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whitmanifesto

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  1. Upvote
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from Monamolida in Communications: Job Market and Professional Life   
    Most programs you would teach 3-4 courses a semester, including public speaking since its the backbone of most Communications departments (funding is funneled into program through course enrollment and that's a major undergrad requirement). Then rotate between 200-400 level courses, probably shifting between quantitative or qualitative research methods with another few professors and the 300 and 400 level courses that are your research area. Some fields do a lot of consulting type research, my area is more media representations and community focused research. There's also a lot of investigation type research in the media industry (this is what my current adviser does) such as who owns what and how does that effect democratic participation?
    I know more about Media Studies. The large conferences include ICA, NCA (holds the PhD guides) and local regional Communications Associations (Midwest is CSCA). Internet Researchers Association is big with media people as well, I'm in the steering committee for Union for Democratic Communications conference which is a critical theory focused conference, and then many also attend sociology, anthropology and literature (rhetoric) conference (interdisciplinary is almost standard in our field). I am in a department that is split between PR, Media Studies and Performance theory so some of the graduate students also attend Popular Culture. I do cross-disciplinary work with History and Anthropology (my first field) so I will and have applied to their conferences as well. I do work on environmental justice and media representations, so I attended ASLE.
    Some big journals are house in the conferences above but also New Media and Society  (housed at UIC) is important to the field. H-Net Commons is a very good resource for looking for conferences by subject and location (subject is good for communications since it's such a large field) as is EasyChair. You will mostly likely join conferences to be on the steering and planning committees, edit or review for conferences and journals, and spend a LOT of time in meetings. Plus the service that is required at the university level (teach, research, service mantra).
    Each department will have a set of conferences their members regularly attend and encourage their students to apply (mine applies to UDC, NCA, CSCA, PC/AC, primarily). You will submit work to conferences in hopes to build onto it and edit it that will lead to a publication, but also to network. Based on your research, you will develop your own list of conference, journals and associations that are best to your specific interests and peer group. Thats one of the most important part of your graduate school experience if you decide to stay in academia. Because there is such variety, it's hard to create a guide for the entire field ( I didn't include any of the major ones for Health or Organizational Communications, and I know nothing about PR and Marketing associations.) Communications is a spin-off social science and humanities field, so the professional life greatly reflects that.
  2. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    @whitmanifesto I just sent you a Facebook request!
  3. Upvote
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    @surprise_quiche I'm always in Chicagoland!
    Is anyone else feeling the "senioritis" blues? I've been so depressed lately, and so busy. I'm hoping it'll dampen when I move into our new apartment.
    Anyone can add me on Facebook or Instagram (same username) my full name is on my academia.edu link so I'm easily searchable. It'll be much easier to meet up with people on there. 
    Also, Comm forum should be more focused on coordinating our research and conferences! Anyone interested in critical media theory, especially about political economy of media focus, let me know. I'm going to try to restart a graduate student group within the conference in which I'm on the steering committee. 
  4. Upvote
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from rising_star in U of Pitt - Wasn't invited to the welcome weekend before being admitted?   
    Really try not to be disheartened about being a waitlist, it's a stigma that shouldn't exist and once you're in the program, honestly no one cares who was first pick or not. You will not be judged differently. There's also no way for anyone to know you were waitlisted. Just look at the program for the aspects that drew you to apply to it, and see if you'll be comfortable there for quite a few years. Also, request for skype interviews, just remind them that you were not at the Welcome Week and would like to meet some people to have a more informed decision. Immediately reach out to the professor that showed interests, they probably were a strong ally to you on the admissions committee.
  5. Like
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    When you're in the area, let me know! My partner and I just got an apartment, I'll be moving to Hammond/Whiting in May, so we'll both be commuting a lot into Chicago.
  6. Upvote
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from E-P in U of Pitt - Wasn't invited to the welcome weekend before being admitted?   
    Really try not to be disheartened about being a waitlist, it's a stigma that shouldn't exist and once you're in the program, honestly no one cares who was first pick or not. You will not be judged differently. There's also no way for anyone to know you were waitlisted. Just look at the program for the aspects that drew you to apply to it, and see if you'll be comfortable there for quite a few years. Also, request for skype interviews, just remind them that you were not at the Welcome Week and would like to meet some people to have a more informed decision. Immediately reach out to the professor that showed interests, they probably were a strong ally to you on the admissions committee.
  7. Like
    whitmanifesto reacted to deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    I officially accepted the offer to attend Northwestern! We should have a Chicagoland meetup
  8. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to surprise_quiche in 2018 Applications Thread   
    @deshypothequiez
  9. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    @whitmanifesto @surprise_quiche @sriracha18 which one of you wrote this though? lol
    Northwestern University Communication Sciences, PhD (F18) Rejected via E-mail on 21 Mar 2018 A 21 Mar 2018 "We regret to inform you..." Looks into the camera like in the office. Music from the curb your enthusiasm meme plays.
  10. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to sriracha18 in 2018 Applications Thread   
    Happy news, though! I got into the rhetoric and political culture PhD at the University of Maryland last week! Fully funded for 5 years. I'm pretty sure that's where I'm going ❤️ 
     
    The only place I haven't heard back from is the MA program at UGA.
  11. Upvote
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from surprise_quiche in 2018 Applications Thread   
    NU sent out they're rejections today! I was one of them lol. I'm not surprised. UIC was my top pick!
  12. Like
    whitmanifesto reacted to E-P in Humor: The Reveal Cake   
    @GreenEyedTrombonist Badger badger badger badger badget badger badger
     

    MUSHROOM MUSHROOM
     
    (Hopefully I'm not reaching too far back into the history of the Internet on that one!)
  13. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to E-P in Humor: The Reveal Cake   
    A couple of weeks ago, I alluded to making a "University reveal cake" to tell my friends and family which school I had chosen.  Although I meant it as a joke, I decided to embrace my inner snark.  If you also have an inner snark, I highly recommend... THE CAKE
     
    For decorations, I used a Lego Spartan (with a pile of people at the bottom of the "cliff") for MSU, and a Plastic Mold Steam Train for Purdue:

     
    And, as my signature shows, the winner was Purdue:
     

  14. Like
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from poliscibi in 2018 Applications Thread   
    When I got my funding email I was getting off the elevator to the Chancellor's and Provosts area, and was so excited I couldn't speak, just skipped through the lobby and offices. I am so glad there was not senior leadership meeting that day!
     
    @sriracha18 Is Bloomington (Indiana University I'm assuming) your only option? Because I will warn you, since they merged into the Media School it is NOT the same program most people remember. I was wait lists in the 2015 session when the re-figuring was happening and I really dodged a bullet. UIC profs were telling me some of the inside stuff, but almost all the big researchers have left (the two I was interested in have since left the state, ones in Oregon now I think). A lot of the Phd candidates jumped ship the last two years. Be very careful in making your decision. It may have gotten better since, but the re-figuring brought a lot of damage to their reputation, particular their telecommunications/media industry and cultural studies focuses.
    Also, I just got off the phone with the NU communications department, apparently they are waiting until Mid March to make their decisions, she was very snippy, so I'm assuming they aren't making their "decisions" until after the general visit and they already sent out their first picks for the RPC program.
  15. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    I'm officially in at NU! I have to talk with my SO before I can make the decision, however :\
  16. Like
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    @deshypothequiez I wish you luck! But I think you've got this! Hopefully we can plan some cross-university research projects for us Chicagoland researchers! I'm going to the Rawley conference this weekend as members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, but unfortunately UIC is no longer apart of that coalition
    Anyone applying to the AoIR conference in Montreal? I'm applying to the PhD colloquium because I didn't have an appropriate paper to submit in time.
  17. Like
    whitmanifesto reacted to surprise_quiche in 2018 Applications Thread   
    Well all the visit to Milwaukee on Friday was amazing. I felt so welcomed by their community, and I could see fitting in there perfectly (both interest wise and interpersonsonally). I got the feeling that I was really valued and wanted in the department.
    So I accepted this morning! Even though I still have an outstanding application decision, I feel 100% confident that this is where I should be going.
    I'm just so pumped right now guys!
  18. Like
    whitmanifesto reacted to E-P in Summer Start?   
    Okay, I got to talk with the program director on Friday, and here's the sitch:
     
    Although the actual comm department doesn't offer any summer courses, lots of students take classes over the summer.  There are three in particular - two research methods classes, and one "intro to stats" class - that people take.  Since there's a stats class and various research methods classes required for the coursework, it makes sense.
     
    I will probably take the stats class.  The coursework is spread over 2 months (June-July), so I'll have a longer time to understand it.  Taking that will also free up some time in the fall semester so I can take some other classes I'm interested in, rather than taking the departmental stats class then.

    I guess I won't be selling my 1999 graphing calculator just yet after all!
  19. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    @whitmanifesto I think he's more central to MTS as he's not listed in the RPC faculty IIRC (I was just confused when I was applying about what the difference was). Similarly, I don't think he's taught any courses at the grad level in the last couple of years, although he does have undergrad courses listed that I'm sure are important to the dept. NU definitely values him though because, based on some insider knowledge, it sounds like he's been able to negotiate better pay using multiple job offers (including from NYU!). I think his work is pretty reliant on the local Chicago scene which is why he's chosen to stay.
    That said, I should say that he isn't the only one working in that area (cultural studies, pop culture, media production), but the MTS student population seems to represent more of the other focal areas (health comm, media technology, child development) which probably explains why they don't work with him that much. (And I'm hoping that the fact that I'm vying for a less well-represented focal area in the dept will work in my favor!)
    My research interests are about media representation of women of color and trans/GNC ppl (particularly Asian/Americans) in pop culture. Trying not to go too into detail to give away who I'm talking about but I'm sure you could probably piece this together...
  20. Like
    whitmanifesto reacted to deshypothequiez in 2018 Applications Thread   
    I got an email from NYU GSAS while I was at my NU email, except it was dated 3/5 and there was no decision posted! According to results search, this was widespread across multiple departments there. Get it together NYU!
    In other news, am having a blast here in Chicagoland!
  21. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to E-P in 2018 Applications Thread   
    After a long talk with my Spouse, another talk with the program director, and more stress than necessary, I have officially accepted an offer.  SO MUCH RELIEF.
    I decided that I'm going to do a University Reveal Party. I’ll gather all my friends together, perhaps ask for gifts, and have us cut into a cake. The inside will either be green and white (MSU) or yellow and black (Purdue). It’ll be my way of creating artificial suspense for something that matters to nobody except me and my family.
     
    Time to go get some cake dye!
     
  22. Upvote
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from E-P in Best way to word a 'turning down the offer' email?   
    I just write to the GSD:
     
    " I am honored to have been accepted, but " EXPLAIN your other offer or research fit. " I will have to decline the offer."  Or "I am sorry but I will have to decline the offer." And then thanked them and complimented the program. Wished them luck.
    Standard email format. I mostly think it's just important for you to email them quickly. They will appreciate that more. So will the people on their waitlist.
     
     
  23. Upvote
    whitmanifesto reacted to surprise_quiche in Decision Dates   
    UW Milwaukee: Official funding decision: 50% TA (2/27), Chancellor's Fellowship (3/1)
     
    think I know where I'm going guys <3 My visit is tomorrow
  24. Like
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from surprise_quiche in 2018 Applications Thread   
    Ask if the colloquium has a dress code even though you aren't presenting, because usually those are conference clothing only (business casual) but for a general visit office closes are fine. No one at NU or UIC were dressed up when I visited. I sat with the entire faculty and most of the grad students and it was just normal academic wear (I wore a short sleeve button up shirt, chinos and Keds. Everyone else was wearing similar, with a sweater as well or a dressy top).
  25. Like
    whitmanifesto got a reaction from surprise_quiche in 2018 Applications Thread   
    I will also add, what to wear is pretty different depending on the culture of the department. NU students weren't dressed up, but the university as a whole does a LOT of colloquiums that require nice conference wear. My partner, though is male and masculine presenting so it's easier, dresses nicely for those events and is expected to dress nicely when he teaches next year. My current program is relaxed, and so have been all the places I've gone too. Honestly, students have higher expectations on dress code that faculty. As a masculine-leaning presenting female, I've received negative reviews from students for dressing the EXACT same way as male instructors and not being "professional" enough. 
    I now mostly have unnatural colored hair and have visible tattoos and piercings (septum) and it was important that my department be an open culture for that. UIC definitely is (I'm not the only person there with quite visible tattoos). I've noticed that health communications and political communications focused departments are not like this, but my research is social movements and some queer studies so my appearance is very much appropriate. I once went over dressed to a history visit to IU Bloomington and was really uncomfortable (the prof was in a tank top and shorts and I was wearing black slacks and a black shirt).
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