time_consume_me

I just received the email and got the award (SSHRC)! Finally!

Couple of links for people to look over:
https://sciencepolicy.ca/posts/support-our-science-the-need-for-increased-graduate-students-and-post-doctoral-scholars-in-canada/

or this one:

Take it. There is zero guilt in accepting the accolades and awards that you earned. You do not need to feel guilty or that your are defining your happiness or value by money - you are not. You earned this award. You may not feel proud/relieved/happy right now because things are heavy elsewhere...that is OK too. You don't have to feel anything at all. But do not decline it out of morality/guilt/shame - that is the heavy part talking right now. You can take it and feel numb right now even, that is fine - you earned this and you deserve it - it was determined by a committee that you deserve it, so do not tell yourself that you do not. 

Thank you... 

I didn't apply to vanier, only CGS/PGS-D, this is me watching everyone in this thread get vanier results while waiting for my CGS/PGS-D results 

So it isn't that the supervisors get an email, but generally the department (or University) will be informed, slightly before the candidates receive their emails (although it is supposed to be embargoed until the emails go out to all the candidates but it almost never works that way and the information trickles out). 

This experience should also make clear which organization is the one looking out for you and your fellow workers.  

Wow, the website is clear. Thanks!

I'm limited to more liberal areas of the country since I'm non-binary (born female) and would really like to not go back in the closet for school or worry about my rights being taken away. I have a list of more schools that I can keep emailing to see if I can find someone; however, I was just curious if others were getting similar responses that professors weren't taking new students due to the current state of history and academia. 

Yes, this is the only logical answer. Sorry.

Yeah, I'm with @psstein - I don't see enough information to make a good judgement. How much is the difference, and is the financial difference $30k vs $35k or $15k vs $20k - the same difference matters more in different circumstances. How does cost of Living in the respective cities factor in?
(NB: as of this year, most Ivy+ schools are offering $40-45k as a stipend. Unionization works ✊)

As long as it was made clear that Han shot first, this sounds like a promising topic.

Just popping in to say I got invited for an interview/visit (virtually) for Penn HSS! Very excited, very nervous. I've been looking through old threads for what to expect, but if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it!

I wonder if how much it matters that Kruse works in a huge field at a huge department. In my field, where there are great programs that have only two professors who can train students, reaching out before applying seems more valuable.
 
I certainly would not advise anyone to try to schedule a Zoom call in their first email.

I'm a Ph.D. student at Florida State, and I took a seminar this spring called Qualitative Methods in the Humanities with a history professor here, Will Hanley. You might contact him or look into whether the history program here might be a fit for you.

Rant: The waiting game is no joke. It's been six months since the deadline. They kept pushing and pushing the notification date for offers. It will be stressful for international students to work on their visas on this date. If your target entry would be on August 6, I heard that at least submit the online application for the study permit by May 15. It is also not best to assume acceptance and prepare everything right now--it's costly and impractical. Receiving an offer is just the second step after the submission of the application. If September 7 is the first day of classes this school year, shouldn't the accepted student be preparing their documents (or even plans) for the upcoming term? I mean, getting enrolled is just one thing, but how about mentally and psychologically preparing oneself for being a resident in a new different country during a pandemic—it's more than being a graduate student of UBC. This is just too much. They say that good things come to those who wait, but we deserve better in these times of uncertainty and anxiety.

I'm very late in the game (grading) but after the worst year on the TT, I can go back to this anonymous forum.
This conversation has been very fruitful. 
I'll add some thoughts, but I agree with much of what has been say. 
First, yes, as @pssteinthe job market is really abysmal that top program graduates find themselves in positions that might have looked unthinkable twenty years ago. An alum from my program working at a small branch of a regional university once told us that his department avoided hiring people from top programs because those are the ones that don't want to teach 4/4 and usually end up leaving. By this I mean, top programs might have the pedigree, the extra funded time, more dedicated faculty, but at the end of the day, the struggles are very similar. 
Larger programs, usually in public universities, depend heavily on graduate student labor so it's not just COVID affecting admission but department needs. And, as someone else mentioned, funding from higher ups. In short, there is no formula, which brings me to my next point.
As you think of where to apply, think not on the statistical probability of getting in but on building a profile and rapport that it makes sense for the program to admit you and train you. When potential grad students contact me, I see potential when they tell me right there in one well-packaged sentence why my program is a good fit for them. People that say "I like your article on..." means nothing to me. But people saying "I have questions about X Y and Z" usually spark an "ohhh!" on my part.  
I notice there are no programs in the south (Vanderbilt?) or the west, and I wonder why. I am not an Americanist, but I have colleagues in California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Florida whose programs might be up your alley. 
Finally, no one can predict the job market. We are scientists and we work with evidence and the evidence suggests this is not going to get better soon. However, we cannot predict much. So, when researching programs, you can certainly ask DGS/grad students if/how the program changed in the last ten years (red flag if they haven't revised it!), what opportunities for professionalization exist outside the classroom, how do programs see themselves in five years, etc. 
Good luck
Edit: Just a quick thing, remember that no matter when you start a PhD program, it's more often than not a transformative experience. You are not the same person when you start than when you leave because you learn a lot about yourself. Friends of mine realized that they didn't want to be college professors, others realized they actually don't like academia and are passionate about other things, someone in my program decided they wanted to work in activist organizations when they graduated. All this is to say that yes, there is a pressure from the academic job market but, as you journey on, you will (hopefully) have a say in what you want to do with your degree. While the market might push us in one direction, we also have agency on that. (I hope this makes sense, I'm foggy from second vaccine shot, so there).

In the field of Chinese History, the greatest problem facing young white scholars is the lack of access to archives. In China, the accessibility of archives is extremely unstable. Many archives that are not open to the public can be accessed through personal connections. However, I don't think doing Chinese history as non-Chinese is necessarily a disadvantage. As someone who grew up in China, I need to keep reminding myself that "The past is a foreign country," but many Chinese scholars do not realize this, and it creates problems. I think a non-Chinese perspective is very valuable to the field, but unfortunately, the Chinese archival and field environment is not friendly enough for non-Chinese scholars.

In studying US history, I sometimes feel that I understand the intellectual environment of the nineteenth-century US better than many Americans do. This is because China today is in the midst of a similar historical process, including urbanization, rapid economic growth, and the prevalence of social Darwinism.
 
 
 
 

Congrats on this unofficial offer.  I'd se what the funding package looks like.  I would ALSO communicate that you have a full funding offer to attend Oxford for a year and see how they react.  $17K is definitely UNLIVABLE in the SF Bay Area. $28K is pushing it, but I'd consult the funding spreadsheet to see if that's typical.

I'm mostly excited to quit my job and do nothing. I've spent the last 3 years working and conducting research non-stop, I could really use a break before starting graduate school! And by "nothing" I mean binge-watch TV shows and try out new restaurants! I was able to figure out housing pretty quickly and already signed a lease. I might have to study a little bit sometime in August to brush up on cell bio, genetics concepts and neuroanatomy but other than that, I want to relax ?

Congratulations on your admittance to Michigan.
Please be careful with this plan of action. It can be hard to get up to pace from a full resting stop.

I'll break in the thread! Longtime (mostly) lurker here. I'm a senior history major applying this fall (decided to take a gap year). My interest is in social and economic history of 17th and 18th-century northern Europe, specifically northern Germany, including peasant societies, the history of capitalism and commerce, maritime history, and the North Sea and Atlantic worlds. Right now I'm planning to apply to PhD programs at Brandeis, Brown, UChicago, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, and Fordham. I've also identified Portland State, UW - Milwaukee, and UMass - Amherst as MA programs if my PhD apps are unsuccessful. 
I have German (minoring in it) and basic French reading proficiency. My senior paper which I intend to use as a WS is on a modern American topic. In hindsight I should've probably chosen something to showcase language abilities, but I think as a history paper it's quite good (the professor advising it has recommended I submit it for a departmental prize). I contributed a translation from German to English for an undergraduate journal hosted at my university, maybe that will help alleviate any possible language concerns. 
When do people suggest applicants reach out to professors? I've heard late spring/early summer?

I got off the William & Mary waitlist today. Best of luck to you with the Harvard waitlist, and to all of the waitlisted folks out there! ?

Not trying to be a downer, but something to consider if anyone is thinking about Columbia:
Among your choices, you should also consider which programs have a grad worker union AND treat grad students right. I am a current 2nd year PhD student at Columbia. The majority of grad students are currently on strike for a living wage, better healthcare, and protection from harassment and discrimination. I have been watching the process of our new graduate union try to bargain for our first contract for over two years. In these sessions, I have seen admin (and their sleazy lawyer, who charges $1,500/hr) do everything possible to stall negotiations, belittle us, and play down heartfelt testimonials that make clear why our demands are reasonable and necessary. Every time we've gotten a raise in the past, our Columbia rent magically goes up by a higher percentage. Our wages are not enough to live in NYC. There is no dental or vision coverage, and they recently removed the better health insurance plan option. The school has a terrible history with harassment and discrimination cases brought by both undergrads and grads (Google it), and at the moment they are doing everything possible to avoid meeting our contract demand about changing the investigation process to give more rights to the complainant (see link below). I don't know if anyone applied for early childhood education, but I think that those grad students staff the campus daycare? It's run out of TC. You should know they charge $30,000/year for one child--the equivalent of our grad stipends, thus making it wildly unaffordable for us. 
We're entering the 3rd week of the strike, and Columbia has made very clear that they plan to not only doc our bi-weekly pay (which we receive for TA/RA work), but our academic stipends--yep, they are going to debit our student accounts, thereby jeopardizing course registration, degree progress, visas, and health insurance. We have a legal right to strike, but this later action constitutes illegal academic retaliation.
Long story short: I'm sure a lot of schools are as corrupt as Columbia, but I've just seen first hand how rotten this place is to the core. They only care about profit (their endowment grew $300 million during the pandemic alone), squeezing as much our of grad workers and adjuncts for as little pay as possible, sweeping bad press under the rug, and gentrifying Harlem with multi-million dollar campus expansions.
I encourage folks thinking about attending/applying to Columbia to express concerns to department chairs and administrators, and ask them why they insist on denying grad workers a fair contract: 
President Lee Bollinger officeofthepresident@columbia.edu, Phone: (212) 854-9970 Provost Ira Katznelson provost@columbia.edu,  +1 212 854 2404 GSAS Grad Admissions: gsas-admissions@columbia.edu  
https://gothamist.com/news/columbia-grad-students-strike-over-wages-and-harassment-policies-nyu-counterparts-vote-similar-actions

It's a tough choice. At Columbia, you could work with Higonnet. I'm just sharing something below I've posted about Columbia in general, but I'm in art history, so perhaps it's most relevant for you. I know these things are a a mix of crazy excitement and anxiety about making the right decision! If you're currently at CU you (hopefully) know all about the strike. As a prospect, you could contact the admins (see below) to express your concern about how they treat grad students, if you are considering becoming one! Good luck choosing!
 
Not trying to be a downer, but something to consider if anyone is thinking about Columbia:
Among your choices, you should also consider which programs have a grad worker union AND treat grad students right. I am a current 2nd year PhD student at Columbia. The majority of grad students are currently on strike for a living wage, better healthcare, and protection from harassment and discrimination. I have been watching the process of our new graduate union try to bargain for our first contract for over two years. In these sessions, I have seen admin (and their sleazy lawyer, who charges $1,500/hr) do everything possible to stall negotiations, belittle us, and play down heartfelt testimonials that make clear why our demands are reasonable and necessary. Every time we've gotten a raise in the past, our Columbia rent magically goes up by a higher percentage. Our wages are not enough to live in NYC. There is no dental or vision coverage, and they recently removed the better health insurance plan option. The school has a terrible history with harassment and discrimination cases brought by both undergrads and grads (Google it), and at the moment they are doing everything possible to avoid meeting our contract demand about changing the investigation process to give more rights to the complainant (see link below). 
We're entering the 3rd week of the strike, and Columbia has made very clear that they plan to not only doc our bi-weekly pay (which we receive for TA/RA work), but our academic stipends--yep, they are going to debit our student accounts, thereby jeopardizing course registration, degree progress, visas, and health insurance. We have a legal right to strike, but this later action constitutes illegal academic retaliation.
Long story short: I'm sure a lot of schools are as corrupt as Columbia, but I've just seen first hand how rotten this place is to the core. They only care about profit (their endowment grew $300 million during the pandemic alone), squeezing as much our of grad workers and adjuncts for as little pay as possible, sweeping bad press under the rug, and gentrifying Harlem with multi-million dollar campus expansions.
I encourage folks thinking about attending/applying to Columbia to express concerns to department chairs and administrators, and ask them why they insist on denying grad workers a fair contract: 
President Lee Bollinger officeofthepresident@columbia.edu, Phone: (212) 854-9970 Provost Ira Katznelson provost@columbia.edu,  +1 212 854 2404 GSAS Grad Admissions: gsas-admissions@columbia.edu  
https://gothamist.com/news/columbia-grad-students-strike-over-wages-and-harassment-policies-nyu-counterparts-vote-similar-actions