Sigaba

The number and areas of students could be driven by key performance indicators centered around revenue and expenses.
Do Americanists studying social history complete the program faster than Europeanists studying early modern intellectual history?
How many TAs will be needed if the department offers crowd favorite courses?
Which professors need to be nudged to supervise more dissertations to justify their continued employment?
Who among a group of applicants could provide a lot of "bang for the buck" because their interests will see them using other resources at Michigan and/or could be funded by other sources and/or could be dual hatted as a TA for other departments/programs?
What are the financial benefits of offering admissions to students who already live nearby? (Do applicants already familiar with Ann Arbor need less support?)

I'm done. Just... done. I live in three spheres for the most part (thank god it's not 4). 
1st: Fiancee- My fiancee is probably the best thing in my life right now. He can be clingy and needy and he doesn't have a car so he rides his bike to work when I can't drive him then he complains about how hard his 4 hour shift was. That being said, I had a bad day so he made me a candle lit dinner and then cuddled me in bed with chocolate until it was time to sleep. So yeah.. best. 
2nd: Teacher - I teach 7th grade. This is my first year at this school. Covid is happening. I had to write my first kid up yesterday. Then we had a "10" minute staff meeting (3:45-4:15) during which I was holding down an anxiety attack as they gave us more responsibility. Keep in mind, we have our in person students, our online students (students who are electing to be home schooled at this point) who use an online platform, then our students who are quarantined, who we have to make packets of homework for. That is what is required already. Now they are adding additional responsibilities. Oh, and I found out today that I have been missing bus duties in the morning. Oh, and I have a Zoom meeting today that I wont be able to make because I have to work late because we have a Volleyball game, which I signed up for, but then I got informed about the Zoom meeting, and no one will cover for me. So yay! Also, my principal wants to talk to me tomorrow during my conference. I swear I'm in trouble...for something.
3rd: Student- I am totally overwhelmed. It is my first semester in my Masters program. I decided to take 9 units instead of six (free class! How could I not?) I don't understand how our online platform is organized. I am already behind on my readings and I worked all weekend to get caught up on my posts. Then, for one of my classes we have support groups and mine just kind of became this mushroom cloud of toxicity. Now it's making me more anxious and uncomfortable and I don't think it's going to end well. 

I still get nausea whenever I think about my professor who hit on me during undergrad while he had a girlfriend who is now his wife. 
I was in a position where I had no one else write me an LOR and couldn't think of anyone else so I had to ask this professor. He sent me an e-mail that I feel is inappropriate, but as a POC female, I have been gaslit so much in the past, that I question whether or not this e-mail is inappropriate. 
He is a disgusting creep. He kept tabs on me ever since I graduated and after he lied and manipulated me in the e-mail. What disgusts me is that I know he was trying to manipulate me and it disgusts me that I let him get away with the manipulation. I felt so infantilized. Like do you really think I am that stupid and that I cannot see through your actions and behaviors? He treated me like an "oriental object." He is a white male that takes no accountability. It was so disgusting and racist. I'm scared because I have been gaslit so many times as well when it comes to being sexually harassed based on my race. My school does not take Title IX or racism seriously and I do not trust them to believe or support me when I report it. 

I would suggest that the system you describe in your post is setting the stage for AI/ASI in the Ivory Tower is similar to TNCs (transportation network companies like Lyft and Uber) being used to push AVs (autonomous vehicles) into transportation. (The extent to which TNC drivers don't get the connection is chilling, IMO.) By breaking down work into smaller pieces, one can learn which pieces are more important than others, and which ones can be done through software.
Along the way, the people participating think in terms of the upside (the convenience of on demand services and a la carte pricing/subscriptions, the perception of lower operational costs because of lower overhead, not having to deal with as many people), and the down side in personal terms without realizing the extent to which they're participating in the commodification of their every day lives. 
MOO, many members of many professions that seek to leverage technology do not understand that they are actually the prey of technology firms.

FWIW...
https://grad.jhu.edu/apply/admission-privacy-policy/
https://gradschool.princeton.edu/policies/rescinding-offer-admission
https://gsas.harvard.edu/admissions-policies/rescinding-admissions
IMO, I think that you should reconsider your practice of making comments that suggest you have absolute knowledge of how every program and graduate school conducts its business.
 
 

I would suggest that the system you describe in your post is setting the stage for AI/ASI in the Ivory Tower is similar to TNCs (transportation network companies like Lyft and Uber) being used to push AVs (autonomous vehicles) into transportation. (The extent to which TNC drivers don't get the connection is chilling, IMO.) By breaking down work into smaller pieces, one can learn which pieces are more important than others, and which ones can be done through software.
Along the way, the people participating think in terms of the upside (the convenience of on demand services and a la carte pricing/subscriptions, the perception of lower operational costs because of lower overhead, not having to deal with as many people), and the down side in personal terms without realizing the extent to which they're participating in the commodification of their every day lives. 
MOO, many members of many professions that seek to leverage technology do not understand that they are actually the prey of technology firms.

That'll come but for the time being a number of former consulting colleagues have said some of the top private universities are looking hard at Disaggregated Faculty Models of operation. In these systems you have a faculty member responsible for teaching and then a different person who is responsible for evaluation of student's work. The obvious downside to this - not much need for a TA. While grading is often a TA's responsibility, this system generally relies on someone only doing grading and not needing mentoring, training, etc along the way. There's a lot more downside too but that's a longer post.
A major university in the northeast has this system rolled out to their part-time/non-traditional students already but they've taken it a step further. The instruction is done via prerecorded lectures and then grading done via, at a minimum, master's level educated examiners. Faculty are paid a royalty per student so some have really focused on quality while others have opted for quantity. Its been at work now for two years and slated to be rolled out to the wider undergraduate body for online courses by 2025.
I know of another 10-12 universities that have working groups working on various models of this system, most of them actively talking about phasing out a number of PhD slots as a result. Simply, it's cheaper to pay someone at a laptop to grade than to train up another faculty member.

@PhantomThief, how ever you feel about the waning days of your youth, I think it is incumbent upon you to understand that you are in a pivotal phase of your personal professional development. At this moment, right now, while you're thinking about such matters, members of your affiliation are building the skills and relationships that will make them competitive in the coming years. Competitive for jobs, for loans, for relationships, and other opportunities, many of which will be accessible to them because they're ready.
So I think questions for you to add to the mix include: 
What are you doing today to be ready for the rest of your life given the likelihood that the years and decades ahead are going to be exceptionally hard? Is shooting the breeze with undergraduates going to help you get ready for interviews with people making hiring decisions? Is being in a relationship, platonic or romantic, with younger people going to expose you to circumstances in which people hold you accountable so that you will work harder and to be a better person?  

A challenge that is hard to overcome when making the adjustment from undergraduate work to graduate work is that the former is generally a "lean back" activity in which direction, expectations, and support are provided while the latter is ever more a "lean forward" experience in which one learns by doing and support is increasingly elusive and subtle.
Yes, COVID-19 and remote learning pose a different (if not unique) set of challenges to a first year graduate student but as @drunkenduckpoints out, the expectation is that graduate students are going to do almost all of their own heavy lifting. 
Now, if you agree with the recommendation that you change your mindset, the question is then what kinds of changes should you make? IMO, the first is to understand that a major source of the fun of being a graduate student comes through independent discovery. How much can you knowledge can you find on your own using the course syllabi and materials as your basic road map, compass, and rucksack? If you find yourself a bit lost, how can you find your way back so you can move forward?
Meanwhile, given that you are not happy with level of support you've received so far, how can you change the circumstances? You've indicated that classmates are having similar experiences -- can you form groups that provide opportunities to build relationships via social activities (virtual coffee house visits, maybe watch parties) and share knowledge (study groups)? Can you figure out how to interact with your professors in ways that are appropriate?
As you think about your options, I would keep in mind that COVID-10 and remote learning pose different challenges to professors than to students. I want to be careful about how I phrase this because it can be taken the wrong way easily. A person further along the journey of life, an established professional, is going to have more "stuff" in her life than she did when she was a graduate student. And also if she's at the point where she understands that she has more days behind her than ahead of her, if she understands her mortality, COVID-19 can be orders of magnitude more terrifying and traumatic. There's something paradoxical here -- a person with resources (like a home and a 401k) is almost certainly in a better position than a young person trying to make ends meet on a TAship or on loans. But that thought may not inspire confidence -- it may actually add fuel to the firepit of fear. So I am suggesting that you try to have empathy (not sympathy) for your professors. 

I empathize with your struggles. Times are difficult and confusing right now. But I think you need to hear some tough love...
If you are struggling this much with your master's program, you will not struggle any less with a PhD program. Plus, starting a master's program and not completing it is PhD application suicide. Admission committees will see that as indication that you can't handle their program.
 In graduate school, you are expected to be mostly self-sufficient, with mentorship from your advisor. If you need extra help from your professors, it's your job to go to office hours. If you need a study group, set one up. If you can't understand a concept, look up youtube tutorials from professors at other schools. If you're not sure how to get the help you need, ask your advisor. 
Encouragement from professors is nice but your motivation should be coming from somewhere inside. 
Again, I'm not trying to be harsh, but it seems like you need a mindset adjustment more than you need a new program. 
I hope that helps a little, and good luck!

Unless you worked on a research project together, I don't think there is a need to mention your significant other in any capacity. If you did work together on a research project, you can use the word "colleague".

Questions that follow include how high are the hurdles to getting approval for pursuing dual degrees, what do professors actually think about such opportunities, what is the rate of success, and how well do recipients of dual degrees do in the job market?

@GradSchoolGrad Please enlighten me if you see otherwise, but I've read both posts I made here and I see nowhere that I've been unkind or not nice, to you or to anyone. You never explained why you took such a condescending tone with me, "First off" and so on. Based on my longterm experience on this board, you are very invested in being the resident expert on all things here and you become incensed whenever somebody posts something you disagree with. I'm really not looking for an internet fight so, if you can't keep your communications civil, I'd rather we not interact anymore. You can post your opinion on a subject without directly putting it in opposition with mine. People here are smart and capable of making their own conclusions.
Anyway. I find your post off-topic. The conversation was about whether trying to stay in the US after a master's degree is a good risk right now, and you have not addressed this point whatsoever. I will reiterate that, per my assessment, the US is not worth the risk right now (and basing one's decision on your unpedigreed assessment of what is "highly likely" for an as-of-yet unelected Presidential candidate to do is quite silly). This is where I'll leave it.

The craft has almost always has favored those who could afford to think about the past and to gather primary source materials and to purchase secondary works.
Now, I think technology levels the field a bit, but this opinion is provincial. As an Americanist, I'm floored by the ever-expanding range of digitized government documents and archival sources freely available to all. The financial hurdles for access to journals are manageable. 
From a computing standpoint, memory, processing power, and software are inexpensive "force multipliers." 
The internet makes access to "how to" knowledge a bit more democratic as well.
To be clear, my comments should not be taken as advocacy for the "pull yourself up by your boot straps" mentality that wrongly reduces good fortune, random chance, and misfortune to a lack of motivation. I'm attempting to encourage aspiring graduate students to think of ways to use available resources creatively and ambitiously. Flexibility may also prove crucial -- a writing sample that makes use of what's available may prove more beneficial in the short run than one that suffers from lack of primary sources even though it's closer to one's research interests.

The deployment of strategic nuclear weapons is unlikely in the next twenty years. The United States most likely foes in a general war (Russia and the PRC) do not have the technical means to degrade the American armed services' second strike capabilities with the first wave of missiles. (In a nutshell for a first strike to work, the attacker's warheads have to hit all of their targets at the same time --because the impact of the resulting EMPs is unknown-- with a circular error probable sufficient enough to ensure that the target is destroyed. This task is complicated by the assumed need to put two warheads on each target.)
When I started graduate school, I had a professor who, incidentally, specialized in the colonial/ early national period, mockingly asked me more than once "Why would anyone study naval history?" Well, this is why.
If your current program offers a thesis or report option, consider the benefits and challenges of taking either option relative to an option that does not require you to write tens of thousands of words long.
Identify primary sources that have been digitized and are either publicly accessible or available through an institutional affiliation. Get a good understanding of what's available and then start thinking about how you could use those materials to write a dissertation. 
Start figuring out if you want to explore ways to meld your expertise in anthropology into your practice of academic history. If the answer is "yes" start reading secondary works that will help you craft your intellectual identity.
Identify, obtain, and read "state of the art" historiographical essays in your field. From this exploration, you should be able to identify a handful (or two) of must read books. There are many threads in this forum on how to read like a graduate student in history but for works that "one ignores at one's peril," you're going to want to read every word.
Work on your language skills while also doing what you can to figure out how stringent the proficiency exams may be.
Identify departments where your interests align with several faculty members. It's not how a department fits you, it's how you will fit into a department. Identify professors who may sit on your committees and then start reading their works. When you narrow in on preferred committee chairs, give some thought to reading everything you can get your hands on -- including theses and dissertations. There are a few threads in this forum and in others on what to look for in an advisor, horror stories of things going side ways, and recommendations. Unfortunately, the CHE fora are gone and so the valuable information in the legendary STFU thread are lost to antiquity. (The short version is, when in doubt, STFU. When you're 100% absolutely sure, STFU. Anywhere else, give STFU a try.)
But also, given the state of the Ivory Tower, the supremacy of anti-intellectualism, and the ongoing crisis of professional academic history, it's never too soon to start sketching out alternatives. Now, I don't recommend that you let anyone know who has decision making authority know that you have such plans because true believers expect true belief out of others. But alternative plans can help you figure out how to pick an outside field and how to identify skills you can develop that are transferable to the private sector. (Hint: data analysis and visualization that cannot be replicated by AI or ASI; project management; and...HR)

An environment which is toxic for some is perfect for others. It depends on you.

Hey all~
So I privately messaged Izzie with some personalized feedback for this document, but I wanted to give a few tips for anyone who might read it later. These tips are loosely based on what I saw in this draft, and I only offer them here to provide other people with constructive criticism that they might can apply to their own SOP. These tips are mostly local writing tips rather than global level stuff. 
Make sure if you use contractions that you're wanting to maintain an informal tone in your document. If you are wanting a formal tone, do not use contractions. I've heard of both formal and informal tones being successful in SOPs, so just consciously be aware of what you're doing and why. Avoid vague and repetitive statements if possible. This is easier said than done, because it's not always easy to identify these characteristics in our own writing. Having multiple readers look over it can help you catch these statements. Completely personal preference for this tip, but rhetorical questions annoy the heck out of me. Avoid them. Please. Ask a question only if it's a research question or if you genuinely mean it as a question.  Utilize active voice whenever possible. Some sentences require a passive voice for concision or clarity, but usually it can be made active.  Avoid value judgments like "extraordinary" or "wonderful." Try to keep it factual or objective. You have a limited word count, and value judgments usually don't have room in this type of document. I was informed not to end a SOP too abruptly. Make sure to thank the committee for their time/consideration/etc.  Hope this helps!

The deployment of strategic nuclear weapons is unlikely in the next twenty years. The United States most likely foes in a general war (Russia and the PRC) do not have the technical means to degrade the American armed services' second strike capabilities with the first wave of missiles. (In a nutshell for a first strike to work, the attacker's warheads have to hit all of their targets at the same time --because the impact of the resulting EMPs is unknown-- with a circular error probable sufficient enough to ensure that the target is destroyed. This task is complicated by the assumed need to put two warheads on each target.)
When I started graduate school, I had a professor who, incidentally, specialized in the colonial/ early national period, mockingly asked me more than once "Why would anyone study naval history?" Well, this is why.
If your current program offers a thesis or report option, consider the benefits and challenges of taking either option relative to an option that does not require you to write tens of thousands of words long.
Identify primary sources that have been digitized and are either publicly accessible or available through an institutional affiliation. Get a good understanding of what's available and then start thinking about how you could use those materials to write a dissertation. 
Start figuring out if you want to explore ways to meld your expertise in anthropology into your practice of academic history. If the answer is "yes" start reading secondary works that will help you craft your intellectual identity.
Identify, obtain, and read "state of the art" historiographical essays in your field. From this exploration, you should be able to identify a handful (or two) of must read books. There are many threads in this forum on how to read like a graduate student in history but for works that "one ignores at one's peril," you're going to want to read every word.
Work on your language skills while also doing what you can to figure out how stringent the proficiency exams may be.
Identify departments where your interests align with several faculty members. It's not how a department fits you, it's how you will fit into a department. Identify professors who may sit on your committees and then start reading their works. When you narrow in on preferred committee chairs, give some thought to reading everything you can get your hands on -- including theses and dissertations. There are a few threads in this forum and in others on what to look for in an advisor, horror stories of things going side ways, and recommendations. Unfortunately, the CHE fora are gone and so the valuable information in the legendary STFU thread are lost to antiquity. (The short version is, when in doubt, STFU. When you're 100% absolutely sure, STFU. Anywhere else, give STFU a try.)
But also, given the state of the Ivory Tower, the supremacy of anti-intellectualism, and the ongoing crisis of professional academic history, it's never too soon to start sketching out alternatives. Now, I don't recommend that you let anyone know who has decision making authority know that you have such plans because true believers expect true belief out of others. But alternative plans can help you figure out how to pick an outside field and how to identify skills you can develop that are transferable to the private sector. (Hint: data analysis and visualization that cannot be replicated by AI or ASI; project management; and...HR)

To quote: In 95% of academic situations, the appropriate response is shutting the fuck up. For the other 5%, it is "that's an interesting idea; I'll have to think about it."

The deployment of strategic nuclear weapons is unlikely in the next twenty years. The United States most likely foes in a general war (Russia and the PRC) do not have the technical means to degrade the American armed services' second strike capabilities with the first wave of missiles. (In a nutshell for a first strike to work, the attacker's warheads have to hit all of their targets at the same time --because the impact of the resulting EMPs is unknown-- with a circular error probable sufficient enough to ensure that the target is destroyed. This task is complicated by the assumed need to put two warheads on each target.)
When I started graduate school, I had a professor who, incidentally, specialized in the colonial/ early national period, mockingly asked me more than once "Why would anyone study naval history?" Well, this is why.
If your current program offers a thesis or report option, consider the benefits and challenges of taking either option relative to an option that does not require you to write tens of thousands of words long.
Identify primary sources that have been digitized and are either publicly accessible or available through an institutional affiliation. Get a good understanding of what's available and then start thinking about how you could use those materials to write a dissertation. 
Start figuring out if you want to explore ways to meld your expertise in anthropology into your practice of academic history. If the answer is "yes" start reading secondary works that will help you craft your intellectual identity.
Identify, obtain, and read "state of the art" historiographical essays in your field. From this exploration, you should be able to identify a handful (or two) of must read books. There are many threads in this forum on how to read like a graduate student in history but for works that "one ignores at one's peril," you're going to want to read every word.
Work on your language skills while also doing what you can to figure out how stringent the proficiency exams may be.
Identify departments where your interests align with several faculty members. It's not how a department fits you, it's how you will fit into a department. Identify professors who may sit on your committees and then start reading their works. When you narrow in on preferred committee chairs, give some thought to reading everything you can get your hands on -- including theses and dissertations. There are a few threads in this forum and in others on what to look for in an advisor, horror stories of things going side ways, and recommendations. Unfortunately, the CHE fora are gone and so the valuable information in the legendary STFU thread are lost to antiquity. (The short version is, when in doubt, STFU. When you're 100% absolutely sure, STFU. Anywhere else, give STFU a try.)
But also, given the state of the Ivory Tower, the supremacy of anti-intellectualism, and the ongoing crisis of professional academic history, it's never too soon to start sketching out alternatives. Now, I don't recommend that you let anyone know who has decision making authority know that you have such plans because true believers expect true belief out of others. But alternative plans can help you figure out how to pick an outside field and how to identify skills you can develop that are transferable to the private sector. (Hint: data analysis and visualization that cannot be replicated by AI or ASI; project management; and...HR)

The deployment of strategic nuclear weapons is unlikely in the next twenty years. The United States most likely foes in a general war (Russia and the PRC) do not have the technical means to degrade the American armed services' second strike capabilities with the first wave of missiles. (In a nutshell for a first strike to work, the attacker's warheads have to hit all of their targets at the same time --because the impact of the resulting EMPs is unknown-- with a circular error probable sufficient enough to ensure that the target is destroyed. This task is complicated by the assumed need to put two warheads on each target.)
When I started graduate school, I had a professor who, incidentally, specialized in the colonial/ early national period, mockingly asked me more than once "Why would anyone study naval history?" Well, this is why.
If your current program offers a thesis or report option, consider the benefits and challenges of taking either option relative to an option that does not require you to write tens of thousands of words long.
Identify primary sources that have been digitized and are either publicly accessible or available through an institutional affiliation. Get a good understanding of what's available and then start thinking about how you could use those materials to write a dissertation. 
Start figuring out if you want to explore ways to meld your expertise in anthropology into your practice of academic history. If the answer is "yes" start reading secondary works that will help you craft your intellectual identity.
Identify, obtain, and read "state of the art" historiographical essays in your field. From this exploration, you should be able to identify a handful (or two) of must read books. There are many threads in this forum on how to read like a graduate student in history but for works that "one ignores at one's peril," you're going to want to read every word.
Work on your language skills while also doing what you can to figure out how stringent the proficiency exams may be.
Identify departments where your interests align with several faculty members. It's not how a department fits you, it's how you will fit into a department. Identify professors who may sit on your committees and then start reading their works. When you narrow in on preferred committee chairs, give some thought to reading everything you can get your hands on -- including theses and dissertations. There are a few threads in this forum and in others on what to look for in an advisor, horror stories of things going side ways, and recommendations. Unfortunately, the CHE fora are gone and so the valuable information in the legendary STFU thread are lost to antiquity. (The short version is, when in doubt, STFU. When you're 100% absolutely sure, STFU. Anywhere else, give STFU a try.)
But also, given the state of the Ivory Tower, the supremacy of anti-intellectualism, and the ongoing crisis of professional academic history, it's never too soon to start sketching out alternatives. Now, I don't recommend that you let anyone know who has decision making authority know that you have such plans because true believers expect true belief out of others. But alternative plans can help you figure out how to pick an outside field and how to identify skills you can develop that are transferable to the private sector. (Hint: data analysis and visualization that cannot be replicated by AI or ASI; project management; and...HR)

There's a fourth possibility, albeit unlikely.  The Powers That Be have measured the risks of COVID-19 against the benefits of scoring better on KPI that are being used to determine future levels of internal and external funding for either the graduate school or the history department. In this scenario, there's an assumption that if they have to shut things down for the next flare up of COVID-19, that the graduate students will figure out how to work harder and get finished faster because they're a cut above previous classes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And during a COVID-19 lockdown they can be exploited as cheap RA labor.

Oh! The cynicism!
Another take is that programs that are not as highly ranked as they would like understand that they have the opportunity to get graduate students that would otherwise end up at Happyland University.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And then exploit them as cheap TA labor.
 

Oh! The cynicism!
Another take is that programs that are not as highly ranked as they would like understand that they have the opportunity to get graduate students that would otherwise end up at Happyland University.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And then exploit them as cheap TA labor.
 

Welcome to the grad cafe. Here are some threads that may help you start the process of finding answers to your questions.