Canis

Congrats on deciding on UT! The return to academia is challenging and thrilling, and you'll bring a much needed perspective.

Wound up turning down their offer b/c it was tied to 20 hours/week of TA from the first year forward, and the tuition waiver required TAing. Decided to take a funding offer that was stronger, but really wish I could have gone! Good luck and enjoy!!

Yes - that's the plan. My partner and I were both accepted there. Now it's just a matter of the study permits, finding housing, and driving to the ends of the earth come august.

That gives me a lot of confidence, knowing that my committee members were trained at McMaster.

Thanks! I guess they can probably figure it out, and assume that a huge number is for 4 years, not one... Did you also list just 4 years for the course of study?

Anyone know if in question 4 - are they asking for the total cost of all the years of study and total money, or annual cost? The instructions don't specify. For those US Americans who applied - did you submit bank info or any other financial forms - or just the funding offer from the Canadian school? Also - the instructions say to fill out the family information form, etc. but my documents list doesn't ask for those to be uploaded - anyone else notice this? This is for the IMM1294 form.

Assuming you could be equally happy living in both places, you will have more success with admissions if you choose U of T. I can tell you that anthropologists (TT faculty) here in NYC talk about UofT and UBC as considered to be equal in caliber to US schools. Those are the only Canadian schools my mentors approved of me even considering. Granted, this is for PhD. That said, I turned down UBC and am going to a different Canadian school that they've never heard of because I want to work with a small department, get personal attention, and have the freedom to pursue my interests as they develop. Watch out for the big reputation schools with well connected supervisors, make absolutely certain they will really let you study what you want. But, where do you want to apply for your PhD? For example, if it's the UK, your Canadian MA won't matter, most UK schools require a UK MA. If it's the US, your MA could be from any school, as long as you make yourself stand out in the PhD application pool by publishing, presenting at AAA, etc.

(Also, the April 15th date only applies to funding decisions, not admission, it also is only those schools who have agreed, and it's not binding.)

It's funny because so many of my friends who have finished PhDs and who are doing them now warned me about things like this and I just didn't believe that such educated adults could be so nuts - but lesson learned and now I'll be on guard.

On that note. I just formally declined my offer from University of British Columbia, in case anyone is on their wait-list. (You may want to bring a bullet proof vest if you choose to accept.)

For MA or PhD? I got my PhD rejection already along with quite a few others.

The thing is in cultural it's not the case that students are held to their admissions statement interests. In this case, it's exactly that, a POI who wanted a protege to take on his personal work. Any deviation from that, even minor ones, would not have been acceptable. What's especially disconcerting about this was that the POI never even hinted at this in initial discussions and went through 10 days of emailing about (every day) about research areas before finally being pushed to reveal that this would be the case. There are a host of other reasons I'd label it toxic, based on not only this but also the fact that students are finding it impossible to finish because of too many new admits, not enough TA spots for funding in the years after the funding runs out, difficultly getting access and support from supervisor and from committee and from department, etc. I looked at the graduate student association meeting minutes going back years and every year they brought up the same problems over and over, and the department hasn't addressed them. Also, when I reached out to the department, the faculty member in charge of the grad admissions process literally said "I haven't been doing this long" so couldn't answer my questions about how funding works - but also couldn't direct me to anyone who could. The department took days to reply to simple queries, and generally felt distant and reluctant to help me find answers to questions about the offer they were giving me. Finally, the real sign was that of all the dozens of current students I reached out to contact about life in the department - only 2 replied. At every other school, all of the students replied, usually with glowing recommendations. In this case one was somewhat positive and one was negative - but only two even bothered to reply. Edit: I should add this was the exact opposite in all regards of the other programs that made me offers. One of the scariest parts was the one student who did have positive reviews of the department said "it's great except for difficulty getting time with your supervisor, competition with other students for funding, x, y, z, etc." listing all these horrible things that aren't the case in some programs - but which this student said they assumed was normal in programs! I'm glad to have had a lot of experience (~5 years) working closely at a PhD only university with faculty and students and knowing how it ought to be!

Just had the craziest thing happen in the middle of my process. I've been trying to decide between two schools - had basically ruled out the third. After 10 days of great, interesting email conversations in which I we were discussing research ideas - the prospective supervisor suddenly emailed me and said that he didn't want to work with me, and the department couldn't support me there if I wasn't going to write my dissertation on exactly what I had written in my application essay. I've never heard of this happening, but apparently it's a thing that occurs sometimes. So - I am SO grateful that I figured out he was only willing to work on one thing and had no tolerance at all for exploration or following the research where it took me. If I hadn't I would have signed up to go study in a completely toxic situation. It's a good reminder that during the decision process it's so important to talk on the phone, to email a lot - to seriously get to know your potential supervisors, to show them who you really are in order to avoid a horrible situation later. But on the upside, it made my decision so much easier because the other school is like a dream in comparison - they completely support me, and are excited by all my interests and ideas - not just one of them.

You would think NYC would skew the results - but I was admitted to UMass (Amherst) and in my conversations with students there, it's just as bad, if not worse!

Wasn't sure if I read this wrong - but to clarify I agree completely and didn't advocate for anyone working as an adjunct, let alone adjuncts themselves who are struggling even more than my last public school teacher roommate! I think you may have meant to direct that at rbargiel who mentioned they would be ok being an adjunct at the right school. Adjuncting shouldn't be a job - but at schools like CUNY and others now, it has become a full-time job for a large percentage of people with PhD in hand. This, in part, explains my insistence that folks really understand what they're getting into when they make the decision to go to a school that doesn't give solid funding. Every day in NYC I meet a disillusioned PhD who completed a top program, studied with amazing people, and can't get more than temporary, seasonal, teaching work. They're drowning in debt. That said - yes, if I use my PhD to be more of a follower spouse for my SOs career, I'll gladly do some teaching on the side, but it's not a job or a career. Or even a real income!

The spirit of this is exciting and fun, and I agree about the passion for research, exploration, and learning. If I didn't have that passion I wouldn't have made it through the last 7 years of school and grad school. That said, the above is something you'd only argue if you haven't really spoken to a PhD student, haven't been through a graduate program, haven't talked to professors about graduate school, and haven't done research on what getting a PhD actually entails. It's also a position of incredible privilege. Many people going to graduate school have families, children, partners, to consider. Many people going to graduate school already have debt. They have futures to consider for their families. Only if you have none of these responsibilities and piles of money OR are willing to go into incredible debt (100k+ or more for US schools). It's exactly right that getting a PhD is not going to lead to a job offer (publishing, networking, job talks, etc. will) which is exactly why you should not go to an unfunded program.

I suppose everyone might have different goals in getting a PhD. It's the same advice every professor and mentor has given me for the past 7 years of college through my BA and MA: "Don't get a PhD unless it's fully funded." It's because they are on the front lines and see that there are literally no jobs anymore. All the tenure track jobs have been replaced with contingent and adjunct labor. 80% of the courses at schools like CUNY are now taught by students or PhDs who have temporary seasonal teaching jobs. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my PhD, but I'm turning down the offers that would require taking on more debt. I already have debt from undergrad and my MA, and having a PhD doesn't increase your chances of getting work, so going into debt for it would just make things worse for me. My cousin who has a PhD in engineering was recently turned down for a job at a company who told her that they would have hired her with just an MA, but with the PhD they think she's overqualified. No teaching jobs and other jobs think you're too qualified. But, if you want to teach overseas, which I hope to do - it's perfect. This does make me curious - what are everyone's plans with their PhDs? Do you have jobs in mind?

Read this: https://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-Is-a-Means-to/131316/ the whole thing is a good reality check (not that you can't deviate from it) especially this advice which can help when we're wowed by even getting into places, when in fact we should be glad we got in, but only going if we're just about 100% funded. "Do not attend graduate school unless you are fully supported by—at minimum—a multiyear teaching assistantship that provides a tuition waiver, a stipend, and health insurance that covers most of the years of your program. The stipend needs to be generous enough to support your actual living expenses for the location. Do not take out new debt to attend graduate school. Because the tenure-track job market is so bleak, graduate school in the humanities and social sciences is, in most cases, not worth going into debt for."

Thank you so much for sharing your experience of Memorial! It's very helpful.

I posted this in Anthro - and would love to get advice from you all here as well! I'm in search of a reality check. I'm seriously considering turning down an offer from UBC for Memorial University of Newfoundland. Am I crazy? Everyone at Memorial has felt like a great fit from the start. The faculty and students respond to my questions right away with long, complete answers. The faculty and my committee seem so invested in me, and so excited about my work. The students are engaging and interesting and also seem really into my work. The funding is solid, if slightly less. On the other side, the faculty at UBC don't seem to be able to answer simple funding questions, the students I've heard from say it's a challenge to finish, and impossible to get funding after year 4 - overall feels like there's just nothing there. Both are funding me for 4 years with no teaching obligation, and I got my desired supervisor and committee at both. How is it that the school with the best reputation is like that and the school I'd never heard of is so amazing? Perspective, experience, advice, and more all welcome! Am I missing something? Thanks!

In search of a reality check. I'm seriously considering turning down UBC for Memorial University of Newfoundland. Am I crazy? Everyone at Memorial has felt like a great fit from the start. The faculty and students respond to my questions right away with long, complete answers. The faculty and my committee seem so invested in me, and so excited about my work. The students are engaging and interesting and also seem really into my work. The funding is solid, if slightly less. On the other side, the faculty at UBC don't seem to be able to answer simple funding questions, the students I've heard from say it's a challenge to finish, and impossible to get funding after year 4 - overall feels like there's just nothing there. How is it that the school with the best reputation is like that and the school I'd never heard of is so amazing? Perspective, experience, advice, and more all welcome! Am I missing something? Thanks!

I got my Memorial acceptance from my POI about 9 days ago, but it was unofficial. Once it was offcial my status changed online. Haven't gotten anything in the mail yet.

Forsaken - make sure you have some serious email conversations with students in the MA programs at Chicago and at Columbia. Go to academia.edu and the departmental web site and email as many as you can find - ask them what their feelings are about the department. Ask them what they wish they'd known before attending. Also - consider that the MA program at Columbia is essentially a cash cow for the PhD program. And even students in the PhD program there often say that they struggle to really get engagement from the faculty. My friend who did an MA at Columbia (paid for as a Fulbright student) said the department was empty and dead - there wasn't any vitality to it. There's great people there, but they aren't there to help anyone else's career, certainly not the MA students. They're busy with their own stuff. Chicago is historically and currently as highly ranked a program in anthro as Columbia. If they're giving you funding do it. Also, who do you want to work with at both places? Have you written to your potential supervisors and spilled your guts? Written all the ideas, speculations, fantasies, passions you have and seen how they respond? Show them your anthropological soul and see how they react, that can tell you a lot about how good the research fit really is. (Edit: I should add that it's certainly possible to do your MA at Columbia and then do a PhD there - but they will encourage you to do your PhD elsewhere. Schools rarely like the idea of students staying where they are from degree to degree and even if they love you - sometime BECAUSE they love you - they won't admit you to the next degree there. It's generally considered a good idea to move between degrees.)

I'm thinking about it in terms of what it would mean to study in a different city from my SO - it could mean no more than 3 months apart at a time, which makes the Canadian schools very attractive!

Thanks! That's amazing, so much time off!