ninarose125

Hey guys, How difficult is it to get involved in some academic research outside of your degree program? this is curiosity speaking mostly- but say I wanted to dip into the social sciences (qualitative/quantitative research and the like) whilst doing a BA or MA in the humanities? Is it ever the case that a researcher may allow you to "tag along" or sort of be apprenticed just to see what it is like? I know funding is a huge deal and researchers with grants can't just take on casual students who just "want to see", and that most assistant work goes to PhDs, though I did have a friend who helped her professor with some banal data collection during undergrad and got her name in the subsequent book, which is cool. Sometimes I just feel a little restless within the confines of my degree and like the idea of having another research tool at my disposal, but do not have the finances or the time to pick up another degree in another discipline. Any experience with this sort of thing? thanks!

Hello, my question is two-fold: first, I am US citizen currently pursuing my MA in London. I am planning to go back to the states for a PhD but I am definitely not able to do so right away...if I do take a year (or 2, or 3) out before going back to school, and am not employed in my field (I study english literature so there isn't really "work" specifically tailored to this outside of academia), is this going to hurt my chances incredibly? I started my MA right after undergrad because of this fear, and am starting to feel the burnout. I would certainly be doing more than shift work, but probably not undertaking any significant research. as a note- I am interested in UPenn, Columbia, NYU and so on though I haven't done extensive research yet. and secondly, one of my good friends in the UK expressed interest in doing a US PhD at a private university; I figured since I am here already I would just ask-- does anyone know how much more stringent the requirements may or may not be for internationals applying to fully funded US programs? He is expecting a good mark, a 2:1 or a first, with a degree in a relevant, though not identical subject, from a highly ranked UoL uni. I know that my international fee-status probably helped with my acceptance into UCL but given that the PhD programs he is looking at are funded, how much or little he will pay has no bearing on his acceptance.