glycoprotein1
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Posts posted by glycoprotein1
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I'm happy to help but it might be a couple days before I can return it to you if that's ok. I've got a test coming up
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Currently working on my MPhil at Cambridge. They don’t really care about courseload. They do however care about research experience. At Oxbridge in particular, the masters level degree is quite independent and very much research based. Understand this going into one and you’ll love it, but I have friends that are a little disappointed because they thought the masters would be structured like programs in the U.S. Personally, I’ve had an amazing time, but my research interests fit very well with my department’s strengths and I’ve been lucky to have fantastic advisors.
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Social life for me has been great. I was in a similar situation to you a year ago, but I was moving from america to the UK. I have a wonderful group of friends in my department that meet once weekly for dinner, and for tea sometimes too depending on our schedules. We are all focusing in different areas so it’s nice to catch up, commiserate during tough times, and celebrate our successes as they come. I also have dinner with college (my university is set up into different colleges) mates on most weeknights where we pretty much do the same thing. I’m also pretty active in societies so I have a great time with friends doing nonacademic stuff too. I honestly didn’t make time for fun as an undergraduate, so I’ve genuinely enjoyed the whole work hard play hard mentality as a grad student.
As far as fears, I’ll be heading back to the U.S. for medical school this fall and I’m nervous about being able to establish strong relationships at my future school. I’m sure it’ll be fine, but it’s certainly something I worry about before starting any degree.
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On 6/13/2018 at 10:00 PM, MotherofAllCorgis said:
Hi glycoprotein (cool name btw!)
I thought there were no interviews for Oxbridge masters? Maybe it is a HPSM thing?
Do you have any advice for getting good research experience? What did you personally do? (Sorry if I am asking a question LS might have already answered but I always had it in my head that research experience was like RAing or working in a lab with profs as the science kids do.) Will just a good senior thesis cut it then?
Regarding LOR, it is of course better to get a prof that knows you well but does their background of the prof also matter? All things being roughly equal, a LOR from a prof who went to Cambridge looks better than a prof who went to Florida State right?
Thanks! Some programs require interviews while others do not. HPSM requires an interview! What I recommend (also what worked for me at my first conference) is to seek out small/local conferences in areas you’re interested in and come up with a related research proposal to submit. This will get your foot in the door and give you a taste of what research is like. A good senior thesis is helpful (and even crucial if you have no other work) because it can serve as a summary of your talents. Do keep in mind, however, why you’re doing research in the first place. A good product is always nice, but what you take from your experience and talk about/apply down the road is arguably just as important.
Well, it depends. It certaintly could be best to have a Cambridge prof’s LOR but only if they know you just as well as your Florida State equivalent LOR writer. My LORs came from my research advisors at my state school and it didn’t hurt a bit if that’s what your worried about.
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Hi MotherofallCorgis. I will be attending Cambridge this Fall for my mphil in history of medicine. I completed my undergraduate degree in the US. I really think L13 did a brilliant job answering your questions so I don’t have much to add beyond echoing the importance of research experience. The majority of my interview consisted of my advisor asking questions about my research background and writing sample (my senior thesis). Because of the GPA cut off for my program (3.70 at Cambridge and 3.75 at Oxford I think) everyone who applies has good grades. Research and LORs are consequently very, very important. I decided not to apply to Oxford because I was not able to find potential advisors working in a similar area to me.
- L13 and MotherofAllCorgis
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Best of luck to y’all!!!
- hbhowe and historygeek
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9 hours ago, randomaccount19 said:
The conditional offer from Cambridge just came through in the application portal. Thank you all for the encouragement and insights!
Congrats!!! I'm fairly certain I'll accept my offer from Cambridge so hit me up if you decide to go!
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Received an acceptance from Cambridge this morning! Very excited!
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17 hours ago, 35mm_ said:
Congratulations on the interview invite! HPS is a great department to be at. Who's your POI?
Thanks!!! I’m hoping to work with Salim Al-Gailani.
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Hello hello! This will probably be old news to some of you as I’ve already posted a similar intro in the big thread. My interests include the history of medicine, specifically the intersection of poverty, nutrition, disease, and public health. My work thus far is centered around the 20th century U.S. south, but I’m not by any means married to the location. I only applied to Cambridge’s History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine mphil and I just heard back with an interview invite. That’s about it for me! Glad you started this thread @histsci!
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Received an interview invite for a spot in the Cambridge HPS and Medicine mphil! I was beginning to lose hope. Y’all have any tips!??
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Hi all, it seems this thread is beginning to come unraveled so I'd like to first put in a few words regarding its purpose. I had hoped this thread could serve as a one-stop-shop for everything related to history admissions this year - be it results, reactions, concerns, questions, general commentary, etc. I understand that some of y'all prefer to see posts strictly pertaining to history results and that's totally fine. If starting a new thread where anything even remotely off topic is removed helps to avoid the vitriolic nature of last year's applicants thread, then such offshoots are a win for everyone. Going forward, however, I'd like to make clear that this thread is for anything generally related to the subject of Fall 2018 Applications. Applying to graduate school is an extremely stressful process and as @khigh said, many of us rely on these forums because we have no one else to turn to for subject guidance and support. If it weren't for the history forum, I'd certainly be ignorant to a lot of topics that I honestly take for granted now. Let's continue to support one another through the remainder of this application season and keep this thread a welcoming place.
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Hi @ringo, I applied for admission into the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine program. Not exactly history, but closely related nonetheless! I submitted in early January and am currently under review by the degree committee. I think HPS applications skip the department phase (or go through very quickly) and head straight to the under review by degree committee phase, so I'm in essentially the same place as you. Best of luck!
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23 minutes ago, kenalyass said:
Alternatively, how can I showcase these grants in a SOP?
Whether or not it was effective still remains to be seen, but I also was fortunate to earn a number of grants for my research and was selected to present my work at a couple of conferences, so I showcased these awards if you will in my SOP by mentioning that my work had already gained interest from the larger scholarly community. I subsequently listed the grants & sponsors and conferences so the reader(s) would have some idea of what I was talking about. Hopefully I'm interpreting your question correctly. Please let me know if not.
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I like to think my reaction will be some mixture of speechlessness, a rush of euphoria, and endless babbling as I try to find the words to tell my parents. All topped off with a cider (or two or three) and a steak at our local fancy restaurant. Let’s hope I haven’t jinxed my chances now!
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24 minutes ago, khigh said:
There are two on there now and I still haven't gotten anything.
I'm rooting for you, khigh! Hopefully your acceptance is next.
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11 hours ago, TMP said:
@kenalyass and everyone else,
More seriously, work on finding inner peace within yourself knowing that the world will not end if you do not get into Chicago or any place this year. This year is only your first year and it may take at least two cycles to get in. This isn't unusual: this is the fact in academia. Nearly everyone has to apply more than one cycle to get that fellowship... that job... that highly-selective conference. We learn to build cautious optimism/pessimism (depending how you look at the glass). Developing a realistic outlook from the get-go will serve you well on the long run. Everyone also learns to create back-up plans and find peace with them until they have achieve their ultimate goal or realize that the path they've been on wasn't right after all.
It will be emotionally difficult to cope with and you are absolutely entitled to your emotions but.... do not let them take over your entire life. Speaking from experience
You are just entering the Real World of Academia.
This is great advice, TMP. The last few months have been especially tough for me because I find comfort in planning everything out. The admissions process obviously makes planning impossible because I have no idea where I'll be this time next year. Uncertainty just isn't a comfortable feeling, but it helps to realize that this isn't my only chance. If things don't work out the way I'd hoped, I'll figure out what went wrong and try again another time.
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Hi all, I just wanted to check in and say good luck to everyone anxiously awaiting results and congrats to those recently accepted! As far as an update goes, my time over much of the fall semester was spent on other responsibilities like preparing for a conference presentation, submitting my thesis, and graduating...(woo!) but I finally found time to submit my application to the Cambridge HPS & Medicine MPhil a few days ago. Earlier on in the thread I had a few other programs in mind but I decided to cut them for various reasons including fit and likelihood of me actually attending if admitted.
I wasn't able to contact potential advisors but I'm not terribly concerned as there are multiple profs that I can see myself working with and the program's layout seems to promote a sort of department-wide education through seminars, lectures, etc. This is ideal as the university I graduated from does not have a formal history of medicine program and I really want to strengthen my base before continuing to PhD programs and/or medical school. Currently, I am looking to continue my work on the intersection of southern (U.S.) poverty, nutrition, and public health, with a focus on diseases associated with poverty. Geographically, this is the area that I'm most comfortable working in but I'm very willing to shift as I need to.
That's about all that I have for now. I am looking to be more active on this forum over the next few months with more time on my hands. No promises though as my knowledge of the field is both limited and specific! Thanks!
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I wouldn't tell them out of the blue. However, if asked, it's fair game - just be smart about it (don't list a bunch of top ranked programs at a much lower ranked school). I did a pre-admissions interview with a program last year, and the dean asked me where I might be applying and kindly gave me his thoughts - positive and negative - about each of the programs. It was a very helpful to hear the opinions of a leader in the field.
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17 hours ago, VAZ said:
Hi Glycoprotein1, if you are thinking about doing a MA in history of medicine in Canada, Toronto and McGill are undoubtedly the best two choices. Toronto has a separate MA in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, and one of the three history tracks is History of Medicine and Life Sciences. It is a non-thesis program but I guess you can do a major research paper out of it. They have a number of prominent medical history scholars such as Lucia Dacome (early modern), Nikolai Krementsov (Soviet Russia), Marga Vicedo and Paul Thompson (evolution), and also a few others working on the anthropological and philosophical aspects of medicine. Alternatively, you can apply to the MA of the History Department and write a major research paper with the renowned Edward Shorter (psychiatry) (but I don't know if he is still taking students).
McGill is very strong in medical history as well: Faith Wallis (medieval), George Weisz (20thC, health), Andrea Tone (US, sexual/psychiatrical), Thomas Schlich (surgery) and David Wright (Canada/UK, mental/hospital). You can do a MA in Medical + 1) History (non-thesis), 2) Anthropology (thesis) or 3) Sociology (thesis), or a MA in History (thesis) with any of the above professors.
You may also consider other Canadian schools, such as Queens (Jacalyn Duffin (miracle/saint/death)), UWO (Shelley McKellar (medical technology/biography)), McMaster (Ellen Amster (Islamic, public health)), and Calgary (Frank W. Stahnisch (physiology/neuroscience)).
Keep in mind that these Canadian programs can be finished in one year and are way cheaper than the US ones. And they don't require the GRE!!
Wow, excellent information VAZ. Thank you for your help!
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5 hours ago, Neist said:
I completely understand.
Also, did this person start the program last year? Given your location, I think I know who this person is, and if it is this person, I actually shared an office with them for a short period.
Small world!
Yep - small world indeed!
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1 hour ago, Neist said:
Interesting focus! Out of curiosity, what programs are you looking into? Have you considered a joint history of medicine and MD program? A few of those do exist, but I imagine finishing them would take ages.
At the moment I'm looking at Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Toronto, and McGill. I'm also considering Yale, Duke, Harvard, and Wisconsin, but I'm still recovering from the MCAT and really don't want to study for the GRE lol. I sure have! I love studying history, but I'm not sure if I want to commit the additional time for the PhD when I know I'd be just as content with a master's degree.
--Slightly off topic, a friend of mine is in the History of Science program at Oklahoma, you might just well know them!
MA/MPhil in Latin American Studies-- too many options, or none?!
in Interdisciplinary Studies
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I would be very weary of taking out loans for this program unless you are confident that you’ll be able to pay them off in a short time period (<1 year) with no concern. Also know that many of these one year masters require a lot of independent research, and are quite different from the american system, where masters students receive much more instruction and the program more structured.
I did an MPhil in History & Philosophy of Science at Cambridge last year, and I loved it, but I want to make sure that you know the risks. Will you make great connections? It’s possible. Are the connections worth spending that kind of money? No. Is it prestigious? I mean, I guess, but tbh no one really cares unless you’re going into finance or continuing on in academia.