sociolog86

Anyone know anything about the PhD program at Mizzou?

@ epicure If you're looking for absolute academic freedom, you certainly won't find it at "top tier" graduate school where you're often RA on someone else's project you could potentially care less about. I do, however, have friends who were perfectly pleased with their RA assignments during grad school and felt they opened doors. You definitely won't find absolute academic freedom on the tenure track. Collaboration and interdisciplinary work, to provide immediate examples, are rarely given due credit in tenure decisions. I never mentioned doing unfunded graduate degrees. I agree that's probably ludicrous (although I can think of a few isolated situations where it might be appealing). I have a conference buddy who received over $55,000 in funding for her MA program. That level of funding, although I admit must be rare, isn't outside the range of possibilities, but you "top tier" students probably wouldn't know about that. Elitism can breed ignorance I think, although I certainly applaud your admission into the program you wanted to attend. I don't mean to say that "top programs" are in and of themselves bad. I mean to say that academic elitism reinforces a system of oppression that should have no place in a discipline so often leading the way on social justice. My critique of academic elitism still stands. Thank you for providing further evidence to support it. PS- Do you think the author's discussion of an "academic caste system" is a positive thing?

I reject the notion that some silly organization's ranking of programs is what determines anyone's success in a career academia. Maybe some search committees are initially enamored by a fancy sounding institution as an applicant's grad school, but I see jobs as much more about sociality, the kind of work you're doing, who you've worked with (SPOILER ALERT: there are some high esteemed scholars at "unranked" programs just as there are some 'no-name' scholars at "highly ranked" programs), and research productivity. In short, the job market is nuanced. Some of the comments I have seen on this site over the years do seem to point, however, that professional socialization at "top" programs might include stressing an idea that their students are categorically better than others. This kind of hierarchy in unnerving to me--it led to slavery, fascism, and genocide in several nation states throughout history. Elitism in education is exactly the kind of social phenomenon sociologists should be working to end. Or, at the very least, well informed of its inaccuracies.

You can check your status here: http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/statusnotes.shtml Mine still says "No decision"

Being nosy, I'm also accepted to a Phd program in Florida. Which school were you accepted to?

I was rejected today, my roommate wasn't. Who the heck knows what's going on. At least I did also get my first funded acceptance today also! CUNY wasn't my first choice either....

She mentioned today while we were talking about offers that she was waiting to hear back. Good luck!

I do lots of mixed methods. Some I've used for my thesis/publications/empirical class papers/or taken courses on include: GIS, quantitative survey data, qualitative questionnaire data, narrative analysis, and autoethnography. I see methods as a tool kit--I can pull any trick from my bag to examine any particular social phenomenon/a--however some approaches might be easier/better than others depending on any number of variables. I do find quantitative work unsettling at times as a pretty strict social constructionist. The idea that "truth" can be muddled down into a finite set of variables and regression analysis seems a bit off to me. Then again, the quant/qual divide (if such a thing really exists) gives us all something to debate while we're patiently waiting to hear about our offers!

I think one of my friends did.

@giacomo: I believe her advice was "one in the hand is worth more than two in the bush". . . .so yes "take the dough" basically. My case was special in some ways because the best offer I received--relatively unheard of because it was better than the PhD programs I applied to--was some serious funding for an MA program at an R1 university (tuition+insurance+TAship+a super duper sweet fellowship). However, the fellowship had a March 15 acceptance deadline which was just a week after the Boulder visit day, so I had to rush to make my decision. @supernovasky It really was weird they only took 4-5...if you look on the website, they usually end up with cohorts of around 10. Good luck!

I did not attend there. The year I visited there were about 23 or so invitees, but the week after we all went home the department got word of some budget cuts from the state legislature. They only ended up with a cohort of 4-5 that year. Rather than wait to hear if I'd be selected as one of the 4-5, I took another offer (more $$) at the advice of a POI there. The day was relatively comparable to other programs I visited. Here's the itinerary as best I recall it: 1- breakfast on campus with all the other invitees and a couple faculty dropping in to briefly introduce themselves 2- In the same room as breakfast, presentations from people about the university and other things. The only thing I remember is that there were people who talked about apartments. I think we all got a packet of stuff. 2- brief campus tour 4- I don't remember it, but I'm sure there was a lunch in there somewhere 5- a series of 30 minute meetings with faculty (some I listed on my SOP, others who were interested in meeting me, and another couple who they put me meeting for no apparent reason) 5- dinner with faculty and some grad students at a restaurant nearby (somewhere at the Pearl Street Mall) 6- going to a bar for drinks with grad students They put all the prospective students up together at a hotel near campus (maybe a Days Inn or something). Roommates were randomly assigned based on which concentration you listed in your application. As far as what to wear, I wore khakis, a plain button down shirt tucked in, and a north face jacket with some kinda casual brown dress shoes and fit right in. Hope this helps! @slum: I met Isaac Reed when I visited. He was super cool to talk to. We didn't really fit well as far as interests go, but he was super supportive, outgoing, and friendly. Good luck to you all!

I would go since you already accepted. They'll understand if you choose another program, but you should still learn as much about their faculty and department as possible. Someone might be chairing a paper session at a conference you want to submit to in the future, or--even more hypothetically--one of these faculty members might be the future chair of a department where you apply for a job in a few years. Whether you choose their program or not, it doesn't seem good to leave a bad taste in their mouth. I wouldn't want that following me around.

When I visited two years ago they did pay for all my travel expenses directly. I had to contact some travel agency there in town with an authorization code and they booked my flight. GOOD LUCK!

I think sociologists mostly just talk about beer, sports, and sex....or maybe that's just my cohort.

I think they're interviewing people they aren't sure about.....