museum_geek

@EvelynD I can take a look if you want. Regarding U of Texas, I applied last year and remember the application process being weird and confusing. I basically had to submit two applications: the first went through the entire U of Texas system, and when that finally got approved after a day or two I was directed to another site where I had to do a more specific application for UT-Austin. It's a great department but they make you jump through so many hoops just to send in an application!

You might also check out the University of Southern California. They have a reputation for being strong in visual anthropology.

NYU is supremely difficult to get into so you might as well apply to both programs.

It's going well so far! The first couple weeks were overwhelming at times, but now that we're 6 weeks into the semester I have a better handle on things. I'm really fortunate to be in a close-knit, supportive department - everyone has really gone out of their way to make our first year cohort feel at home. The workload has been heavy and teaching 60 students in addition to classes gets stressful, but that's just part of the bargain!

Only half of the professors I emailed last cycle responded. Of those who did respond, only about half had meaningful responses beyond "just apply and we'll see what happens." I didn't have any prior contact with the professors at the school I ended up choosing, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I did a standalone MA (in interdisciplinary social sciences, not specifically Anthropology) before starting my PhD and I think it has been useful so far. Doing the MA first helped me to formulate more concrete research interests which was nice for PhD applications. It was also helpful in that I had the opportunity to write a thesis and do a few conference presentations, which provided me with better writing samples than anything I would have had applying straight out of undergrad. Spending an additional two years in grad school before starting a doctoral program was certainly a pain in the ass, but on the whole I think it was a valuable experience and I certainly got offers from schools that wouldn't have given me serious consideration were I applying with only a BA.

@GreenEyedTrombonist Sounds like you're kicking ass with your SoP. I didn't finish my first draft until the first week of October! Also, I wouldn't stress too much about cross-disciplinary letter writers. My letter writers last cycle were a museum professional with an MA in Art History, an anthropologist, and two historians (one of whom has PhD in American Studies).

@Bschaefer I have no doubt you'll get in this cycle, especially after how close you came last year with only a couple apps sent out!

Super late response but yes, feel free to send me your SoPs! I remember how stressed I got about writing a SoP when I applied last year - I ended up going through 4 or 5 drafts before I felt comfortable submitting applications and even then I wasn't totally confident in what I had written. I'm happy to pay it forward after all the great advice and edits I got last year, so feel free to get in touch!

Hi all, I applied last cycle and I'm now in the first year of a PhD program. I'd love to stay active on this forum, so please feel free to use me as a resource during the upcoming application cycle. I'm happy to offer advice, edit SoPs, share my own application experiences, etc. Best of luck to everyone this application season - feel free to reach out for any help you may need as the (incredibly long) application cycle keeps moving.

I have to agree with @hats on this point. I'm starting a PhD in sociocultural anthropology this Fall and I applied with an interdisciplinary master's degree and an undergraduate transcript filled mostly with archaeology courses and field schools. I think continuing to develop your research ideas will help your applications quite a bit!

Yup! I start in mid-August so I'm trying to get as much relaxation time as possible before then! Any idea where you might apply this coming cycle?

I'm not applying this year but I'd be happy to look over SoPs, discuss my experiences applying last year, etc. Best of luck to everyone!

I think sending out an introductory email with some basic information about yourself is a good start. Briefly explain your project and your interest in the site, and let them know who the other committee members are. If they're interested they will probably want you to send along a CV and a copy of your proposal, but I wouldn't include those in your first email. It might also be worth asking your committee members and/or anyone else in your department if they know this archaeologist - they might be able to introduce you via email which would be better than contacting them out of the blue. Best of luck!

If you're applying with a BA you don't need to have written a thesis to apply. Just make sure you have a solid piece of writing from one of your anthro courses in the 10-20 page range to use as a writing sample. When I applied this past fall my thesis was still in its infancy so I used a conference paper as a writing sample instead and still got several funded PhD offers, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Yeah, I waited until after Labor Day to send out my first emails. Also, don't get discouraged if you don't hear back from people at first. Out of the ~25 professors I emailed, only about 1/3 ever got back to me. And while I had some meaningful and insightful correspondence with those who wrote back, emailing POIs is not a make or break aspect of the application. In fact, at the PhD program I ended up committing to, I didn't have any contact with any of the professors I mentioned in my application until I was invited to campus for an interview.

One thing to note: regardless of whether or not a department is four field or focuses solely on sociocultural, it's likely that you will be required to do 2-3 years of coursework. Even if you enter with a Master's, departments want to train students in their particular methodological and theoretical grounding. What I'm saying is, if you're looking at sociocultural focused departments in order to cut down on time to degree, you might be out of luck. All the aforementioned programs are certainly strong and worth an application, but I don't know if I would recommend limiting yourself so early in the application process.

Princeton is known for being a sociocultural department. I believe Duke and UC Davis (S-Wing) also have standalone sociocultural PhD programs.

I would wait a little bit - it's the end of the semester right now and most grad students (myself included) are absolutely swamped.

@Mugi Mila Congrats! I'm so happy everything worked out for you!

That's great! Focus on this - everything is else is just noise. Use all the resources at your disposal during your time at MAPSS and I'm sure you'll get some great PhD offers next cycle. Also, for what it's worth, there's definitely some positive posts about MAPSS floating around the anthro forum that you might want to check out.

@Comparativist makes a great point re: finding programs. I'm finishing up my MA at a no-name, interdisciplinary program at a big state school and I managed to get several funded PhD offers. When you're applying with an MA I think the quality of your work (mostly the thesis/writing sample/SoP) outweighs the name on the diploma.

I'll be graduating from my MA institution in a couple weeks and starting my PhD in the Fall, and I agree about how stressful and demoralizing the PhD application process can be. At several points throughout the process I found myself wondering if I was making the right choice, but in a way I think that's natural - I'd be more worried about someone who had zero doubts about pursuing a PhD. Regarding the collective enmity for MAPSS: I think they get more heat for a couple reasons. First, because both MAPSS and MAPH are funneling applicants from multiple departments into the same program, it becomes an easily identifiable target that is universally recognized as a cash cow across disciplines. Deserved or not, it's kind of become the go-to example of a "cash cow" MA because it applies to folks from anthropology, economics, poli-sci, psych, sociology, etc. I think another reason that it really gets demonized is the name of the program - MA in Program in the Social Sciences is so broad and ill-defined that at first glance the degree's applicability only appears to be training for getting into a PhD program. While Columbia and NYU certainly have terminal MA degrees which operate similarly to MAPSS, calling the degree an MA in Anthropology serves to legitimize the program. It sucks, but them's the breaks. As for paying for a MA, that's really going to depend on your personal circumstances. When I applied to MA programs two years ago I was willing to go into a little bit of debt, as I had finished my BA with zero student loans and had some money saved from working a full time job for two years after graduating. I ended up getting a fully funded spot in an interdisciplinary MA, which was fortunate, but my other offers were similar to yours: half tuition without a stipend. Even if you don't get offered funding right out of the gate, it doesn't preclude you from finding some down the line. I know people in my program who weren't initially offered funding, but were able to find some through the Graduate Life Center or one of our area studies programs, and others who ended up getting funded for the second year as TA spots opened up. What it boils down to is this: ignore the noise, and do what's best for you. If you can realistically take on some loan debt to gamble on yourself, then go for it, but keep digging around for funding opportunities everywhere you can.

I got in to UVA! Looks like I'm bound for Charlottesville!

That's awesome, UF has a really great program! I didn't end up applying there but as a Brazilianist in training I'm a big fan of Mike Heckenberger's work. Best of luck!