kyjin

I don't have classes, but I'm dreading the start of my thesis. I'm actually back on campus already teaching a summer course to undergrads, and have been using the excuse of doing work for that class to not think about my research, but I can only deny its existence for a little longer... PS- adding to the My Little Pony love. More people should watch it~

The money issues is really intimidating with IUC. They do have a ton of scholarships available and financial aid. When I first got admitted, I received nothing. Then between April and September (after acceptance to before arrival), they slowly added more money. By the time I arrived in Japan, I had free tuition. I also found a scholarship available for alumni from my undergrad that provided for most of my living expenses. They tend to give money to PhD students first, then MA, and then to the rest. There is also one scholarship available (I forget the name, sorry) that four or five people get each year that covers everything: tuition, living expenses, plane, etc. One of my best friends got that one my year, and was able to live in Shibuya and travel in every day since she could afford it.

Haha, this is why I'm jealous of modernists. If you are worried about language training, one option to look at might be IUC, the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama. It's sponsored by a number of US institutions, with administration by Stanford, and is generally for graduate students who need further language training. Most people go partway through their MA or PhD, but there were a few of us my year who came straight out of undergrad. Certainly gave me the confidence boost I needed in my Japanese, especially for reading academic texts. I think most of us have that European history focus problem. ^^; Most of my undergrad history courses were on medieval Europe. The Japanese side was more literature that anything, but at least I had one premodern literature course in there as well as my thesis. But hey, if you focused most of your papers on Japan, more writing samples! Good luck on the MA program search!

In my case I'm doing an MA in East Asian Studies for language study. I had four years of Japanese in college and another year afterwards, but since I study 11th and 12th century Japan, I also need classical and kanbun. A general history degree wouldn't give me the specialized language training I need, so I went with a program that would specifically help me in that area. (And also give me more experience in history studies as well. Helpful to have an advisor who is a historian!) Just an option anyway.

Hi there! I'm currently an MA student in an East Asian Studies program, focusing on Pre-Modern Japanese History. When I applied for entry in 2011, I applied to a mix of MA and PhD programs. In the end, I did not get into the top PhD programs I wanted, but did gain entry to a fantastic MA program, fully funded, with a professor I really wanted to work with. I'll be applying for PhD programs again this fall for entry in 2013, but I feel much more prepared now with most of my MA under my belt, and some stronger grades and recs to add to it. I'd definitely recommend applying to a couple top programs; you never know what may happen! But keep an eye out for MA programs as well. Some PhD programs may knock you down to MA consideration if they think you're not ready for the PhD program (this happened with me for Columbia), so there's always that too. While there is certainly less competition for East Asian History in general, just remember that you usually are fighting for one or two spots at any program in history. A history department at a top University may have a dozen spots for Americanists and a dozen for Europeanists, but Asianists may only have a single spot in the department. Don't get discouraged though; if you find an advisor who is willing to fight for you, it can all work out. Be sure to stop by the History board and the Asian Studies thread in the Interdisciplinary forum. You're not alone!

I have a 9 month funding package for my MA, though it might be different for some PhD students. In my case, I applied for scholarships outside my department, and am using them to do thesis research abroad this summer. I also found a job in the department for later in the summer, which will cover my living expenses and a bit more for the rest of the break. There are opportunities around if you just keep an eye out!

Throwing my hat into the ring again this year. (Can't believe it's time already!) 1) PhD in History (Pre-Modern Japan) 2) Unlike last time where I applied to a bunch of MA and PhD programs all over the place, I've now figured out my little niche in the field. I've talked it over with my advisor, so I will be applying to UCBerkeley, USC, and UMichigan. 3) Currently 2nd year MA in East Asian Studies. Undergrad: Dual major in East Asian Studies and History. Attended IUC 2010-2011 in Yokohama. Currently doing summer research at Tokyo University for my MA thesis. よろしく～

At least winter break. My parents surprised me this year with a ticket home for reading week, so I got to go home twice during the year. I'm spending most of the summer in Japan and the rest in Canada, so my parents paid for me to have a stop back home for a couple weeks before and after since they won't see me again till Christmas.

Take a look at some Canadian schools. They tend to be more generous with MA funding.

I'm actually doing the opposite of you- I'm an American in Canada. I am using a US Nationwide +Canada through Verizon. It's great for me as I have more US minutes than Canadian. The one thing is with Verizon's plan, if you're using a cell phone you need to have both Canadian and US data. I have a very tiny Canadian data plan since I'm connected to wifi all the time, but I have unlimited for the US since it grandfathered in from my US-only plan. If you go for US-only, I highly recommend Verizon. I'm from Philly originally, and the coverage in the PA/NJ area is really good.

It's true that your credit history doesn't carry over, but you can usually get a student credit card from a bank while you're here. I don't know the exact details, but most banks will set up some sort of credit card for you if you also have an account at that bank. A number of my international friends here from all over the world have done it. However, I've just stuck to my US credit card for emergencies. Just be sure to pay attention to foreign transaction fees; some cards are higher than others.

American History R_Escobar (20th century, American Indian), crazedandinfused (antebellum, intellectual), hopin'-n-prayin' (southern, religious), stevemcn (transnational), Simple Twist of Fate (early American), zb642 (20th century, labor/working-class culture), BCEmory08 (19th-20th century Catholicism, labor), irvinchiva10 (20th century, immigration/immigration reform) European History Kelkel (Modern Germany, political), goldielocks (Britain), SapperDaddy (Eastern and Central Europe), kotov (Modern Romania, Holocaust, labor), RevolutionBlues (Modern Western Europe/France labor and leftist politics), theregalrenegade (18th/19th cent British Empire/environment), jrah822 (19th century Britain; emphasis on colonial relationship to India), grlu0701 (Intellectual & cultural history, fin de siecle Germany and Italy), naturalog (modern European [mostly German] intellectual and cultural/sexuality and gender/political radicalism), runaway (Eastern/Central, memorialization & visual culture); Sequi001 (Modern France, gender and sexuality, colonialism/imperialism) African History Oseirus (precolonial/early colonial West Africa), Singwaya18 (20th century East Africa), Safferz (20th century Horn/Northeast Africa), The People's Scholar (Spanish colonialim in Africa- i.e. middle/West Africa) Latin American History teachgrad (20th century, Southern Cone), BH-history, The People's Scholar (18th-19th century Colombia) East Asian History alleykat (Modern China), kyjin (Pre-Modern Japan) Near/Middle Eastern History uhohlemonster Atlantic World sandyvanb Global/World History cooperstreet (Cold War) Jewish History uhohlemonster, hopin'-n-'prayin, kotov (Holocaust), naturalog (sometimes modern European/Holocaust), runaway (memorialization & visual culture) ticklemepink (20th c. Germany/U.S) Science/Technology shaxmaty1848 (Cold War) Social annieca (Cold War and Post-Cold War East and Central Europe)

German annieca, kotov Spanish annieca, crazedandinfused French theregalrenegade Hebrew uhohlemonster, crazedandinfused (ktzat) Italian Latin Greek Russian Polish runaway Romanian kotov Japanese kyjin Likely picking up French during my PhD if I need a romance language, and there's a bunch of research in my field in that language. Otherwise, I'd like to be able to read Chinese.

Where in Canada did you go? I'm currently doing my MA at UAlberta.

I was wondering when this would pop up... I'll be entering the second year of my MA this fall, so it's time for PhD apps this fall for me. I'm only looking at three schools (thanks super-tiny field), but all in History departments this time. (When I applied for my MA, did a mix of EAST/History programs.)

Seconding hostels- they're generally cheap ($30ish a night) and have all you need: a shower, a bed, and wi-fi (usually.) I've done that twice for conferences, once in Banff (which is a flipping fortune anywhere else), and just this past weekend in Toronto. Obviously they can be hit or miss, but I've had fairly good experiences so far.

I think it really comes down to who your advisor is and what connections they have. In my case, last year I had to make the decision between an ivy (Columbia) and a smaller-name school. The smaller-name school not only gave me full funding, but my advisor is one of the biggest names in my field, and has tons of academic connections, especially with professors at PhD programs I'm interested. It was a really easy decision in my case. Take a look at what your options are, but I have a sense the funding opportunity may be too good to pass up...

Health insurance, lab fees, student services, athletic fees, etc. Take a look at a bill from undergrad; that'll give you an idea of the fees they throw in.

I do recall somewhere on the study permit form about when you were planning on entering the country. I'd fill that out and see what happens. You may be able to come in even earlier that way. Worst case scenario, move up on a tourist visa, then come back home for a couple days in August, and reenter for the study permit.

Welcome to the great north! I'm also an American in Canada (Alberta) and went through this process last year. 1)Not to my knowledge, but you can get a pretty wide start date on the visa. My program didn't start until Sepember 2011, but I was able to enter on the visa in August and stayed. 2)You can get it very early. As a US citizen, you can do the study permit application online, and you'll recieve a letter in about a week that will allow you to recieve your permit as soon as you reach the border. I flew through Toronto, so I showed my letter to the security and customs, waited about ten minutes, and then got my visa. You'll hardly have the permit looked at if you go back and forth across the border. 3) Haven't done this, but again, you can do the application online fairly easily. I'd just do that; might be faster in the long run. 4) There should be various moving companies you can contact. In my case I literally moved across the continent (PA to Alberta), so it wasn't worth it to bring anything. Good luck, and I hope you like it here.

UAlberta fully funds most of their grad students with TA and RA positions.

To my knowledge you just need to have the program sign the forms for you and submit them if they're not a US-based institution. I had to do that last year for a program in Japan and this year for my MA in Canada.

Hey all! I'm an EAST applicant from last year. Just wishing you all the best of luck with your applications! I'm currently working on my MA at UAlberta, so if you have any questions about our program, feel free to ask.

I contacted a few profs in late October and got timely responses for both of them. One set up a skype interview with me soon after (I was in Japan at the time), and the other forwarded my mail to another professor who was able to meet with me in Tokyo soon after. Obviously you can expect such results with all profs, but the timing seemed to go well for me.

I started using pencils religiously from college, so I just grab whatever free pens I can find. (Though I rather like Zebra brand.) Now for pencils, I am picky and only use Bic Maticgrip .7mm #2 mechanical pencils.