erosanddust

Hey, all! I'm interested in hearing thoughts about creating professional online profiles on sites such as LinkedIn, Academia.edu, or even a personal website. How many of you use these platforms, and what for? Are they popular in the field? How valuable do you find them?

Bumping this because I am currently in the exact same situation (except for dates, and the fact that as an international student, I don't have access to internships.) Does anyone have any thoughts about these programs?

If you're interested in pursuing the MA route, you may want to take a look at Boston College. There's some very strong early modern faculty members working on the subjects you describe and they offer MA funding (some full-tuition, some half tuition + excellent assistantship/employment opportunities).

I recently had a seminar paper accepted to a conference based on a 250-word abstract. I'm now working on revising the full paper so that it's more suited to be delivered as a conference presentation. Additionally, I'm hoping to revise my undergraduate thesis over Christmas break so that I can submit it to a journal. As a first-year grad student, it's my first time attempting either of these things, so I wanted to ask if those with more experience have any advice. Beyond the list of specific requirements given on conference/journal submissions pages, what should I keep in mind as I revise seminar papers so that they better adhere to conference/journal conventions?

Thanks so much, proflorax! Some helpful advice as I begin to navigate the scary world of networking. It's funny you mention conference Q&As, as that's precisely the sort of forced communication that I have in mind to avoid ("Your paper sort of reminded me of my own recent work on *long winded explanation that is mostly unrelated.* Wait, this is supposed to be a question, isn't it? Uh, what're your thoughts on what I said?" Or worse, "This is more of a comment, but ...").

Bringing back this thread with a slightly different question -- any advice on contacting a POI outside of application season? I'm just starting my MA, so I won't be applying to PhD programs for over a year. This particular POI does EXACTLY the sort of work I want to do (and after a lot of research into different programs, their research is far and away the best fit with my own -- there are very few who I've found that work in my sub-field, let alone this closely). They're also a fairly big name, though, so I imagine lots of highly qualified people want to work with them. By no means do I want to pester this prof. My goal isn't even so much to contact them with an eye on PhD admissions. I'm just legitimately interested in building a correspondence with them about their research (even if I don't end up working with them, their work will continue to be formative for me and our research paths will almost certainly continue to cross). I've had a professor suggest that if I have a conference paper or publication that cites the POI, to try sending it to them/asking for their thoughts on what I've done with it, or that I try contacting them with an insightful/intelligent question about one of their publications. I know that as a grad student, you're theoretically a young, professional academic, and professional correspondence like this probably happens all the time. That being said, I also know that I don't want to overstep and come across as irritating/arrogant. Would appreciate any thoughts you have.

Thanks so much for your helpful responses, everyone! I'm the type to pick a direction, make a plan, and pursue it intently, so it's good for me to hear that sometimes it's best to wait and feel things out. And I suppose that even if my specific interests do persist through to my PhD, taking a wider variety of courses that interest me may allow me to discover new intersections that I wouldn't have otherwise considered (or even a gap in existing studies that I'm eager to fill).

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for clarifying an area of specialization. Because it looks like I'll be doing an MA before my PhD, and I want to make sure that I'm wise in selecting courses/an adviser. Currently, my specific research interests are intersections between lit & spirituality in 20th/21st century American literature. The way I see it, I could strengthen my foundations in 3 ways: regionally (ie. focus as an Americanist), temporally (ie. focus on Modern & contemporary lit), or thematically (eg. focus on religion and lit in various settings). Of course, I could also sample each of these areas -- but I do want to be somewhat intentional in shaping my course of study. My current inclination is to choose a primary field of focus (eg. Modern American) and also a secondary (eg. Transatlantic Romanticism). I guess I would then look for a common thread (eg. as related to lit & spirituality) within my actual coursework. For those of you who have done an MA before PhD, what has been useful for you? Are there particular "angles" on specialization that PhD adcomms or (even further down the line) hiring committees find particularly attractive? Thanks!

I'm currently deciding between Boston College and one other program, so there's a strong chance I'll be there too!

I'm in the same boat -- currently deciding between the Boston College MA and a strong Canadian MA program. I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on this subject as well. I'm particularly interested to hear more information about the BC MA program, if anyone has experience with it (it was one of my very top choices for the PhD, but I don't know as much about the MA.)

Is it possible to negotiate at all for MA programs? I suspect that if any there's any sway in funding, PhD candidates will be given preference.

Since the main Decisions thread is primarily geared towards PhD decisions, I thought I'd start one for MA decisions (since it seems to me that the factors under consideration are somewhat different). I've been accepted to 4 MA programs so far (I initially applied to PhD programs at 3 of these schools). 3 of these MA programs are funded, so I've got a difficult decision ahead of me! My eventual goal is, of course, to get into a strong PhD program, so I'm looking for advice from those of you who have been here before or who are in the same boat! Factors I will consider are: Funding vs. cost of living Faculty specializations & fit Available resources (eg. libraries, conference funding) Department feel Language requirement? Thesis/no thesis? Professional development opportunities/training Location (which city, but also which country -- one of my programs is Canadian) School ranking Any other factors I should really keep in mind? I'd also be grateful for advice about the relative importance of the things listed, or any other tips to keep in mind when evaluating programs. Thanks!

Congrats on all the new acceptances! Always so many exciting and impressive things going on around here. In the past couple days I've gotten accepted to MA programs at BU (unfunded) and NYU (50% funding). I applied to the PhD program at each of these schools, but the MA admits were an exciting surprise considering that I was beginning to count those implied rejections. Actually, after thinking things over post app-submission, I've pretty well resolved to do an MA next year (I'm only 20, so I'm in no hurry -- in fact, I would appreciate the time to mentally "chew" on my interests and develop my skills as much as possible before delving into PhD). BU doesn't really look like an option with no funding available, but I'm eying the NYU option a little bit. Does anyone have any info about this program?

Thank you so much for these suggestions! They're exactly the sort of thing I was looking for, and there's a very good chance I'll apply to at least one of 'em. Thanks to everyone else who has shared their experiences and advice here, as well. Many helpful things to consider.

If PhD programs don't work out for next year, I'm definitely going to get my MA and then apply to PhD programs again when I'm finished. Now that I've taken some time to adjust to the idea, I'm mentally alright with taking this route (emotionally, I'm still working on adjusting to the disappointment of changed plans). My PhD application would become more competitive, but having developed my interests, overall knowledge, and academic skills, I'd also theoretically be able to make even more of my time in a PhD program. (While I feel like I already have a very clear sense of academic direction, with the way that research works, further study would inevitably clarify/complicate/expand my central research questions). [One semi-related question I do have -- does anyone have advice for something I could do in the summer? What have you found to be helpful/rewarding/relevant types of work? I'm doing an intensive language program until mid-June, but I would love to do something related to academia/my field in June/July. Ideally looking for something vaguely intellectually engaging where I could use/develop my skills and build my CV.]

Anyone have any thoughts/info about Notre Dame? If I recall correctly, they interview all finalists, and about 3 interviews have appeared in Results Search. I wonder if they're still contacting interviewees or if they're done with that.

I've been spending a lot of time with good ol' William Blake lately. Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion and Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in particular. ...Although on days when admissions stresses are particularly high, I'll often disappear into A Song of Ice and Fire for several hours. I'm currently halfway through A Feast for Crows.

Thank you for your welcomes! (And hey, so cool to run into someone from home!) I did get an acceptance into the UBC MA program! I've applied to 8 American PhD programs and 2 Canadian MA programs. Kinda hoping to go the Ph.D route, but we'll see where the chips fall. (Actually, I used different SOP formats for my MA / PhD apps and over the past few days, I've been kind of horrified to realize that my MA format was much stronger. Not too optimistic about my PhD apps at this point, but trying to remember that it's way too early to give up hope!)

Hey, all! I've been a hardcore lurker of these forums since summer, but I've decied that given the stress of the waiting game, it's high time that I found friends to huddle together with for warmth. Or something. Erm, anyhow... It's lovely to meet you! (P.S. For those of you who are 'regulars' around here, it's been a real help to read your advice and encouragement to one another throughout the app season. As I've seen others observe, I'm delighted to think that I may be lucky enough to have you as colleages someday!)