nevermind

I know you didn't. The OP mentioned this in her post and I was providing what has worked for me as an alternative. I was offering my perspective as an older student and did not ask for your advice or judgement.

Thanks for your unsolicited feedback. Yes, I do "other things" in order to be successful. There are many ways of networking and cultivating interpersonal relationships, but "going out to bars" every weekend with your cohort doesn't have to be one of them.

I consider the PhD program as my workplace. I show up to class, am (hopefully) collegial to my colleagues, but I leave campus and go home...I'm not really involved in departmental drama (sometimes people fill me in, but I honestly don't know much). I focus on my work and keep it at that. I have a boyfriend who moved with me across the country and a dog...so when I'm not working, I spend time with them. I have a "social life" with them, but not really with my department. My colleagues know me in class and in a professional setting and I keep it that way. I'm 35 and, at the end of the day, I have different priorities than someone in their late 20's (e.g. finishing by the time I'm 40!).

I have moderate Crohn's Disease and I guess my suggestion would be to make sure you get your flare-ups under control as much as possible before starting a graduate program. In addition to establishing your physician/specialist relationship quickly and getting on the right meds, there's not a lot else you can do. I deal with fatigue a lot, but that's honestly something you have to push through. Because of Crohn's, gluten really aggravates my symptoms, so I maintain a gluten free diet (which I've done for YEARS), it just sucks because of all the "free food" at grad. events all contain gluten (pizza, cookies, donuts, sandwiches). I'm used to bringing my own food everywhere and adjusting as-is. I'm attending a language program this summer and have already established that this will be accommodated.

I agree with the suggestion about Huehnergard. You probably know that him + University of Chicago would be the top two places where you could do your work. I would recommend reaching out to him (Via email), explaining your career goals, and seeing what he thinks your background/preparation/aptitude would fit best. When I talked to him years ago, he discouraged me from doing philology specifically, since it's such a narrow field (and subsequently, hard to get a job in...FWIW, I also had Akkadian, Hebrew, and Aramaic). I think Arabic would also be beneficial in Comparative Semitics, so if you could get that during your M.A., I think it would help too. Honestly, Chicago sounds like it would best for you since (I think) they have a joint program with the linguistics department.

I would agree with this. I have a graduate degree in international development, so I think human geography / sociology would really be a stronger match than history (unless you can make a case for choosing history as a methodology...). I would recommend checking out Cornell's Development Sociology program - it's highly interdisciplinary and Shelley Feldman's work (http://www.atkinson.cornell.edu/about/people/fellows/view.php?NetID=rf12) might appeal to you.

This is SO true. You're not going to learn everything in the summer before grad school (and everyone expects you to be a little "green" anyway...I still am in many ways)...take FULL advantage of doing nothing. If you want to "be productive", you might want to check out "The Professor is In" (if you want a career in academia) and try to start crafting a 5 year plan (https://theprofessorisin.com/2014/05/02/why-you-need-a-5-year-plan/) to take to your advisor (grants/archives, etc. you want to apply for in the future).

Lucky!!! We go until mid-June. :-/

I can also relate to being in two departments...I'm history AND science studies, so it's certainly a balancing act...but it means twice as many emails. I've found some archives that I'm hoping to visit in the summer (I'm also doing a summer language program)...BUT. man. i'm exhausted.

YES. I write so many...I try to only respond (unless it's critical) during normal business hours because sometimes...you just have to unplug for sanity's sake.

If it's an online certificate program, I'd go with whatever's cheaper, assuming you have to pay your own way. It's really unclear how much online certificate programs carry the "prestige" of the school, so I would be wary of paying for UoC's "name".

The other responses are fantastic, but I'll add my two cents too. I have a lot of friends who are Near Eastern Studies and they're trying to position themselves for a job in a history department, but aren't grounded in the "right" methodology (or any directed methodology at all)...it's an uphill battle. I don't think WGS is like that and I don't see that getting the MA you're talking about being a "hindrance" to your PhD ambitions (in fact, it will likely help). For women and gender studies, I think it would really easy to do integrated within a history program (and the program I'm in even offers a WGS certificate if candidates are interested). I don't think you'd run into the same problems (as those in area studies) if you did history with a WGS certificate (or WGS as a minor field or something like this), and on the job market, you'd likely be marketable to both history departments and more interdisciplinary gender studies depts.

I think @SarahBethSortino studied at Edinburgh for her Master's. You may want to contact her as she likely has valuable insight into this (or if not, who to contact to ask these questions).

bahaha. the workforce wasn't freedom for me...i MUCH prefer academia. It was a good lesson to learn so that I appreciate my time in grad school more. Though I DO miss making $80,000/yr. instead of my meager stipend.

...it has been eons for me since undergrad...at least 13 years or so since I graduated.