oroanthro

Whoops, I meant to tag you in that last reply. I do want to stay in the NYC area, having just moved back here from a disastrous program experience in Oklahoma. I will look at Rutgers, too. I am such a newbie to MSLIS in this area, I don't know how to go about finding a program that matches my interests.

Hi, thanks for this! It helps.I have not looked at Rutgers yet and I definitely want to stay in the NYC area. I'm such a newbie, I don't know how to figure out which programs are best for what I want to do. Thanks again.

BUMP. I know this is a whole year later, but I am looking into MLIS programs in NYC and don't even know where to start. I would be eager to hear what you found out about the Pratt program, where you decided to apply and how you feel about the whole process.

I don't know about numbers like 95% or 98% and I don't know about biological anthropology specifically, but it is generally accepted that the vast majority of TT jobs go to graduates of the top tier programs in most fields. Here is an article discussing the ways in which the academic hierarchy affects job distribution within anthropology (Also, here is the AAA paper the author cites in this post). [Sidenote: I think the entire series on precarity should be required reading for anyone thinking of going to graduate school in anthropology.] I know that none of these sources are bio/arch specific and so there may be some resistance to this point. However, I do not see why what is true for most of academia and anthropology would not be true here. I am hoping that someone with more experience in these fields chimes in.

You're missing my point. My point is not about the time commitment. My point is that a graduate student (MA or PhD) can get lost if they go to a school to work with only one person and that person leaves, loses their funding status, turns out to be a terrible advisor, etc. When picking a program, it should be about more than just the one advisor, even though I agree that it is the most important question.

First of all. Congrats on both acceptances Having done two MAs already, I would caution that it can't just be about that one single advisor--what if you get there and that person goes on sabbatical or turns out to be an unworkable, inflexible jerk? The former is happening to a friend of mine right now, the latter happened to me. Yes, the question of which advisor you want to work with more is certainly the most important. But I would encourage you to ask which program has a better team for you. Can you envisage a full committee (if you need one) or do you see more stuff that interests you happening at one or the other program? Because it's only two years, you don't have time to futz around, TA for a bit, figure out a new lab/site/project if your one person turns out to not be your one person after all. You've got to be able to recover from any surprises or shocks and keep going on to your ultimate goal (I'm assuming a PhD). I know this sounds overly negative because it assumes that things can and will go wrong. I hate to be the Sour Sally here, but its too easy to get derailed and spend 3-5 years trying to finish an MA in an uncooperative program these days. I've seen it happen and I'm still seeing it happen.

Hi there! Congrats on your two acceptances. I would say there are some big components missing from the decision-making process here: one is funding (which you acknowledge), the second is what kind of jobs you can get with either PhD, and the third is what current/recent grad students say about the possibility of moving from the MPhil to the DPhil at Oxford. I am immediately curious as to how many KCL students actually finish in three years vs. how many need additional time (and therefore additional resources) to finish, how they feel about that process and what their experiences have been like pursuing a job after only three years of study and which departments hire lecturers in War Studies. How many of the faculty in that department have their DPhils in War Studies vs. something more traditional like Economics, Psychology or Anthropology? How many graduates have they been able to place in jobs like the one you want to pursue? I am also concerned that a professor at Oxford told you it is common practice to "transfer" when the standard rule is that you must apply to get into the DPhil from the MPhil and that your admission to the former is by no means guaranteed. It would be great if you could get in touch with current students in both Oxford programs to see what their plans are and how many of them were able to move from the MPhil over to the DPhil. Professors have a duty to upsell their program and are generally blind to the pain and confusion of students who get rejected. Really, this is not a choice between a three year and a five year PhD, this is a choice between a three year PhD in War Studies and an MPhil in Anthropology. Which one will serve your ultimate career goal better? Which one makes it more likely you will achieve those goals? Lastly, don't apologize for liking one program more than the other! Some programs/universities make better impressions on us for different reasons. What may seem like a great intellectual atmosphere to you may seem stuffy and boring to someone else. If Oxford makes you more comfortable for whatever reason, definitely take that into account when making your final decision. Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

I am aware that any admission at this point will most likely be with a tuition-only fellowship. I would be curious to hear what route you took and how you feel about your decision in hindsight--may I PM you? Of course, I would understand if you don't want to discuss details.

I don't call it pessimism--I prefer to think of it as "being realistic."

Hello all, infrequent commenter here emerging from the shadows to ask for general advice. I've been waitlisted at my top choice (CUNY) and just found out that I am officially rejected from everywhere else--though I had been expecting that news for some time when I started seeing the acceptances on the results board. I am wondering what the best course of action would be. I emailed the DGS two weeks ago (when I was still waitlisted somewhere else and waiting to hear from a few other places) letting him know that how much I love the program and how excited I would be to attend, etc. etc. Do I reach out to POIs? Email the DGS again? Start planning for next year already? My advisor insists that staying distant is the best course of action, but considering how horribly this application season is going I'm starting to question his judgement. Any and all advice appreciated--and congratulations to all those posting about acceptances!

This argument doesn't make sense to me. Just because there are repercussions for something you say doesn't mean someone is making it illegal for you to say it. Law and social acceptability are two different things. If you say something and another person deems it inflammatory, insensitive or hurtful, they have the right to react to you in any way they see fit. Nobody is infringing on your rights by reacting to the things you say. You have the right to say whatever you want--but your right to speech does not trump others' rights to speech in reaction to your speech. You can say whatever you want--but you can't force other people to put up with you for one to two years so that you can get the degree you want. We are all adults, and we have to behave in socially acceptable ways if we want other adults to spend time with us. That means knowing what to say in an interview or to potential bosses, colleagues or friends. Being an adult also means accepting that applications for jobs and graduate school isn't based solely on your portfolio--your attitude, work ethic and personality are hard to put on your CV but are easier to figure out in an interview. You don't get into a program just because you think you deserve it--it has to do with whether people want to put in the effort to work with and for you and to have your name associated with their program. Also, who told you the state "runs" public universities? They might have some public funds, but they are not state run. State officials do not run universities--they hire their own presidents and chancellors and make their own decisions.

I was worried they would view all this as a failure on my part...or maybe think I was trying to blame them. After all, I applied with the full knowledge that they didn't know anything about anthropology programs and took the time to convince them that I would be working on a really, really cool project. I convinced them this was a good idea...I feel like I wasted their time. What's more, I don't know what they would be able to do in this situation? Write me a letter based on work they haven't seen in two years?

Hi True_Life, First, I am sorry to hear that you are feeling this depression and anxiety. You are not alone. This does not mean that what you are experiencing is inconsequential, but it does mean there are people, professionals and otherwise, who have experience and are willing to help. I am not a therapist, but I do believe that there is such thing as finding the "right" therapist. Is yours only giving you pills? Is he or she listening to you? Whatever you do, don't dwell on what has happened. We can't change the past and we can't know the future--we can only work with the present moment. If you feel the urge to dwell and feel yourself spiraling down, do something else! Call your girlfriend, go for a walk, pick up that article you've been meaning to read or brainstorm a list of possible solutions and write them all down, no matter how crazy. I'm not a doctor! I encourage you to keep seeing professionals and to reach out to a hotline ( I just googled it--1-800-273-TALK) if you are feeling suicidal. This situation is temporary and it is salvageable--it's never worth your life.

That's a good question. 1.There is not really a GA or TA assignment for me to switch to--I already checked. The department is very small, and what is more, is shifting away from my subfield. The classes that need TAs are outside my area of knowledge. None of the professors will let me TA their classes when there are more qualified students in their subfields (and whose committees they happen to be on) who want to TA and need the funding. I tried to be a GA at a nearby museum, but the assistant curator explained to me that seniority, ranking and fit means one other student is ahead of me in line for that position. I already know that said student wants the position very badly. 2. The GAship is the entire reason I came here. I feel that the NSF grant I got to do the GA and complete my degree here is the most attractive thing about my CV. If I get rid of it, I'll be an unfunded student at a fourth-tier program. I'll have to take out loans to finish the degree and I will have to turn the research I did for my boss over to his next GA.

Hi all, I have a dilemma rolling around in my head and need some help sorting it out. I went to top tier schools for my BA and MA and decided on a little known program for my PhD. Neither my BA nor my MA were in my current field (anthropology), but someone here (my current PI whom I am a GA for) recruited me to work on his fantastic-sounding interdisciplinary NSF-funded project. He promised me the ability to participate in the research (i.e. conduct interviews myself), hire and direct my own undergrad assistants, have opportunities to publish with him and the postdocs on the project, and funding, through his grant, to present at conferences and travel for research. Two years later. None of what he put in his offer letter has happened. I am handed months' worth of busywork that my PI doesn't look at and he used funding earmarked for me on himself. I have had to apply for outside grants for conference and research travel--even when working on his project! He hired undergrads and treats me like them--even putting them in charge of projects instead of me. He raises his voice at me frequently and rants at me or sends me long, all caps, bright red emails for the smallest thing. He makes absurd demands about the direction of my dissertation research even though he is not on my committee--even demanding that I allow him to write a comp question. This GAship is a nightmare, to put it mildly. What's more, now that I have been in anthropology for two years, I realize just how bad my program is--and it's getting worse. The few well-known people in my subfield have retired or gotten offers elsewhere and are slowly being replaced with people from another subfield. My coursework has been pretty much all required intro courses and I don't feel that I have a good grip on the literature in my area of interest. Since it's a four year program, I feel that I am being rushed to finish without having the chance to develop myself as an anthropologist. I don't have a cohort with whom I can share ideas--I was the only person accepted my year. I love my committee--they are warm and supportive--but two of them have indicated that they are sorry I am here. I don't need you all to tell me that I was stupid and naive to believe my boss--GAships like what he had described don't exist, at least in anthropology. I didn't know that at the time. I also know that I was stupid to leave the Ivy League for a program with barely any ranking. I didn't quite understand the ranking of anthropology programs when I accepted the offer. I understand that I deserve what has happened to me. My question is, what next? The way I see it, my options are to write an MA thesis this summer instead of preparing for comps and get the heck out (maybe apply for another PhD program down the road?), apply for other programs without an MA in Anthropology this fall, or just suck it up and finish the second half of my degree at this fourth-rate program at an otherwise good university. Maybe I can transfer to a better program with researchers working on the same grant project I am on? I've made some good connections in other departments. What do you all think? Has anyone tried to switch PhD programs? Is there another option I can't see because I'm so deep in this hole? And let's be realistic, guys, nobody gets their PI fired, so don't suggest that.