boneflower

Hi all, I was interested to know which anthropology (specifically archaeology track) programs out there allow for an article-based PhD rather than the traditional single dissertation. Thanks!

Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Yale, Berkeley and Harvard are three of the most difficult schools to get into in the USA. Not getting in doesn't necessarily mean you are not good enough, it just means that this cycle they were looking for something different. Sometimes faculty alternate who gets a student, or funding is tight so they admit less than they wanted. If you don't end up with a successful application, I would recommend spending the next year getting a job or internship in your field as to get experience and possible publication credits. Crossing my fingers for your other applications. Good luck! Keep taking deep breaths and all will be okay

I'm a bioarch PhD student at a wonderful university. Even here, though, there is no faculty here that does exactly what I want to do. However, I am allowed to take classes outside of my department so that I can learn how to answer my research questions. So, if your ideal POI does not tick all of your research boxes, make sure there are facilities or faculty at that university that could and say so in your statement. It is a relatively small field, but I don't think that should mean you should only apply to places that know how to do the exact thing you want to do. If that was the case, there would never be any progress in the field! Good luck fellow bone people!

At the end of the day, I feel like programs admit people based on (1) fit (mostly personality, faculty that they think would work well), (2) if they see your vision (letter of intent), and (3) if they believe you are experienced and knowledgeable enough to pull it all off (research projects, LoRs, work experience). All of the other stuff is always great to have but seems lost in the process because if you're coming into a PhD it is assumed you aren't already a professional academic. So my advice would simply be to make sure you really fit in with a place, or if you don't, make sure you can propose a plan as to how you would. My department has zero people that do exactly what I do, but my university offers plenty of resources through other departments, programs, etc. that I am utilizing to tailor a degree to my interests. When you research your programs look at other tangential programs that can strengthen your research and make you more interdisciplinary. They want to see that you can think outside the box! Good luck

They could either be too busy or they could just not be interested, there isn't one answer for all cases. These professors get loads of emails every year from prospective students and they probably forget to respond to most of them. The summer is super tricky, esp. for anthro when people are on fieldwork. I would definitely encourage you to send another letter their way because in all likelihood it just sank to the bottom of their inbox while they were out of the office. But it's also important to think about it from your perspective- do you want to work with someone who won't respond to your emails? It's ultimately up to you how you want to phrase it, but I would start out by thanking them for their time the previous cycle and then mention you have taken steps to better/strengthen yourself (maybe took their critique?) and are planning to apply again. I don't think there's a need to overthink it!! Good luck!

Hi, Without knowing anything about your research, I would say the 'contextualizing' means fitting your research back into relevancy. So if you are studying A, don't just talk about A and why you like it and what you want to do with it, but how does A affect B? How can A and B then open up the possibilities for tackling C? What are the issues with current research in A? What are some ways that A can be improved? Why are you studying A? It's essentially putting your question back into the greater picture of anthropology. I hope that rambling was helpful! Feel free to PM if you want to discuss more!

If this was true, it would have had to take them about a week to have figured out something was wrong. Seems off to me.

I know that when my department has visiting prospectives they also invite them to whatever events we have that day/weekend, whether it's a colloquium, class, or social gathering. This is a way to get the applicant affiliated with the going-ons in the department, as well as an opportunity to meet the faculty and students. It's tricky because on the one hand you want to go and make the best impression and let them know they should accept you, but on the other, it's not a formal invitation or acceptance and could end up being a waste of time and money. I would suggest talking it over with a current advisor and weighing the options. It seems like the program likes you and wants to meet you but isn't being particularly transparent in their process.

I second @farflung. I would say it's relatively common for two people to meet up at conferences, but it's generally more of a perk. As in, both people are likely attending the conference anyways. But I've never heard of a POI asking a potential student spend money and go to a conference just to interview. Is the colloquium in your field? Is it cheaper than visiting the school itself? Is there any added benefit to you to attend the colloquium? These are all things to consider. But obviously, this is good news! Good luck!

Hey, You clearly did all of the right steps; got an additional degree, applied to many schools, working a field-related job. You are waiting on 2/3 of your replies- don't lose hope just yet! If you're feeling down and want to talk to someone, feel free to PM me. I'm also finishing up my MA and hoping to start my PhD in the fall. Keep your head up

Ah I see, thanks for sharing. Berkeley is the last school I'm waiting to hear back from. I applied on the archaeology track and everything I've seen on the results page are sociocultural entries- so I'm curious. I understand the excitement and nervousness... I'm going to Brown's prospective student weekend/interview weekend in a few weeks! Best of luck to you and everyone else! We're all in this together!

@Potatoes=Love Interviewing at Rice is great! Congratulations! If I may ask, how did you receive a rejection from Berkeley? I haven't seen any rejections on the survey.

Hi Alynnh, I realize this is a late response, but hopefully it will help someone! When I graduated with a BA in anthropology I also wanted to go straight into bioarchaeology. Despite this, I found that my research interests were still not developed enough to go into a PhD right away, though it could be different for you! I decided to hone my skill set in human osteology in an MA program before moving onto an archaeology PhD and I am SO glad I did. There is a tremendous amount of growth that happens at the grad school level, even the masters, that I think really prepares you mentally for the trials ahead. It also gives you more flexibility to apply to PhD programs with training that would allow you to be interdisciplinary. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about it more, but it sounds like you're off to a great start! Best of luck!

Aside from funding, it's also important to keep in mind the flexibility of the program and the support from your potential advisor! Some advisors are tenured, established, and have multiple graduate students. If you are going to be just one of twelve students, you will get less attention and support naturally than an advisor that only has one or two other students. If the program is flexible, you can tailor it to your passions and interests, ultimately making what you want out of it. Congratulations on your acceptances! Sounds like you can't make a bad decision here

Wonderful! Thank you for your quick reply!