Steph Smith

Thanks for the advice everyone! I feel I should clarify that I have given quite a bit of consideration and thought to pursuing graduate school, so much perhaps that it hadn't crossed my mind for the last few years that maybe I wouldn't go. The change here is that I was approached by an old friend who I gathering together a team to work on a campaign for the 2020 Presidential election, starting in 2019. As I had planned to begin graduate school in the fall of 2018, obviously I can't do both at the same time. It's not the process of getting a PhD that I'm questioning, it's mostly wondering if my time would be better used networking and working my way through the political ranks if politics/public policy is my end goal.

Hello all, I just submitted four grad school apps and am anxiously awaiting the results. While I wait, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do with the PhD and how that aligns to my ultimate goals and plans. I always just assumed grad school was the next step in my future, but I'm beginning to question that for a variety of reasons. For one, teaching is not my passion. I really don't have any desire to teach and I feel that is a profession that requires passion and dedication to do well. My focus lies much more along the public policy and research aspects. My dream job would be working for organizations like the Sentencing Project that work to reform criminal justice, or even as a politician working to implement these changes. I don't think a PhD would be necessary in this sort of situation, though additional education can't hurt. I just wonder if I'd be wasting my time on earning a degree when that time could be better spent making connections and working my way through the ranks of politics. Secondly, the new tax bill and the uncertainty of what will happen over the next few years has me worried. If the tuition waivers become taxable income, I know that even the highest stipend from one of the schools I've applied to won't be enough to live on. That's not to mention any other sort of torture the government could come up with in the next few years. Finally, I've always been really invested and passionate about politics and I feel it is so imperative to get involved and make some changes for the better. I don't think we can afford to wait another few years and just keep our fingers crossed. Essentially, I want to put my money where my mouth is; I want to walk the walk, sooner rather than later. So here's my question: If I don't plan on teaching and public policy and politics are more my avenue, is a PhD necessary/beneficial? How concerned should I be about potential financial difficulties and other unforeseen obstacles? I've also been doing a lot of reading about the current grad school climate and I'm not impressed with what I have found. There seems to be an unhealthy pressure put on grad students to do extraordinary amounts of work with little pay and recognition. With the topic of sexual abuse and harassment on the news daily, it seems the academic community also has quite a bit of skeletons in its closet regarding this topic as well. I've spoken with a handful of current graduate students, professors, and admissions counselors who are encouraging me to go the politics route instead. I could keep going but you get the point, your input would be much appreciated.

To be 100% honest, checking those places had not occurred to me nor been recommended to me before now, so thank you for pointing those out. I've been going through faculty lists at various schools to identify areas of research and potential POIs. That search has led me to only about 5 professors with research interests along the same lines, according to their profile page on the university website. EDIT: Following up on your sources here, most authors I've come across in a Google Scholar search are either not professors (they work for various think-tanks, publications, and projects) or are law professors or medical doctors/professors instead of history professors. The other two databases you mentioned require paid membership to access, which I do not have at the moment. Any suggestions for free sources?

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

I have done this with two papers, one of which was presented at two national conferences and is in the process of being finessed for a writing sample for applications this fall. However, that is one out of dozens of papers I've written.

I am a December 2016 graduate preparing applications for graduate school in fall of 2018. I've recetly been cleaning up my lap top and physical files and have had a hard time deciding if I should delete old papers. I've only referred to old assignments a handful of times, though at those times it was handy to have them. So, do you keep yours, keep some of them, or throw them all away?

I'm in a similar situation as you. I graduated December 2016 and will be going to grad school fall of 2018. One thing I've found wildly helpful is to keep a running list of articles, books, passages, etc. that are applicable to my desired research field. I just keep a spreadsheet on Google Sheets with the title, link, a short explanation and the date. For passages out of books that I want to be able to refer back to later, I have a running note on Evernote with all necessary biographical information. I've also found a couple projects to work on to keep my writing sharp. I blog about every other week and while it doesn't have high readership (my mom likes it though ) it gives me space to craft an argument and present evidence like a mini research paper. And I can write about anything I want! Just remember that graduate schools are likely to do a social media check so keep your footprint PC. I've also found a project that is working to get biographical sketches of over 2500 suffragists across the country. They'll give you a couple names and a few months to come up with 500 words on the woman. They give you a by-line as well so you can claim the credit for the writing and research you do. As everyone has said before, read, read, read. Find new areas that you aren't familiar with and put yourself through your own introductory course. I have been focusing on the War on Drugs and mass incarceration for my graduate school topic, but I've found that Australian history can be illuminating on this issue, though I know nothing about Australian history. So, I've taken it upon myself to learn the basics. On this same note, I usually carry a journal with me everywhere I go so that if something comes up and I think, "Huh, I'd like to know more about that," I can write it down and look it up later. I think it all comes down to staying active in your learning and finding new ways to be excited by the process. Hope this is helpful.

Hello! I'm new to this forum but saw this and thought I'd say hello. I'm a recent grad from a small private college with a BA in history. I'm currently working on applications for University of Texas Austin, Emory University, and Vanderbilt University. I'll be taking the GRE July 15th (wish me luck) and have a publication in the works. My area of focus is the War on Drugs and mass incarceration/policing. Any tips, advice, etc are appreciated!