Polemic
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Posts posted by Polemic
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On 7/15/2016 at 2:19 PM, HayleyM said:
YUP, that's my main claim as well.
I highly recommend you check out The Origins of the First World War by James Joll and Gordon Martell. They examine a variety of different potential causes as claimed by others, and then examine whether or not they think they're legitimate. They have a really popular chapter called "The Mood of 1912", I believe. It gets reprinted a lot.I just wanted to echo this recommendation. Joll and Martell have an excellent overview of the causes of the First World War. It is concise and extremely informative approach to the European alliance system, domestic political conditions, and European economic policies. It did incorporate some coverage of non-European elements, I thought the discussion of the influence of the 1904 Russo-Japanese War was especially fruitful.
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I was at GW as an undergrad. The History d=Department is awesome! Good luck to you all!!
I couldn't agree more. The history department at George Washington is phenomenal. Tons of great faculty.
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I am an undergraduate at George Washington, and my advisor was talking today about decisions coming out sometime next week for Ph.D. students. I hope that finds use to some of you applicants.
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There have been some really good suggestions already and I agree with everything that has been said so far. I have a few of my own thoughts and I apologize if these have already been said before.
You are going to have to remember, especially if you are applying to really competitive programs, that having a strong application alone won't necessarily get you into places. There will possibly be hundreds of other strong applications, so you'll need to find ways to make your application and your name stand out. If your school has a chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, get involved with that as soon as you are eligible. Not only will you get to help put on their various activities, you'll get the opportunity to present your research at conferences. This is an important difference between undergrad and graduate work. The primary shift is in undergrad the focus is on the consumption of history, while in graduate school you're expected to take part in the production of history. Especially if you are in DC, you should have access to many wonderful archives. Take advantage of that. Also, if during your time as an undergrad, before you apply to places, you may want to consider getting something published. Note this: for entering a graduate program, a publication is by no means expected for admission but if you have a publication it is certainly a plus. Here is a list of undergraduate history journals you may want to submit to: http://history.unc.edu/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-journals/
Last thing, when applying for graduate school, also consider MA programs. I decided to get an MA before I started my PhD program and I believe it was the right way to go, for me at least. If you are not sure exactly what you want to research by the time you are applying to grad programs, need more time for language study, or if you want to test out graduate work before you make a 6-8 year commitment, it is a reasonable way to go. Of course, if you feel ready for PhD work right out of college, I suggest you start right away.
I hope some of this helped!
This was really fantastic advice, thank you so much for this. And to everyone else that has responded to this thread. I'm ready to take full advantage of my undergraduate experience to grow as a person and a hopeful historian. All this advice will certainly be beneficial as I look forward. Of course, I welcome others to provide their input.
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I recommend starting to look into post-undergrad programs that you can do between undergrad and grad school in order to make you a richer and more diverse candidate when you apply. I know a few people who applied to grad school right out of undergrad and were accepted, but the vast majority did something else for a year or two that made them even better candidates. For example, I got a Fulbright grant to teach English as as a foreign language in the country that I research (and whose language I speak), then spent some of the two years that I was there doing summer internships in the country (at vastly reduced cost, since I was already living there) and doing independent archival research as well as honing my teaching skills. I'm sure that it made me a much better candidate than I would have been coming out of undergrad. Other programs besides Fulbright include Peace Corps and other international English teaching programs besides the Fulbright one. Anything that you can do to get more time and experience in your primary country of research before grad school is a plus.
I'd also start looking into the honors process at your university, and whether it's an option to write an honors thesis. This could eventually form the basis for a really good writing sample when you later apply to grad school. If you can't find a paid internship, try to volunteer at a local historical society or archive in the summer, just to get a feel for archival research and organization.
I also second the language advice. My program requires French and German for scholars of modern Europe, along with any other local languages necessary for research. It's also possible to get scholarships for language learning at summer language intensive programs, such as the Middlebury or Monterey institutes.
Good luck with your preparation!
This is some really fantastic insight, I truly appreciate it! I will keep in mind some of the options that are available post-undergraduate. I want to be able to to gather as much time necessary to decide whether or not pursuing graduate school will be the best option for me, and developing myself as a strong candidate after completing an undergraduate degree definitely has its benefits.
As for the honors thesis, it is something I have already discussed with my undergraduate advisor and am working on with my faculty advisor. It is something I have been thinking about. I also intend to do an independent research project my junior year, with faculty guidance, with hopes to develop my research skills.
Thank you all for the fantastic insight!
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I would try to go with 2 languages. Again, these languages should parallel your field of study. For example, a 20th century historian with an interest in WWII might find it helpful to know German in addition to French, Russian, or Italian. Having close relationships with professors is a must. I would also try to get yourself involved in your field outside of the school - lectures, talks, publications, an interesting internship at a history museum (D.C has so many!).
Thank you for this great advice. I am born in Poland, and it is my native language. I plan on taking German throughout college in order for it to serve as my third language, and hopefully become fluent enough to be able to translate primary documents. Aside from that, I will keep your advice about looking outside of school. I plan on staying in Washington D.C. over the summer (through school funding), and hopefully I will be able to pick something up on the side in order to accommodate my academic interests.
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Work on languages! I would recommend this to future americanists too, but it's especially important for anyone studying areas outside of the U.S. Languages will give you a leg up when applying to grad school or are, in many cases, a basic requirement for admission.
Start building relationships with professors, especially in your field. Take several classes with the same professors, ask them about research opportunities, visit them in office hours to discuss your coursework and goals, etc. Show them you're a serious student of history so when the time comes they can give you advice based on in-depth knowledge of your work/goals and can write your recs. Don't view them as simply potential rec writers, though. Making professional connections will be important throughout your career--some of these professors will one day be your colleagues if you enter academia. It goes beyond the more transitory need of a LOR.
Start thinking about doing a senior thesis. I didn't do one because I had no idea what I wanted to do as a freshmen, but it's definitely something you should do. I'd also recommend buying a Chicago Manual of Style book (I think it's on the 16th edition) or Turabian research/citing guide book.
You might want to look for books on historiography--get familiar with how historians study history instead of how history is studied in high school and early college. Historians go beyond factual knowledge and delve into the history of how history was and is written, so now is a good time for you to read the seminal works in your field. It's a good idea to sign up for table of contents notifications for the journals related to your field, that'll show you what new works are being written.
I'm sure others will have more and different advice, but this is basically the stuff I wish I knew as a freshmen in college. It took me 2 years in the wrong major for me to figure out history was right for me, and then I had to navigate MA apps with very little knowledge of how to study history at the grad level.
Good luck!
Thank you so much for this fantastic advice! I plan on studying German throughout the rest of my undergraduate career. I have already found a professor that has very similar academic interest to mine, and we have really developed a great relationship with one another. I am taking another course with him (it is actually seminar to European historiography) next semester! I am extremely excited by the prospect of potentially working with him on future projects.
I will definitely make sure to get a copy of the Turabian citation guidelines because that appears to be the standard in the history courses I have taken. I have already met with the undergraduate advisor for the history department, and he has encouraged me to begin thinking about a senior thesis and potential topics for it. I hope to do the honors thesis that the department offers, and so this is going to be my focus going forward.
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Keep your GPA up, form good relationships with your professors, and try to get research experience. But also realize that you may very well change your goals between now and graduating. Only one person I know is graduating with the degree that they had planned on when they first started. All the rest changed majors around 2nd or 3rd year as they were exposed to new things. I'm not saying you will definitely change your mind, but keep an open mind to the possibility.
Thank you! I am definitely keeping an open mind about other fields of study. I have taken coursework in political science, philosophy, and mathematics in the fall. During the spring I will be doing more coursework in political science and biological sciences. I am trying to make sure I give as many fields as possible a chance, and with my institution's flexible liberal arts curriculum that is possible. I appreciate your feedback.
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Hi all,
I am currently an undergraduate freshmen attending a major university in the District of Columbia. I realize that I am still young and am far away from going to graduate school, but I have a strong ambition to eventually earn a Ph.D. in modern European history. I am currently focusing on taking history courses and maintaining high grades in them. I wanted to know if there was any advice that anyone here could offer for current undergraduates who have an ambition to eventually attend graduate school? I want to keep the advice in mind as I continue to progress in my undergraduate academic career.
If anyone could share advice about things to take advantage of during the summer, independent research, and developing relationships with faculty—it would be greatly appreciated. Again, I will emphasize that I am just looking for advice to make the most of my undergraduate experience. I am in no way concerned with the graduate school application process right now.
Undergraduate Thesis Writing Sample
in History
Posted
Greetings all,
I previously wrote on this forum well over a year ago as an entering undergraduate in history. There was some exceptional advice shared with me that allowed me to develop myself in a manner that has positioned me to graduate with honors in history. I am currently a third-year student, and I plan to graduate in 2018. My current plan is to apply to graduate programs in history in the fall 2017 application cycle (I have already begun looking at programs, and potential POIs). I plan on doing an senior honors thesis, and I recently met with the department's undergraduate advisor to discuss the timing. Most undergraduates at my institution finish the senior honors thesis in two semesters. I would like to utilize my undergraduate thesis as the writing sample for my applications. I realize I could utilize a seminar paper as the writing sample, but my thesis will utilize sources in German and Polish and will fit more broadly with my research. My plan is to start the seminar in the spring semester, utilize the summer to write more, and finalize the thesis in the fall.
For those of you that went directly from your undergraduate institution to a history program, can you discuss some of the challenges you had with preparing the writing sample? For those of you that did not jump straight into a graduate program, did you find the time you had between finishing your undergraduate degree and entering a graduate program was valuable? I am slowly beginning to create a timeline for the next year and I want to ensure I am on top of these multiple demands.