TMP

Can't emphasize the acknowledgement section enough. Make sure you read it when you're reading the books for your seminars. There will be questions of the author's influences and pedigree. (You'll also see some fun stories...)

Not at all. it is helpful to have spent time in the country for the sake of immersing in the local culture, history, and language. For Europeanists, as far as I'm aware, it's not vital since Europe is relatively easy to integrate and assimilate in the languages. If your POI gives a shit about the length of time you spent in Germany, s/he is ridiculous and classist. (Asia... it's a different story because studying the languages requires so much more effort that it's helpful to spend time in China/Japan/Korea.) I'm a German historian. I spent some time in Germany between my MA and PhD program to brush up my German and explore the country a bit to be sure that I wanted to do German history instead of US history. I know that my adviser's advisees following me have barely spent any time in Germany (one definitely not and the other on a European study trip). Fulbright will likely care a lot only because the competition is so intense but the DAAD has opportunities that you can take advantage of early in your graduate studies (since its goal is to get more non-Germans in Germany). PM me with any questions because obviously I can go on forever! Alles über Deutschland!

Which is why it is important to ask for placement record-- what happened to every single one of the PhDs who graduated in the last 3 years? Not just those who got tenure-track job but everyone who graduated. As you evaluate the list, consider that there are more and more PhD students looking for non-academic jobs anyway. I've known people in my program who came in thinking they want to teach, or at least be professors, and they realize that they hate it so they're considering other opportunities. Despite that shift, they still want to pursue and finish the PhD. Teaching, whether taking a load of 2 or 4 classes per semester, is not for everyone.

On point, especially for 20th century.

It really, really varies but it can never hurt to be in touch. The key is to learn to go with the flow of things and just apply if you really want to go to that program. The POIs will reveal who they are when you go to campus for visitation days.

This gets discussed every single year. Use the search function. In short, choose schools that are peer, not way above or below (i.e. don't put down Yale if you're applying to Emory and vice versa). Programs use those to benchmark their (perceived) rankings.

Yes but you should really state it in your statement of purpose because you're telling them that you are qualified and prepared for the rigors of the PhD, especially if languages are necessary for your chosen field.

Ask the professors who are writing your letters; they know better.

If it makes you feel better, it's the same for students in Turkish studies who wish they could stay in/go to Turkey to pursue their PhDs. They're being told to go to the U.S. if they wished to get hired in Turkish universities... and so it goes with prestige politics

You'll also want to look at place where there is a strong program in gender/sexuality as they will also deal with the history of children and childhood. Even if the scholar doesn't specialize in Latin America, s/he would be tremendously excited to have an opportunity to look at it comparatively with you.

Don't forget to ask your own professors They'll be the ones writing your letters, after all.

Ask your adviser/DGS. That is not a question that we cannot answer (especially those applying for the first time).

Your post is coming across as someone who still has no idea what to study in a PhD program. Your interests are far too broad (ancient vs. modern, very different methodological approaches and contexts!). Becoming informed at this stage it is not about trying to learn everything in Historiography 101 that every student has to take anyway but what's out there in general within your area of research interest. Your POIs will always know so much more until you actually start writing the dissertation and they do recognize that applicants don't have much knowledge but will draw a line somewhere between ignorant and reasonably informed. Seriously, don't apply for the PhD this year if you hope to get in on your first try.

My suggestion is-- wait another year. Spend the next year figuring out why you want to apply to PhD programs. What do you want to get out of it? What kind of research questions are you interested in? What is your end goal? Don't worry about publishing or languages. Nobody really expects publications from someone coming from BA. If you are interested in US history, while it'll look great to have a language under your belt, I wouldn't fret too much unless you're into transnational history with the Atlantic World (which in that case you would need French and/or Spanish).

I'm not clear what you mean. Do you mean one Graduate School but in two different departments (i.e. History and Sociology)? Or to the Department but say you're interested in both African and European history? If it is the former, you might want to talk with the POIs in BOTH departments to see what they think. But ultimately, it is about which discipline you wish to be trained in. If it is the latter, while it is strongly encouraged that you choose a field and stick to it, graduate students do change major fields (say from Europe to Africa) during their first year as they're taking courses and discovering topics that became more interesting to them. If your POI has one foot in one field and the other in another (say, a French colonial historian with specialty in Africa), it is worth asking. But if your POI does gender in Germany but you're interested in gender in America, it's worth asking which you should apply to (Europe or US if there is no thematic field). You may need to expand your list of faculty of interest.

1) Are you in your first year? Your thoughts are completely normal. It can be intimidating to hear others who seem to know hard facts about American history and historiography. But you are there to contribute diversity (and, honestly, humble them by asking questions). It's one thing to not really talk much simply because you don't have opinions and it's another thing to not really talk much because you will speak up only when you have a strong point to make and not talking for talking's stake. It sounds like you're more in the former category. Work on being in the latter. 2) Take up on the professor's offer. See what he has to say. Professors who help out grad students are far and few and they are really much more invested (in general) in graduate training than undergraduate. He may be able to give you concrete suggestions on how you can be more engaged despite not being an American historian. 3) You will need to start finding your place as a historian as this is exactly what taking comprehensive exams are about: being able to converse as a colleague. Don't wait until your exam prep to do it; you'll only make it harder for your committee members to determine whether you're ready.

Ask your adviser/professors what they think. Also, you can certainly ask your POIs (after all, they DO read French :)).

If you have been so focused on top 20, then you're completely missing out on Ohio State which has some of the top French historians-- Bruno Cabanes and Alice Conklin. We also have a early modern French historian (Elizabeth Bond). You can't go wrong with this trio if you're interested in French cultural history. Bond is all about 18th century and information networks (including print culture). Conklin is one of the best, if not THE best, historian of French colonialism as she has broken new ground in French colonial history with her books on French Africa under the Third Republic with her cross-disciplinary approaches with anthropology. Bruno Cabanes is focused on the culture of French military and France during WWI. So if you're looking at working with a group of French scholars covering from the Enlightenment to 1945, you've got to apply to Ohio State. Our French history graduate students have turned down Mary Louise Roberts to come to OSU to be with Alice Conklin because (A) better funding and (B) more advisor attention. And you are pretty much guaranteed a graduate seminar or two each year with emphasis on French history.

Agreed. What's the goal of getting a second bachelor's? You can still enter in MA programs in History without a degree in History (or even a minor). Those programs will prep you for the PhD (at least that's the idea).

I have had people leave PhD programs for one reason or another; I'm usually okay as academia isn't for everyone. They generally leave on happy note-- maintained good relations with the faculty and graduate students. Now I have a close friend who made her decision to leave the program after she gets her MA this semester (not continuing to the PhD). I get it, she has had a rough two years but did so admirably. Nonetheless, she confessed to me that she doesn't speak to anyone in the department except for me (her best friend), her adviser, and the DGS. She said it's been that way for a year. I was shocked that she purposely avoided people, even the professors who are generally friendly and accepting people. She's been experiencing ageism as she came in when she was 21 (but incredibly mature) and some grad students apparently gave her knack for that in her first year. I feel like I am in such an awkward position as being one of three lines and it's just not comforting to know that she's reached this level of hatred/unhappiness with the program (but incredibly happy with her hobbies). She's not willing to learn to negotiate the BS; I suppose different personalities. Has anyone been in this situation with their colleagues/friends in the program? I just hope that her current behavior is just temporary.... how did you maintain a sane relationship with the person until they actually leave?

Quite true. It has happened to me *sigh* #dontassumethatillgetinoverthere But some programs are willing to give you a shot if they think they can pull you away.

You e-mailed a POI in middle of the summer, the only time of the year where faculty members (and graduate students!) have to focus on their own activities, not anyone else's. The POI may have deliberately ignored your e-mail in order to focus on his/her projects and doesn't want to think about graduate admissions until the fall. That said, try again in a few weeks after the semester/quarter at your chosen school settles down. If nothing, it's up to you... apply or not. Also, some POIs would prefer to play an even field and not respond to any inquires until after admissions have been done because there are definitely people out there who never got in touch with POIs and still get in.

seriously?

To briefly answer your questions: 1) Submit an excerpt, ideally the strongest part of your thesis. Make a short note on top that it's an excerpt. Make sure that the footnotes are corrected (i.e. if the "Author Name, Title, Page" shows up first in the excerpt, replace it with the full citation). Professors are looking for the quality of your writing, your engagement with primary and secondary sources, and analysis. 2) In short the SOP should address questions in the field of history that preoccupies you, proposed research project related to those "Big" questions, why the department and the university fit your needs. It's a mix of a cover letter for jobs (you are applying for a position after all) and research proposal.

Ageism is real but there are definitely PhD programs willing to have "non-traditional" students as part of the program like mine. Honestly, it all depends on the person you'd really like to work with. If you want to save $, I'd speak with faculty whom you're interested in working with before applying. If they show any signs of uncertainty when they figure out your life trajectory, I'd move on to someone else. You want a faculty member who doesn't care about your age but only to give you an opportunity to pursue a PhD. Make sure you really are willing to leave behind the kind of security that you have now as you enter the next decade of your life (and later on).