being more formal with each other around undergraduates. The other point I'll make is this. Students who tend to keep things formal even after they are given the opportunity to be less-formal are not respected more for doing so. And in some cases, it can work against you. As my advisor often says, when you travel to X and Y for a campus interview, you want professors there to see you as a colleague. It doesn't start when you finish your defense; it starts now. I think during the application season, there's a tendency to think of professors as otherworldly or supernatural beings who have the other ultimate authority over the life and death of your career. And to some degree, it is true. But what you will find is that these intellectual giants are human and as normal in their approaches as you are. They want to be respected. They do not, however, want you to be obsequious. Sometimes, it can come off as fawning when you are told/given the indication to call a professor by his or her first name and you deign to a more formal approach in which you position yourself as an ongoing neophyte. To that point, I know a young lady who refused to call a professor by her first name after being asked to do so. The professor asked her one day, "When are you going to grow up and start seeing me as your colleague? The job market is atrocious and you are making things worse for yourself." A bit much but the point there was as Strange Light Pointed out: "Once that door is opened graduate students should take it."

I call most professors by their first name, and I think many of you will find that your professors prefer it this way. In fact, I have one "superstar" professor who will DEMAND of his students to call him by his first name. His rationale: your in training to become his colleague. This is not undergrad, and the idea that first-name calling compromises the professional relationship is misguided. Now, to be certain, there are some professors who still prefer to be called "Dr. X and Y" or "Professor K and J." But I have found that more with professors who have held long tenures in the academy, and are still attached to a more mature approach to the graduate student-professor relationship. I do think that emails are key. It is always easier when they just tell you what to call them, and some will actually do this very thing. But some will send other cues and how they sign their email is as clear a message to you on your professor's preference as it would be for him or her to express it verbally. If a professor signs his/her full name, they are attempting to be less pretentious but are signaling that they desire for you to still call them "Dr." or "Prof." If they sign off "Dr." or "Prof," well it is clear what their preference is for you. But if they sign off with their first name, it is an indication that you are able to call them by their first name. I have also had professors sign off their emails with the first initial of their first name like "R" or "H." But what I have found is that professors who do that already allow me to call them by their first name. To me, then, it only furthers the less-than-formal relationship we are developing. My advisor used to sign all his emails with the title of "Dr." and the first initial of his last name. And I would call him that just as I did another professor who did the same. I noticed after I passed my candidacy exams, he started signing off his emails with his first name. Other professors I have worked with or know in the department allowed me to call them by their first name even earlier. I WILL CAUTION that this matter should be treated on a case-by-case basis. Just because one professor allows you to call him or her by a first name is not carte blanche to do it with others. Similarly, just because a professor allows one particular student to call him or her by a first name does not give you the license to do the same. All this said, I think the transition between undergraduate and graduate school can be steep. Even when professors gesture to students to be called by their first name, you have students immediately out of undergrad who have problems embracing the casual relationship. I think the transition is a little less daunting in this regard when you work for several years/pursue a MA prior to your matriculation in a doctoral program. It gives you a chance to move beyond seeing your professors as an authority and more glimpsing them as colleagues. And, in the final analysis, I think the latter point is most important. You are training to become your professors' colleagues. You're closer to them than to the students you will be teaching as TAs. So accept the practice of calling your professors by their first name once the chance to do so is extended to you.

Congratulations to everyone who has received acceptances today! To those individuals who have not or continue to wait, keep the faith! For Yale acceptances, Modern Apizza is your friend!

TMP, I can remember when you first started this journey. Thus, I can truly feel your joy over the success you are having this season. Sometimes, it is about timing. And I think the key for everyone here is to remember that these decisions are not personal. I think a lot of people tend to post stats, and do not really consider that this is not an exact science. I am so thrilled to see that you have received fully-funded offers from The Ohio State University (called this because it is the "official" name) and Wisconsin. As a person attending OSU, I would strongly recommend choosing to join the program. But I know that wherever you choose to go, you will do wonderful research. And I think the time it took for you to get to this point will give you the perspective needed to finish the journey! Best of luck, my friend!

Congratulations! By the way, judging by the way that email is written, and based upon my own dealings with that professor, I think I know exactly who the POI is. He/she is an outstanding scholar and I think you'll be very happy if you decide to attend Yale. Best wishes!

I can verify this to be the case. I am a PhD student in History at OSU. Last year, I learned of my admission very early on because I was nominated for--and was later awarded--a University Fellowship. Those nominated for fellowships typically learn of their acceptances early on while OSU will notify others later in the month. That said, I suspect that we will see a lower number of acceptances this year than we did last year. Of the 30 or so acceptances, about 24 matriculated, which was far higher than OSU expected. I think, as Strange Light suggested about other programs, you'll see OSU only accept the amount of students they actually want to see enroll this year. Good luck to those you still waiting!

You may want to take a look at Glenda Gilmore's "Defying Dixie." I know Murray is mentioned quite a bit in the book. You may find the information you seek by checking through her bibliography; I am sure she used Murray's personal papers, which could contain a bio.

Duke, Rice, WUSTL, University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Emory come to mind. Also, I would strongly recommend Yale as Glenda Gilmore's expertise is in the area of southern history, specifically women's history. She's an awesome scholar and very well-known in the field.

Great news!!!!!!!!!!! I had been hoping that Brandeis would pull you off the waitlist, and am excited for your good fortune! Good luck! Sorry to hear that things did not work out with Chicago. Are you attending Wisconsin? Sorry to hear this. I had really hope you would hear something positive. Still, I trust that the contacts you have made will prove beneficial to you in the future.

WOW! I am so glad I decided to take a week off from the grad cafe; it is probably good for everyone to back away from this forum for a moment just to breathe and not allow "PhD-related" talk of any kind to permeate the entirety of your existence. Go do something random! With regard to the ongoing conversation, I think it is appropriate for those who have made decisions to make those decisions known as soon as possible; there some individuals who have been waitlisted, and could possibly benefit from your punctuality on the matter. That said, I tend to agree with ResPublica and StrangeLight on this one. It is not inimical to fairness to hold out for the most prestigious offer that you can get. Just as those waitlisted want to desperately gain admission into a program, there are individuals who have already been accepted who desperately want to put themselves in a position to ascertain future fellowships that lead to greater opportunities. In a sense, those who have been admitted but are holding out for possible fellowships are feeling sort of waitlisted themselves; as other admits decline their offers, fellowships could possibly fall to them as StrangeLight pointed out.

I've decided to attend The Ohio State University. I had already been given a very generous full-funding package but on yesterday Ohio State sweetened the pot a bit by informing me that I have been awarded with a University Fellowship.