TMP

If you were to do Ancient world, you have the languages. But remember, hundreds of people studied ancient history before you. What is it going to be new? Your question about colonizer-colonized is not a bad one-- you could look at slavery, gender roles, and labor. You will find immensely vast literature. You mentioned Middle East-- you'd be looking into, perhaps, the Achaemenid Empire, which doesn't use much of Greek or Roman languages. You have to decide which of the "empires" in the Ancient world you'd like to focus on and work on your languages from there. Yet, if you want to shift to modern Middle East, then, yes, you need Arabic and one other language (Farsi, Turkish, Hebrew). You sound like you're not in a rush to go to graduate school and that's great. Take the time to explore history, find questions that interest you, and write a senior thesis (or equivalent through independent study).

From our exchanges, it seems to me the only reason you would do a terminal MA is if you're not sure if you can commit to a PhD and want to experience a little bit of graduate school. Otherwise, I'd encourage you to apply straight to PhD. If you find that it is too much for you, you can at least try to leave with a MA in hand. Nobody will hold a serious grudge as everyone knows that one cannot be certainly sure if the PhD is right for that person. A master's helps but to a certain extent. You already have a honors thesis that will demonstrate your potential to do research. You have a good GPA. You have things going for you. If you really want to avoid debt, then read up materials in your fields of interest in your free time while you work full-time instead of doing the master's. Not all credits can be transferred into the PhD program, FYI.

Graduate students are happy to be honest because, well, they know that the PhD is tough. They do want to support people who want to give it a shot but offer plenty of warnings. We all know that there are opportunities beyond the PhD that pays far more than what graduate students make. So why be unhappy and make $15,000 when you could be making $75,000 elsewhere instead? Listen carefully to graduate students-- ask them point-blank how they're being funded in order to finish. Some will be ashamed to admit to taking out loans because we ALL know that we aren't supposed to be paying for a humanities PhD and will not admit anything. Ask them good questions about their expenses (there is a huge difference between having a car and not, having kids and not, and having a roommate and not!). If you hear a lot of students talking about fellowships/grants, then you know the department has a good track record (though just pay attention to their fields-- some fields are better funded than others). Ask grad students which faculty members they love and why. Ask them who to avoid for seminars and why (believe me, we are opinionated in this as it's already torturous to sit for 2 1/2-3 hours). Ask them what they like about the city and recommend some favorite venues/restaurants/etc. If they seem "meh," ask them where they lived before (I lived in big cities before coming to my PhD program so I don't have the *best* view of my current city ). Get to know them. Yeah, definitely ask about their teaching responsibilities and the undergrads they work with. There is nothing like being a TA that will rouse conflicted feelings out of them....

@AP Not every POI expects their incoming graduate students to be proficient --speaking wise-- unless the person has spent extensive time abroad or was a major in that language. What POIs do hope is that the student knows enough to pass the reading exam required for the candidacy exams and get through some important secondary works. Smart, sensible advisers know that 1) it's much easier to master the language once one lives in that setting for a while, not just a summer and 2) Student need to know *just* enough to get a solid language evaluations for major fellowships but fluency isn't necessary. As younger people begin to fill the ranks of the archival staff in foreign archives, there will be more English in place. To "master" the language for entry into the PhD program, not necessarily.

Don't count on Harvard and Yale to take you on for the PhD. If they don't give you a guaranteed spot WITH FUNDING, you will be treated just like every other aspiring PhD applicant. UCLA has a solid name and there are resources all over for helping you stay on path toward a job though jobs are never guaranteed. There is always a chance that your Yale/Harvard adviser will find more suitable student match than you and (regrettably) reject you. Lesson #1 for Academia: Nothing is ever guaranteed without writing. Lesson #2 for Academia: Rankings for Top 10 programs are basically fixed. Top 10 is top 10.

Take the UCLA offer. Admissions to PhD programs are difficult and it varies from year to year (says someone who has gone through 3 cycles for transnational history). If you turn down UCLA, Harvard, and Madison and then go to Yale, chances are going to be random 2 years from now whether or not you will get into those places again. The acceptable reason to back out on this PhD opportunity is to take a break from school or need to be more financially stable (i.e. pay down more of student loans or have some savings in the bank) or to take care of family.

In regards thoe discussion of non-history MAs... yeah. I feel the pain. I was accepted to Wisconsin with an interdisciplinary MA related to my field of study and my POI did discuss it with me. He knew that I would have to go through the coursework for the MA in the department, which i was somewhat fine with as I didn't really take a LOT of graduate courses in history. But I asked him if the MA thesis could be waived since I did write my MA thesis within the discipline of history. (the idea of writing another thesis made me shudder.) He said that he could look into that as waiving it would definitely cut down the stress and allow me to focus more on prelims. I ended up not taking their offer (despite it being fully-funded); I couldn't be sure that the MA thesis could be waived. My MA was accepted in my current program and I didn't have to do the MA exam. Just one less thing to worry about Every program has its quirks.

I am PMing you. I have been in your shoes!!!! And I agree about Duolingo-- I'm using it to learn some French to prepare for my (fun!) Paris trip!

I agree that it would be difficult to find a program that will let you "major" in historiography as the writing of history. Intellectual history may be the way but even intellectual historians find their footing in a particular time period or geography or within a particular theme (i.e. gender). You will indeed be able to create a section in your comprehensive exam that focuses on historiography/theory. What are the questions are you looking to explore in a PhD program?

For research abroad (This is from Western-Central European archives) Be prepared to pay dearly for copying fees. Make sure that you allow for plenty of money in your budget. Most archives in Germany still insist on 1) You pay them for copies or 2) You take notes, no photography or scanning yourself. British archives vary but I'd be prepared to pay up for photography or copying fees. Dress professionally as you would to a conference-- Europeans dress up. No jeans or sweatshirts (those scream "AMERICAN!!!!"). Dresses, skirts, slacks, button-downs, nice shirts, etc. Be well-groomed. If there is a language barrier- DO NOT PANIC. Find a common language-- English, French, German, Spanish... If you need to, write down your requests. It's okay to speak in broken sentences-- archivists used to it and they also will speak in broken English. Have your adviser's letter of introduction ready. Advisers usually do this on a regular basis. If the passport people are giving you a hard time about entering, just pull it out and boom, you will be granted entry. Not all archives require it but it's helpful-- makes you look more legit. Back up, back up, back up. Definitely use the cloud. When the archives are closed or you can't go for some reason, GO AND HAVE FUN! You don't know when you'll be back so play tourist! You won't regret it, I promise. Try to spoil yourself with amazing food/drink/culture. Coffee as Americans know it is primarily available at Starbucks and McDonalds. Otherwise, get used to espressos and tea, or sweets (sugar is even less but sugar is sugar). And.... have plenty of converters on hand for all of your devices. You'll need to hunt for them a bit but they're not difficult to find as in the US as British and various parts of EU do not use the same plug.

You have time, still, but as @rising_star pointed out, you'll want to make sure that: 1) there will be enough courses for you in the next 2-3 semesters to help you get through your comprehensive reading list. 2) Look at several comps reading lists and pursue some of most-recommended books to make sure that your questions are relevant to the field's. I mean, I like environmental history A LOT but I just don't have the same level of thirst as I do with my current major field. I changed minor fields for my exam. I had been taking courses in A and B but B proved to be more interesting to me. Before switching from A to B, I examined the reading lists of several colleagues who did B and I felt more of a click. I told the first committee member that I realized that I wasn't intellectually interested in Area A as I thought; the course in Area B helped me realized that Area B was more suitable for my interests. He was good natured about it. 3) Let your present adviser call the shots whether or not you need to switch. Good advisers relish a good challenge and will strive for flexibility. If your current adviser says, "okay! Sounds good to me." Don't despair. Give your adviser a chance and get the other person you're thinking of on your exam committee. Eventually, you might want to consider co-advisers, but only you know what the politics of the faculty are. 4) Definitely seek advice from the DGS concerning your situation.

I literally have no choice but to travel in the US and abroad (mainly Europe)

Like Rising_star said, I've learned that a lot of the day-to-day is so individualized. It's up to the person doing it and do it the best way s/he knows how and is most comfortable with. If you liked the process that you did when you wrote your undergrad/MA thesis, by all means continue. The comps prep was also supposed to help you learn how to organize your notes and readings. So I'm just... going to throw up a deck of cards and just put them together....however I want to.

People will then find an outside job and work while writing their dissertations. Or take out loans. It comes down to how badly you want to finish and get the three letters after your name.

Don't worry; there is plenty of funding for East Asianists. We have quite a few East Asianists in my program and they have been able to coast compared to Americanists. There are so many external funding and the East Studies Program on most campuses have their own funding too that you can apply for.

Don't book until you are admitted. Departments can work with each other if you have overlapping visits. You will be given sufficient amount of money for travel. You will (usually) be able to stay with graduate students. For most part, you will be fed. You will be best served to ask such questions to graduate students who are going to be much more honest about these things than the faculty. Graduate students will offer a more consensus view of the department's relationship to the University and the Graduate School. If you want to ask someone who isn't a grad student, then the graduate coordinator is actually the best person of everyone you will meet to answer those questions because s/he deals with the administrative side of the program. The DGS mostly focus on the interpersonal relationships and has really little power to effect change with the higher ups. There are varying degrees in which the faculty are committed to their advisees, other graduate students, and the program as a whole. It is definitely worth asking about their philosophy on graduate education and what they like and want to change about the graduate program. If they mention "changes," then listen because those ideas will come in form of direct advising (some form of defiance you might say ). But I wouldn't go in the nitty gritty of the bureaucracy (as in regulations) at this point because, frankly, bureaucracy sucks no matter where you wind up. And nobody likes it.

Honestly, only you can make that decision. Find out the schedule and talk with the DGS and POI how you can get the most out of the weekend. For my program, I would say that you definitely need to be around for most part of the day on Friday.

I really, really encourage everyone to go to as many recruitment weekends as they are able to (financially, of course). It's also a great networking opportunity-- a chance to meet other faculty and graduate students whom you will run into later on at conferences. I still run into my other program POI and keep in touch with one of his graduate students. It's also really fun to visit other campuses and the area, particularly if you're not likely to visit it for any particular reason. Visiting the other program also assured me that I still made the right decision to attend my current program though it was surprisingly wonderful and made my decision even tougher.

While I haven't read the above comments but I'll say this... IPad, hands down. I have the regular size with 32 GB and store everything to the Dropbox app (which is sync in cloud and to my laptop). I use the GoodReader app for annotating PDFs and upload every journal article and dissertation to there. I have HD Scan Pro which I scan anything I want, edit the image (better contrast), and put them together into one PDF. I also use EverNote on it. The IPad battery is quite good-- lasts for 8 hours of constant use or scanning 400 pages, whichever comes first. The only thing I cannot really do with my iPad is Microsoft Office/word processing. Tablets are great for traveling- the TSA lets you keep it in your bag and so it's one less tray.

damn... all done??? I remember when you and I were working on PhD applications together years ago! Congrats!

One and only one.

Those of you contemplating contacting POIs/DGS after rejection, wait. Wait until the entire season is over, meaning until April or that you have been rejected everywhere. If you got waitlisted or accepted somewhere else, there is no point in having a conversation. Everyone will be happy that you've been admitted somewhere, no matter the ranking or prestige of the program. There are many, many opportunities down the road to work with these professors. You do not want to be That Applicant who can't handle rejections and starts whining the minute they happen. Professors deal with rejections all the time themselves and they have learned to accept most of them with grace. Rejections hurt no matter what. You also want to get off the emotional roller coaster as well so you can begin to look at the process and your application more objectively. There can be a possibility that the POIs will not remember much about your application (particularly for large fields) and there were factors out of their control (internal politics). Be prepared for a range of responses from "Sorry, I can't remember your application and I'd have to go through your file again" to "Your statement was relatively weak. Here are some suggestions for strengthen it..." Some might be upfront to say that they had a limited number of applicants they could admit and there was someone else who was a better match. Some won't say much in that way but you'll find out in the fall when new graduate students are posted on the departmental page. Some are going to be willing to be honest and direct while others won't want to say much out of fear of hurting your feelings (That actually happened-- one of my favorite POIs didn't tell me that he had picked someone else until I met his student at a graduate seminar a year later. I realized that this kid was a better match for the POI than me. My current adviser was a better match for me anyway. Awkward but...sometimes you just have to laugh.) As for interviews, just be prepared for anything. Like any other academic interviews, professors feel at liberty to ask a range of questions intending to test your skills, knowledge, interests, and tastes to make sure you can fit in with the departmental culture and intellectual community.

Professors do not have time to compare notes across programs. Decisions have to be made relatively quickly because of internal departmental and university deadlines for funding. They also do know what type of program a particular applicant is likely to be admitted and try to aim for those they know they have a reasonable shot at having that person commit. Nonetheless, it's a boon for a program if it admit students with multiple offers, which means it picked a really great candidate and puts them at a particular benchmark. They are willing to negotiate on funding if they need to get the student to commit. It's part of the business. Numbers of applications do range between 200-300 in a year when the economy is strong in most departments. The rate of admissions do tend to be below 20%, if not 10% as programs have been moving towards making their entering classes much smaller than in the past and being conservative as not to over-enroll.

Unless it's an actual article based on original research in a peer-review journal, do not submit anything to your POIs. Book reviews are worth only pennies when articles based on original research are worth their weight in gold.