AfricanusCrowther
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in Making PhD Program Decisions
Funding is the most important criteria; you can't write a dissertation if you can't get to your archive. If you think school 2 is ok in that regard, there's your answer.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to OHSP in 2023 Application Thread
The most important things are your writing sample and SoP -- grades, prizes, and "big 10 school" don't tell us what you think they might. GRE is next to meaningless.
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from 50CentParty in GRE-Optional Program at Ivy - Will submitting my GRE/Asking Faculty to Ignore it hurt my chances?
Asking faculty to ignore the GRE score might draw unwanted attention to it. I agree with psstein that it's typically a negligible aspect of a PhD application, and I would lean toward letting your record speak for itself.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to psstein in Don't Do a PhD in History
In the past, I've mentioned that there's an "expiration date" for PhDs. This came to my attention today:
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in 2023 Application Thread
FYI: https://www.historians.org/ahajobsreport2022
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from ladydobz in 2023 Application Thread
For a big field like modern US, I would advise against it -- not for any intellectual reasons, but because you'll be lacking a connection to a scholar in this sub-field (US medicine) with more active professional networks.
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from sciencehistorian in 2023 Application Thread
For a big field like modern US, I would advise against it -- not for any intellectual reasons, but because you'll be lacking a connection to a scholar in this sub-field (US medicine) with more active professional networks.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in Being A Historian + Travel
Time spent in archives is almost universally necessary for a good dissertation. Where those archives are is field dependent. Make sure you have access to funding to get there.
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from ladydobz in Language self study
Once I got to intermediate proficiency, reading newspapers in my research languages first thing in the morning was very helpful.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to ladydobz in Distance Learning Phd in History
The only university I've seen offering it is Liberty University, although there has been a lot of conversation within the AHA and OAH about it with very little resolution. As psstein said, I wouldn't recommend doing one online (based on what I've heard from those on the AHA and OAH forums) currently.
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from dr. t in Don't Do a PhD in History
Even these jobs are not easily gotten anymore.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to psstein in Distance Learning Phd in History
Is it possible? Yes, it is. If you want to use the PhD for anything beyond a vanity project, it's not advisable.
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from psstein in Don't Do a PhD in History
Even these jobs are not easily gotten anymore.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to TheGradCocaCola in 2022 Application Thread
Hello. I am an international student and I would like to share with you the result of an experiment I did.
On page 35 of this thread, I made a comment saying that I had been rejected by Columbia's PhD program, but that the university had invited me to apply for one of their master's programs in History. I asked if anyone else here had received a similar invitation and @CaitlynM reported that she also received the email. Then @jpbends, @Sigaba and @wluhist16 brought valuable insights (advice for which I am very grateful) into the dangers of entering a terminal masters, due to high costs, lack of funding and, if that wasn't enough, being seen as a second-class graduate student.
Well, here's what happened: when I was rejected from the PhD program, I sent an email to my POI, who is a very helpful person and who I've talked to a few times, asking if the Professor could give honest feedback on my application, so that I could know my weaknesses and improve. Here is an excerpt from what was written to me:
"I can tell you that you have a very interesting trajectory and are certainly highly qualified for doctoral study, and I'm sure that your application was taken seriously. You clearly are already a seasoned and skilled researcher, which also would work in your favor. The writing sample that you sent us shows those strong research skills and your promise as a historian. You should know, however, that the writing sample is very poorly translated, and this would have worked against you; as a graduate student here, you would have to produce a lot of academic writing and are expected to start off with strong English writing skills. I also noticed in your statement that your thinking seems to be too focused on a narrow field of research and mostly looks inward to a country but not beyond it. The statement also makes too many assumptions about what the reader will already know about what you are writing about. (Remember, the people reading your statement are not specialists in that nation.)"
So, I checked the invitation to apply for the master's and noticed that, in order to try it, I wouldn't have to pay a new fee or bother my professors again to send the letters of recommendation. All I would have to do was submit a new statement and a new writing sample, which I did.
This week, I received the news that I was admitted, with an offer to enroll for the MA/MSc in International and World History (Columbia & London School of Economics).
Detail: as I did not have high hopes of being accepted and, even if I were, I already knew in advance that I would probably not have the financial conditions to accept the offer, in addition to the unavailability of time to prepare new materials, I sent exactly the same statement and exactly the same writing sample. I was like, "let's see what happens".
I would be happy to hear your views on the matter, but it seems to me that the logical conclusion from this is that the $62,840 tuition made the admissions committee ignore my English writing problems and other weaknesses:
? "We believe you have outstanding promise to excel in this challenging program." ?
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in 2022 Application Thread
Some more thoughts on recruitment and the job market in history: https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/march-2022/march-madness-the-recruitment-arms-race
@psstein
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from dr. t in Don't Do a PhD in History
In my view, it's desirable for institutions to limit the range of bad decisions that people can make. Your logic appears to me to be the same as those who argue, e.g., for limiting the regulation of consumer products, or allowing retirement plan managers to offer bad investment plans so long as they also offer good ones. I would prefer unsafe products to be taken off the market than to rely on consumers to make informed decisions about whether they want to buy a death trap of a car or baby toy.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to Sigaba in 2022 Application Thread
There's a certain irony to people saying "We're all adults here" and then attempting to dictate what others should not discuss in this thread so they can get their own emotional needs fulfilled.
Change of topic. The "opportunity costs" of graduate school are not just about the money you don't make from having a full time salaried gig with health benefits and PTO. It's about the compound interest you don't earn on retirement accounts and other investments. It's about having fewer opportunities for owning a home. It's about still being in school while your friends and classmates are going onwards and upwards in their careers and personal lives. It's about understanding the declining marketability of your skillset in a society that undervalues a historian's skillset and sensibilities. (If I knew then what I know now, would I have taken that left turn to North Gate and into a computer science class rather than strolling on to Dwinelle for a class on Jacksonian America? I have no idea.)
Congratulations to those who have received offers of admission. Believe it or not, in a year or two you'll be longing for the relatively certainty and stress free days of your application season.
To those of you who are hitting "refresh" thirty times a second and/or are frantically reading the tea leaves of others' "I got in" posts to figure out your chances, hang in there. Please consider other (less self destructive) ways of passing the time. You could contribute to the "Lessons learned" thread. You could do your best on focusing on your current academic projects. You could assume that you're going to be in a graduate program this fall or next and start preparing for your next set of challenges.
To those who have had an unsuccessful application season, consider the benefits of getting some rest before deciding your next step.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in 2022 Application Thread
The solution to what? Having a BA in history?
I don't know you. No one here knows you, no should they. Since that's the case, at best, what you get here is advice based on probabilities, not tailored to your individual experience and ability. And some people are actually special, and go immediately to a TT job after a 5 year PhD. One of my cohort-mates did last year. I'm certainly at least very lucky. But for anyone on a forum to suggest that you might be special, to give you hope, is quite simply academic malpractice.
I'm honestly not sure what post you're talking about, but GC is the opposite of a good old boys' club. The good old boys aren't here. They don't need to go on the internet for advice on how to do a PhD, they already know. Most people on this forum are first generation (PhD, if not college), and/or have taken unusual paths to get where they are.
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from TagRendar in Language self study
Once I got to intermediate proficiency, reading newspapers in my research languages first thing in the morning was very helpful.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to jpc34 in Don't Do a PhD in History
Most of the non tenure-track jobs out there will be part-time adjunct positions. These usually come with no benefits and are paid quite poorly, even if you manage to cobble together enough contracts to reach a full course load. I agree that full-time lecturer positions with benefits aren’t so bad, but those are not especially numerous in US academia.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to Louis de Montalte in Don't Do a PhD in History
It's probably worth bumping this thread back to the top since everything in it still applies...
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to Sigaba in Is the option to "Master out" of a PhD available everywhere?
If you go this route, consider carefully your MA options.
A thesis option or a report option will produce a writing sample that may serve you in the job market. A MA earned by passing qualifying exams may not provide a similar benefit even though that path arguably has greater challenges. Either/or, make sure that your path secures eligibility to join your school's alumni association, and join that association as soon as possible.
Also, don't show your hand until you are absolutely sure you want to stop.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in 2022 Application Thread
Just wait until you go on the job market and are asked to upload your CV, and then the form auto-populates the field data from your CV except it gets it totally wrong and you have to delete every field and re-enter it.
No, I'm not grumpy, why do you ask?
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AfricanusCrowther got a reaction from Mert93 in 2022 Application Thread
No. In fact it probably won’t be considered much at all.
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AfricanusCrowther reacted to dr. t in 2022 Application Thread
There is no such thing as a safety school for PhD work. Don't go to a program just because it's the only one that will accept you.