Melian4

Letters arrived (unexpectedly!) in northern California today -- people in the US should hear tomorrow if they haven't already! (For those interested, it's my second time applying, and I got the fellowship with a score of 15.1 under committee 2).

If you look back through previous years' threads, you'll see that this happens every single year. And every year, it's the same conclusion: there is no correlation between seeing the Supplement on your portal and getting a SSHRC. There are two SSHRC portals: one general one and one for the doctoral fellowship. They don't show the same thing when you log in (go figure!) and only the doctoral portal displays the Michael Smith Foreign Supplement. It appears for everyone, even those who don't get the scholarship or who are not eligible for the supplement. I hope this will reassure some people! (Edited in case you want to check for yourself: link for the general portal -- https://webapps.nserc.ca/SSHRC/faces/logon.jsp and link for the doctoral portal -- https://webapps.nserc.ca/SSHRC/faces/logonFellowships.jsp?lang=en_CA )

I received mine last Thursday (in California). Best of luck to you!

Ha! I also did the German for classicists course at Oxford... It was fun, but pretty useless, as you said. You're massively more prepared than most applicants, even at the best programs, so try not to worry too much. Once you've met a department's basic criteria (which you already have), it's a question of research and personality fit more than anything else. You'll have plenty of time to worry about requirements and exams once you begin your PhD! Good luck on the dissertation and viva! Do you know who will be administering it this year? I remember it being terrifying but oddly fun at the same time...

First off, let me just say this: you will be fine. Language requirements are stressful, but you are much better prepared than most applicants. As it is, you have enough language training (both ancient and modern) to get into the best classical archaeology programs. Where are you planning to spend your year off? Could you find an ancient Greek reading group to improve your reading skills? Since you have already met the entrance requirements in terms of ancient languages, I would recommend just picking a text that will/might be relevant to your dissertation topic, and try reading it. Don't focus too much on what programs have on their reading lists; you don't know where you will end up going, and it's probably a better idea to focus on reading texts that will benefit you and your research rather than texts that you will maybe potentially have to read for an exam at any given school. As for the modern languages, look through various department handbooks to see how different universities handle the exams. My department asks each student to provide a list of 5 books or monograph that are relevant to their research. The examiners choose a passage from one of these books for the translation exam. This way, students are compelled to develop a solid vocabulary in their own area of research, and archaeologists don't end up having to translate some obscure philology article on their German exam. The best way to prepare fo this kind of exam is just to try reading articles relevant to your field in German. A good way to make sure you are on the right track would also be to begin with a famous book that has been translated into English (say, Paul Zanker's The Mask of Socrates), try reading it in German, and check that you've understood the arguments properly by referring to the translation. Another tip is to buy a good paper dictionary to look up vocabulary and to put a red dot next to every word that you look up, every time. If a word ends up having three red dots, you should make a flashcard! If you are reading material related to your research, this will allow you to learn the relevant vocabulary quickly in order to read more efficiently. You should also give yourself a break at some point during your year off. The MPhil is exhausting and you deserve to give your brain a holiday, at least for a couple of weeks!

You can also try http://www.typegreek.com-- it's really easy to use, has all the accents, and the font is elegant. The text you typed can be copied in a Word document without problem.

Really good point about Oxford and UK schools in general Ciistai! When I was doing my MSt at Ox in classical archaeology, I was shocked to learn that some grad students (albeit in Roman archaeology) could not even read the Greek alphabet, let alone translate a full sentence. I would add that although it is possible to get into a DPhil program in the UK without having studied much Greek or Latin, it is not a good idea to do so. Picking both languages up as you go will be difficult and extremely time consuming. It's always good to be as well-rounded as possible, as early as possible!

Dear Zeno, It really depends on the kind of classical archaeology program you will be applying for. The top programs generally have much more stringent modern and ancient language requirements. They generally expect you to be able to read two modern languages (i.e. they expect you to be able to plough through an article or monograph in German and French or Italian with reasonable speed). As for the ancient languages, some programs will only require you to pass a big Latin or Greek exam (or both), while others will require you to take a certain number of graduate-level classes with the philologists. The rule of thumb for archaeology is that you should be proficient in at least one modern language and have done at least three years in your strong ancient language and two in your weak one. If you don't meet these requirements, you would be better to invest in credit-based classes, as programs will not take into account self-study Rosetta stone practice. Could you take grad-level ancient language classes at your MA institution? It would be the best way to demonstrate your ability and motivation while bringing up your translation skills to speed.

I wholeheartedly support PetroniusArbiter's point -- you should apply to places that have more than one person you would like to work with. Harvard, for example, is pretty weak on the Roman art side, especially compared to some of the other programs mentioned above. It doesn't necessarily mean you should try to find programs with more than one Roman art historian; you should, however, consider places that have people who could support your particular approach (anthropological, visual cultural, philological etc), the medium you want to study (sculpture, vase painting, etc), the geographical region you are interested in (Britain, the Greek East, North Africa, etc), or the theme you want to explore (representations of power, funerary art, etc). Depending on your project, you may end up working with historians, philologists, and anthropologists, which is why it is more important to find well-rounded programs that can support various aspects of your research rather than programs with one star potential supervisor with whom you absolutely need to work. I hope this helps!

You should email her and ask her if she plans on taking new students in the coming years. It's the most straightforward way of getting the information you want! It's also always a good idea to look for places where you can work with multiple people in case anything happens (retirement, sickness, career move...). The Joukowsky Institute, for example, is a great place to do archaeology, but not really for Roman art. Have you considered Oxford? Peter Stewart, Bert Smith, Jas Elsner, and a bunch of other great scholars may fit your interests, plus you could get involved with the Ashmolean Museum either through a formal work placement/internship or volunteering. You may also want to look into more 'traditional' classics departments with archaeology streams. Yale has Diana Kleiner and Stanford has Jen Trimble, for example. The advantage of these departments is that they generally have a lot more money than the likes of AHMA or the Joukowsky.

The three programs have a very good reputation in the field. Have you also considered AHMA at Berkeley, ISAW at NYU, and the IFA? If you want to work in a museum, I would say that out of all of them, IPCAA is particularly strong. It all comes down to what period/area you would like to specialize in. What are your interests?

I am not sure I should even bother replying to this, but I feel like this kind of message can exacerbate future applicants' anxiety for no valid reason and should be addressed fo their sake. 1) When they look at GRE scores, admission committees take into account whether or not the applicant is international. They do not expect an international applicant to perform as well as an American applicant for two reasons: English may not be their native language and they may not be used to standardized testing. 2) All of the people I have talked to who are on admission committees have told me the same thing: a great GRE score will NOT get you in a program. As long as you are moderately above average in verbal and writing, they do not care how well you did on the test. The GRE is the least important criterion on their list. If, and only if, your score is abysmal (which is certainly not the case of the score your were commenting on), then it will raise a red flag, which may get you rejected. 3) Yes, a verbal score of 160 is perfectly reasonable to gain a place in a top Classics PhD program. Please, stop attacking people you do not know. Even if what you were trying to say was correct, your tone is entirely out of place for this forum.

I believe the Cotsen Institute made 6 offers this year! I know some of the people who got offers and who are still considering their options. Some programs are not done interviewing applicants, so things may take a while to move. Congrats on being wait-listed! I hope you'll get good news soon.

I believe this is true for most humanities programs, but some (like mine) do allow you to keep both the award and stipend in their entirety. It is far from being the norm however!

Hi Catherine! As a fellow Quebecer who has gone through this process last year (although in classics rather than in philosophy), I would suggest that you ask programs whether or not they will allow you to hold both SSHRC/FRQSC and university funding, even if they haven't accepted you yet. Some universities in the US will allow you to keep their funding+ SSHRC, some will consider that SSHRC replaces the stipend they would have given you, and some allow you to keep SSHRC and give you a partial stipend. Especially if you've been shortlisted for SSHRC, I don't think it is pushy to ask departments what their policy on external funding is. They'll be happy to see that you have applied for fellowships outside the university, as it demonstrates your drive and independence. Please feel free to PM me if you have any question about doing a humanities Ph.D. in the US (or at McGill for that matter), ça me ferait très plaisir d'essayer de t'aider!

No, both programs recruit students independently!

I PM'ed you!

Hi AH2015! If you don't mind me asking, who are you hoping to work with at ISAW?

From my understanding, people usually do either the MSt or the BPhil and then move on to a DPhil. The difference between the MSt and the BPhil is that the former is a one year specialized degree in ancient philosophy, the latter a two year philosophy program with a possible concentration in ancient philosophy. So no, you would not do an MSt followed by a BPhil. As for DPhil admissions, I think they hover around 16% these days, so while having a MSt from Oxford may help, it won't automatically guarantee you a spot in the doctoral program. I hope this helps! I should clarify that I am a classical archaeologist, not a philosopher, so my knowledge of the program is rudimentary at best.

Last year, I got three answers on Jan. 31st -- NYU (interview invitation), Brown (interview invitation) and Stanford. Good news tend to come early, since visiting week-ends or in-person interviews take time to organize. Waiting for news is horrible, but at least it will soon be over! (This is meant to be reassuring, not frightening!)

I applied to archaeology programs as an international student, and all three interview weekends I went to were fully-funded by the respective universities

Stanford couple housing is actually quite nice and generally much cheaper than regular apartments in Palo Alto. They *technically* don't allow pets but 1) many people have secret pets and 2) if you get a doctor's note saying you need your cats for your mental well-being, they'll let you keep them. I am on the archaeology side of things, but I'd be happy to answer any question you may have concerning the campus and housing!

From what I have heard from admission committees, your writing sample is one of the most important part of your application, if not the most important. You don't have to send a paper that is directly related to your proposed area of research. Whatever you send, make sure it showcases the quality of your writing and of your research skills! The fact that you've had bad results in French may be a cause for concern to some departments, as Petros pointed out. You may consider addressing this issue briefly in your PS, explaining why you've done badly and what you intend to do to remediate the situation. Hope this helps!

When I contacted POIs last year, I always began by sending them a short email with a few lines about myself and my research interests and asking them if they would be willing to answer a few questions about their program, either by email, phone, or Skype. To my surprise, most of them actually agreed to Skype straight away. It has led to natural and interesting conversations that were a lot more informative about the program and the admission process than polite emails. (For those who are wondering: all the profs turned their camera on.) As for campus visits, keep in mind that some universities don't like students asking to visit the department during the application season.

Great choices for archaeology! What is your geographical/temporal focus? The standard practice books are good to get ready for the GRE, especially if you're not used to American standardized testing (I wasn't). I found the prep books especially helpful to prepare for the writing section of the test. They expect you to follow a very clear argument pattern and to avoid simple "mistakes", such as using the passive tense. All in all, the GRE tests your ability to understand the GRE's expectations rather than your raw intelligence. Although the whole thing is a big money-making scam, the books/online prep sites will allow you to see what hoops they expect you to jump through in order to get a good score. From my experience, GRE scores matter very little to classics/classical archaeology admission committees, unless the grad school itself has a clear GRE cut-off. I had a dismal quantitative score and it didn't stop me from getting funded offers! Don't fret too much, it's the least important part of your application. I hope this helped!