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.....

Do you know much about McMaster? I applied there, but I've never even been to Canada.

I was invited to visit Boulder a couple years ago. I enjoyed most everything about it, but I didn't end up going there.

There are a couple R1 schools in Florida with funded MA's-- UCF and USF come to mind. UCF is rather quant, and USF is rather qual, but they're both pretty large departments.

Hi Soc-brioche, Thanks for your response! I've been doing a good bit of online searching through departments in both the US and the UK, and I think you're right about geography being a vibrant field in the UK, so I will most likely focus applying to programs there. Besides, spending a few years there would be an awesome adventure I think. It's relatively unusual to me how UK programs have professors with titles such as "Professor of Social Geography", yet this field of inquiry is completely absent in US programs. I have looked at some environmental soc concentrations, but I haven't had much luck so far. I suppose everything will fall into place this winter when applications are due, and I will be contacting prospective advisors in the coming months. Thanks again!

I was wondering if there are any of you who could shed some light on applying/attending phd programs in the UK. I know the application process is different (no GRE usually, different application season, need a research proposal with the application, and profs often list possible dissertation topics they'd be interested in supervising on their websites), but I'm wondering if I'm missing anything that might be useful. Also, I'm curious to learn more about funding opportunities for American students in UK programs. I'd be applying with a masters degree and two years experience as a TA including presentations (with a publication in the pipeline) on pedagogy at instructional design/educational technology conferences (teaching methods are a side research project of mine). Would that help me land a TA position? Finally, I'm curious about The day to day differences of UK programs versus American programs. It seems my research interests fit more in line with profs in the UK than the US, so I'm exploring the possibility of applying. Thanks in advance!

I was wondering if there are any of you who could shed some light on applying/attending phd programs in the UK. I know the application process is different (no GRE usually, different application season, need a research proposal with the application, and profs often list possible dissertation topics they'd be interested in supervising on their websites), but I'm wondering if I'm missing anything that might be useful. Also, I'm curious to learn more about funding opportunities for American students in UK programs. I'd be applying with a masters degree and two years experience as a TA including presentations (with a publication in the pipeline) on pedagogy at instructional design/educational technology conferences (teaching methods are a side research project of mine). Would that help me land a TA position? Finally, I'm curious about The day to day differences of UK programs versus American programs. It seems my research interests fit more in line with profs in the UK than the US, so I'm exploring the possibility of applying. Thanks in advance!

I'm a second year MA student in sociology wondering if anyone knows of any PhD programs where I might study topics in social geography. I'm interested in qualitative methods to study things like space and identity and fitness geographies. Specific topcs I'm exploring are home remodeling as it relates to identity or the fitness experiences of people who've undergone weight loss surgery (including emotions about going to gyms and fitness spaces). Any ideas for programs or faculty I might look into? I'm contemplating programs in sociology and geography mostly. Thanks!

I'm a second year MA student in sociology wondering if anyone knows of any PhD programs where I might study topics in social geography. I'm interested in qualitative methods to study things like space and identity and fitness geographies. Specific topcs I'm exploring are home remodeling as it relates to identity or the fitness experiences of people who've undergone weight loss surgery (including emotions about going to gyms and fitness spaces). Any ideas for programs or faculty I might look into? I'm contemplating programs in sociology and geography mostly. Thanks!

I know what you mean. The timing is the absolute worst. It's maybe too expensive as well, but it would be a nice experience I think.

I don't think a visit is absolutely necessary in your case. If you have had decent contact with potential advisors and have contact with someone who lives in the area. Personally, I did not visit the school I chose to attend (although I visited others) until I moved here in July. Actually, I had never been to my new city until I came to find a place to live! It ended up great. I love it here!