Canis

I would second that, it's quite common for schools to have arrangements or partnerships with other universities where you can do exactly what OP is suggesting. For example, the LSE/Columbia University PhD exchange: http://www.lse.ac.uk/anthropology/degree_programmes/columbia_exchange.aspx

I've experienced this as well - the two transcripts request is especially annoying. It's obscene that they can't find a way to share one official transcript within the university by scanning it and uploading it/emailing it/etc... Programs seem to think it's not that big a deal in terms of expense, but when you're sending multiple transcripts from multiple schools to multiple programs it really adds up.

unless of course you were a professor who was atheist, jewish, hindu, etc... *crossingfingers* these were generic 'holiday' cards - but even then pretty questionable.

Is this for Divinity like Harvard where you'll be doing work with lots of social theory? If so, they want letters that speak to your ability to do graduate work and be successful in the program. A professional referee might be in a good position to write about your ability to synthesize information, to work within an organization, and to problem solve. These are important skills for graduate students. They're not really what adcoms are looking for. But it depends on the kind of MDiv you're doing....

Don't get me wrong, I agree fields are vastly different. Philosophy is much more competitive than just about any other I've seen - and adcoms take LORs very seriously, unlike others. The writing sample is also more important than almost anything else. These things certainly set the field apart. I'm interested to learn that the POI approach also sets the field apart these days. Something that was less true in the past - perhaps because it was such a 'old boys' club'?

And Deliberate: I should just sum up my advice as: Yes, mention professors you're interested in, as long as you know they're going to be around - and as long as you're actually familiar enough with their work to talk about it in a way that will reflect that familiarity... I'll leave the reaching out to POIs in certain ways/or not issue up to those with more experience applying to programs today.

That is great that your LOR refs support you in that way! I'm surprised at the encouragement to apply to so many schools, what was the reasoning behind that? Based on your area of focus I wonder if you're interested in Prinz's work at CUNY? Although I was a philosophy degree student in my prior program and am not applying for PhD's in that discipline now - I've actually worked with folks in the philosophy department at CUNY and know students in that dept. So I can only really speak to that situation. My own experience with philosophy profs is that they approach applications like those in every discipline. They want someone they're excited about having a collegial relationship with for many years. They are also in a position to make or break the application by saying "I want to work with that person" or "I can't see myself working with that person." They're a lot more likely to say they'll work with a student if they've actually heard from the student, talked to them and are excited not only by their work but by the evidence that they're really interested in the program. Programs everywhere want students who have chosen the department after extensive research because it's the perfect fit for that student. They want students who are engaged in the kind of work that the faculty and existing cohort are doing - they want someone to join that community. My impression is that the most unique characteristics of philosophy admissions are the attention paid to the writing sample, and the focus on coursework in the early years. But if it's become a trend not to talk to POIs, I'm very interested to learn about this. (I'm an older student, so new trends could have passed me by!)

Side note: MattDest are you really applying to 21 schools? Your LOR referees must be SAINTS. Absolutely true that the KOD document was a study of psych. But much of Psych, along with social science is much more like humanities or philosophy in terms of the student advisor relationship than it is like biology, chemistry, etc which have lab associations, etc. Also, the KODs listed in that document may not have derived from non-psychology departments, but it would be difficult to argue that any of those actions would help an application to any department in any field. So, in that sense, I suggest they are applicable.

Yes, I always start with the title (Dr., Mr. etc.) and use that as a salutation, but when referring to people in their capacity in the university, I use the position, Professor, Dean, etc. They almost always reply and sign their first name at which point it's all over and we just switch to that. But some times someone will sign Prof. X or Mr. X, or Dr. X - at which point I then address the letter to Prof. X, etc. b/c they've indicated that is their preferred title.

Kiss of Death: http://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf Agreed, parts of the POI approach are very field specific. However, in my search for POIs, I found many professors who were listed on the department sites were away for the next two years as fellows at another school, or were going to start their sabbatical next fall, etc. All kinds of reasons that listing them on your statement would show that you never talked to them and would come across as uninformed in admissions. So, as long as you know they're going to be around... But the thing is, if you email with them, and you tell them you're applying for next semester - they would tell you if they're not going to be around.

Wow - is this true? I've never heard of this in any field. What would you use in History as a title/honorific?

You may want to consider waiting a year if you're looking for funding. Many of the scholarships and programs offering good funding for US students at UK schools had deadlines back in October or November. However, if you can fund it yourself, or you want to use US gov. loans, then that's also an option for schools in the UK that qualify.

If you're listing anyone as a POI in your statement, you should have had an email exchange with them where you confirmed that they are actually 1. taking students and 2. interested in your research. Listing professors who aren't taking new students, who plan to be away when you arrive, etc. is listed in the "Kiss of Death" document. Also, you probably want to think long and hard about signing up to work with someone who is very old or toward the end of their career. They're not going to help you make the kinds of connections that a graduate education is all about - and to be blunt, they could pass away. That sounds crazy, but I'll tell you that even middle-aged profs are dropping like flies at my program. It's never too late to reach out to someone and say: here's what I'm interested in studying, would you be interested in a project like that?

You're applying to MA programs only, no PhD? If so I think there's no doubt they'll admit you, but funding will be a different question. Are you self-financed?

And one asks for a CV and the other doesn't. In my experience all programs request a CV - was there a place to upload one? Because if so, then that means the primary department list of requirements is missing the CV, so it could be missing something else. They also say all the PhD information is under construction, and to contact the dept. Have you spoken to the grad secretary, the admissions person, etc? I would email the POI - in fact, many of mine were more interested in emailing over the break because they felt like they had time finally!

AnthroGeek, is that a program in the US?

Great insights - I really appreciate your sharing the knowledge and experience! On a side note regarding wages, the hourly at my program for TAs is over $50/hour (USD), but they only give you about 15 hours for the whole semester and then expect you to work 10+ hours each week!

This is incredibly helpful TakeruK - thank you! And in some ways (although I know problems remain) clearly one of the reasons that graduate student labor is in a much better position in Canada. At the schools I've attended TAs were chosen by professors and then asked to submit an application only as a formality for a position they had already been given. Also, it seems that by TA they might mean what we call 'adjuncts' in the US. Whereas, I assumed that TA meant working as an assistant for a professor who is teaching the course - it sounds like TA might be used to refer to students who are primarily responsible for the course?

I think both perspectives make sense, depending on the field. In my field, Anthropology - speaking honestly about class, the cost of education, and so forth doesn't present any issues (and I wouldn't want to study in a program where it did). In some 'hard' sciences, schools might respond with a paid visit (not in Anthro, unfortunately) - but in other disciplines, 'professionalization' might be threatened by the perception of poverty as a negative characteristic. I really appreciate all the advice and think this will be a helpful thread for future applicants.

P.P.S - here's a different page listing the requirements for Anthro that I just found linked to by the general grad admissions page: http://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/anthropology-0 Interestingly, this other page lists different requirements than the anthropology department page: Additional Requirements The items and clarifications below are additional requirements set by this department: GRE results TOEFL – for non-anglophone and non-francophone applicants Written Work – can be in the form of a graded paper or a chapter from a thesis and must be in English or French Statement of Purpose Curriculum Vitae Miscellaneous Information Sheet (available at www.mcgill.ca/anthropology/graduate/admissions)

P.S. - this may sound odd, but if you've had great conversations with your POIs there, don't be afraid to send them a quick note asking if they know what that's about. I've had many POIs close emails with "don't hesitate to ask if there's anything I can help with" - and they mean it!

I feel you. These schools with deadlines the day they re-open from winter breaks... what in the world is that about!? I've been seeing LOR writers complaining about it as well on twitter. Seems to annoy everyone. Can't imagine it's fun for the department to return from a break to a pile of frantic student emails either. Also, feel you on the 'surprises' in online applications. Most of the schools I've applied to have a list on the department page, and then when you're in the online application suddenly they ask for a 300 word version of your statement, or a paragraph about X, Y, and Z. Incredibly annoying. So, on the McGill site, about admissions they say: "PhD applicants should have a fairly well-delineated research problem. To judge this factor, we give serious attention to the Statement of Purpose, considering its degree of focus, intellectual sophistication, and creativity." It seems that this means they would be quite happy with a research proposal style SOP that ties your research into a good fit with the department. Which it sounds like you've done. The anthropology site does not list an additional document in their list on the web page. Is there a chance that the online form is providing that space for programs that want two separate documents? Does it seem to be optional, is it anthro specific or is it a generic part of the online app? Based on the instructions on their departmental web site, I would feel comfortable submitting your SOP, skipping the research proposal. And then sending them an email asking about it. Obviously if you've submitted all the documents on the list, your application is on time. And if they say "you can give us a longer research proposal if you want" - then you can send them one after the deadline.

Thank you! This is helpful - it confused me, and still seems very odd. It's the only school I've found that doesn't just use the admissions app to consider students for TA positions. The application also directly asks for a resume with teaching experience. I assume they mean a CV with Teaching Emphasis. And not an actual resume - unless they actually want unrelated employment on it? Which again is so strange, b/c who would have any real teaching experience prior to applying to a PhD program?

Anyone know why UBC has a TA application that they list as optional for submission along with the PhD program application? I'm wondering if this means they don't consider students for TA positions unless they apply using this form, and if so that means funding doesn't normally include TAships?

I think there's some confusion about what a theoretical framework is. I'll give you my thoughts and hopefully others will add their voices as well. Everything you write, say, do, or perceive has a theoretical framework. So, you already have a theoretical framework for your paper - but you might not know what it is, or you might not see it because you assume that it's not there. The key is to start to think about what theory, what ideas, are influencing how you think about your topic. Those are your theoretical framework. Perhaps you want to add more ideas to that framework, to change the ones you are using, or to explain why you are using the ideas you have chosen. That's one way to make your theoretical framework more visible in your paper. Or you could take some ideas that you have read about and apply them to your paper, and see what happens. What does it look like when you look at your paper topic through the ideas (the theoretical framework) of Marx, of Foucault, Bourdieu, Latour, Geertz, Boas, etc? That's another way to 'have' a theoretical framework in your paper. Also, What program are you studying in? Do you have advisors you can talk to about this? Are you usually writing your papers in English or only this one time? Are you studying anthropology?