Celukwazi

@hpa87: Hey there! The visitor's day is on Friday, April 4. But because I sort of have an inside scoop, I know that this year Yale cut down the number of people sociology could accept from 15 students to 9. The DGS/Chair tried to send out emails early (around Feb. 11) of those who were short-listed (they had a list of 12 students) to get a sense of who might already be taking offers elsewhere. 3 out of the 12 said they weren't going to accept Yale's offer, so they sent out letters to the 9 students that made their short list. To my knowledge, Yale doesn't normally do a wait list. I remember asking about this for sociology--but I could always check again for y'all. (Not having a wait list is a silly policy, in my opinion!!) I would imagine that not all 9 students offered admission will necessarily accept. So, I wouldn't be discouraged! Like I said, I can always confirm with the DGS himself about whether there is a wait list.

Just curious, but for those who heard back--did you apply for English or Comp Lit?

I also didn't get into Columbia, but for those who do get in--first, congratulations! And also, I've talked to a few of the graduate students in the program and they're all such lovely people. Really. What a supportive environment!! I only live 2 hours away from NYC, so I went to campus to talk to a few of the students that had similar research interests as me. Unlike English departments in other Ivies, I think Columbia has a really dynamic program that very much engages with literatures from other parts of the world. I think this is a function of being combined with Comparative Literature. If you're looking to study literature outside the British and American canons--Columbia is a great place for it! Best of luck to the rest of you!

Sorry to chime in so late, but I got into Yale's sociology Ph.D program!!! The chair and DGS, Ron Eyerman, emailed me on Feb. 11 to tell me I was on the short list and wanted to know if I had accepted offers elsewhere. The department then sent out a more official notice on Feb. 26 inviting us all for a prospective student visitor's weekend in April. Yale's GSAS sent out the official acceptance letter on Feb. 28. I haven't yet gotten my funding package offer, but it should be coming in the mail in a few weeks. Just to give a little background--I was a double major in English and Sociology with a minor in Africana Studies and came to Yale in 2012 as an M.A. student in African Studies. Because the program is interdisciplinary, I continued to combine my interests in cultural sociology and African literature. I applied for a mix of programs this year--one in English (Columbia), one in Comparative Literature (UPenn), and one in African and African American Studies (Harvard). I didn't get into either Columbia or Harvard, and am still waiting to hear from UPenn. Yale was actually the only school I applied to for sociology because I really like their cultural sociology program. I've got sort of an unusual background/path toward the sociology Ph.D, but I think for me the problem is figuring out my academic identity. Because I had undergrad and grad training in both sociology and literature, I really struggled to choose one discipline to pursue. My sense is that Yale's sociology program, unlike perhaps others that might be a little more positivist/quantitative-oriented, is very open to interdisciplinary engagement and collaboration with the humanities. I'm leaning toward staying here, but wondered if anyone else had thoughts on this? I know Yale ranks high in cultural sociology, but their overall rating has been around 17 and 20 over the last few years. Would love to hear everyone else's opinions of Yale's program!