bigbangdeux
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Posts posted by bigbangdeux
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1 hour ago, Quickmick said:
Huzzah! Congratulations.
Thank you!
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Got my first response and acceptance letter from my POI from OSU this morning! Department nominated me for two fellowships for a total of six years of funding! Beyond excited!
- dr. t, Neist, Reaglejuice89 and 1 other
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46 minutes ago, OHSP said:
To those also waiting on Wisconsin Madison, I received an email from my POI that says they are close to making decisions, they are only selecting a small incoming group from a pool of very competitive candidates, I am in the top bracket, and they want to maximise the chance that candidates will accept their offers. There's also a more personal note from my POI re how it's a great fit etc - U-WM's faculty is like a dream given my interests. Did anyone else get this email and also does anyone have any tips re responding? It's definitely not an admission - seems more like an opportunity to convince them that I want to go there.
Do you mind asking what's your subfield?
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24 minutes ago, OHSP said:
@bigbangdeux mine has changed as well and looks the same.
Okay glad to know it happened to other people lol. I was mildly panicking.
4 minutes ago, museum_geek said:I applied to UW Madison's Anthropology PhD program and my application status page is now the same as yours. I guess it's a general Graduate School thing rather than being specific to any single applicant or department. In any case, I'm glad someone else posted about this, otherwise I would have seen it and started freaking out for no reason!
Yeah I'm assuming it just means that everything was received by the graduate school and is ready for the committees to review.
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Did anyone else's status on uwisconsin madison's status application change? Earlier this morning I wasn't able to see my status but now it looks differently and on the left under History PhD there is now another little slot that says Available for Recommendation and 'Pending Review' under both in the status description. Is this normal?
Edit: added screenshot of page - blocked out the misc numbers in case they are significant to my identity or whatever :P
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Yikes AP, that sounds super intimidating, but thank you for sharing!
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I hope that everyone had a successful run of submitting their applications for December deadlines!! Question for those who have gone through previous cycles. Do most schools interview the applicants they are interested in or is that more of a school-by-school basis decision? What was your interview experience if you did have one?
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One application submitted! They wouldn't send out letters of recommendation requests until you submitted all documentation. I am not completely satisfied with where my writing sample was at for it, but I've also been staring at it for probably way too long at it anyways at this point. I feel like I'm starting to get tunnel vision when it comes to my writing sample. Dec 1 deadlines are coming up so quickly!
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Also for what it's worth just from my personal experience (and I see that you are applying for fall 2017) but should things not work out this year there can be a lot of benefits to taking time off in between undergrad and applying. I know for myself (I'm in year 2 out of graduating from undergrad) that time definitely helped me to hone in on what I want to study, plus I was able to have a lot more time to study for the GRE. You definitely don't have to spend a lot of money to be prepared for it. I cannot recommend the website vocabulary.com enough when it came to studying some of the pre-made top GRE words lists. I basically just studied those lists and I definitely think it was a huge help for the verbal section. Also sparknotes.com has a great condensed review section on GRE math that is presented in a very understandable way (especially for people like me who are not math oriented).
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18 hours ago, french_historynerd said:
What school's are you applying to if you don't mind me asking? The struggle bus is real right now and I am exhausted and want to be done with everything, yesterday. I am looking to also study Gender/Sexuality in France and perhaps a compare and contrast with Italy or Germany in regard to the Vichy Regime.
I feel you! I need to be done with everything, but also at the same time I need November to go on forever so I have maximum time to edit everything. Sure no problem. I'm applying to UT-Austin, UChicago, OSU, UWisconsin-Madison, IU-Bloomington, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Notre Dame. What about you?
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I'm doing history but would definitely be willing to trade SOP with anyone! PM me if anyone is interested
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I've had contact with my favorite POI and they are interested in my research but had semi-dire (but understandable and realistic) things to say about the prospects of job for European historians... I'm not sure if this is a thinly veiled 'don't apply here' or a 'just know what you are getting yourself into' comment. Anyone have any interesting/confusing interactions with POI and how did you handle it?
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Has anyone come across a section on their application that asks you to list the other schools you are applying to and rank them? They appear to be optional sections, but I'm not sure how to approach this.
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16 hours ago, etoile89 said:
Do I enjoy getting up at 4:30 AM to go to the gym each morning?
OMG same... shout out to that 4:30 AM work out club. Also since I've asked a few questions already figured I would introduce myself as well. Graduated in 2015 from a SLAC (double major MLL/Classics) with a 3.66 GPA (damn you Ancient Greek) and good GRE scores (again not as important). Spent the year after graduation teaching English in France, and this year I'm completing a service year with AmeriCorps and am hopeful for the upcoming application cycle. My interests are in Modern Europe, specifically I want to look at gender and sexuality during France's Third Republic. I am applying to seven PhD programs (thank god AmeriCorps gets me fee waivers for a majority of these places). That's about it! I hope everyone is not feeling too stressed right about now, even though I know I am struggling right now with rereading my writing sample and cringing at argument holes that I didn't even notice when I first wrote it.
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22 hours ago, KLZ said:
If you tell us your topic or research interests, perhaps we can point you in the direction of some good historiographical sources.
I'm interested in gender in France in the late 19th early 20th century, particularly the ideas of femininity in relation to consumerism and citizenship. So I guess anything related to gender in France from the 19th and/or 20th c would be appreciated!
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12 hours ago, knp said:
I'm rather negative on classics, so I hope my tone doesn't come across too harsh, but: the majority of classicists, including ancient historians, will have gone to high schools that had enough educational capital to offer significant Latin, or even Greek.
This is super true! When I was graduated and spoke to my classics professors they all spoke about the high level of expectations for languages (and that with three years of Ancient Greek and two of Latin already under my belt), so I understand the frustration. Another option for you in you can swing it financially (and that my classics professors recommended to me when I was still considering it) that hasn't been mentioned is looking into a year long post-bac classics program. I had a friend who was a late comer to the classics program and while he had a lot of Latin he wasn't there with his Ancient Greek and so he did one of these programs (I think maybe at upenn but I could be wrong) to beef up his languages and this year he started the classics phd program at UT. Granted I know this isn't representative of all experiences and since you are looking to go into history and not classics there are differences, but if you are worried about languages it might be something worth looking into.
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35 minutes ago, Neist said:
There are far better-articulated comments here than I probably could produce, but I thought I'd mention that in some sub-disciplines, it's pretty standard to arrive at the subject from elsewhere (this is especially prevalent in the history of science). For example, one of the doctoral students in the program I'm attending has a background in fine arts.
My two cents.
Thanks I assumed that was the case, but again since I'm obviously not currently enrolled in a program and didn't major in history in undergrad I didn't know how much of an expectation there is to come in completely fluent in historiography (which was a concern of mine).
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3 hours ago, TMP said:
Your post is coming across as someone who still has no idea what to study in a PhD program. Your interests are far too broad (ancient vs. modern, very different methodological approaches and contexts!). Becoming informed at this stage it is not about trying to learn everything in Historiography 101 that every student has to take anyway but what's out there in general within your area of research interest. Your POIs will always know so much more until you actually start writing the dissertation and they do recognize that applicants don't have much knowledge but will draw a line somewhere between ignorant and reasonably informed.
Seriously, don't apply for the PhD this year if you hope to get in on your first try.
I actually do know exactly what I want to study in a PhD program, I wasn't trying to say that my interests for the PhD span both those topics, just that I have historical experience and am not coming into this completely willy-nilly, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear about that. I did an extensive senior thesis that I would like to use as the platform for future research, which is what I'm suggesting in my SOP, not that I want to study both modern and ancient history.
2 hours ago, AP said:The way to address this is to look at your questions and list why answering from our discipline would be more interesting/valuable for the field. As @TMP said, it has to do with other elements than historiography, namely methods. A friend of mine studies very recent history and the constant question she got from her advisor is "why is this a history project?". Ask yourself the same thing. Do you have any professor in the history department at your school you could talk to?
Finally, I would suggest you read historiography once you are in.
Thank you this is what I was looking for, I appreciate your thoughtful answer. I do feel like I have my own answers about my proposed themes and "why history?" but a lot of the questions you raised to think about are definitely something to consider.
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Hey everyone question for everyone here. I didn't major in History for my BA (double in classics/modern languages& lit) I did have a lot of historical overlap, especially with the period/topics I'm suggesting in my SOP. I'm a little concerned, however, that I might be lacking in understanding of historiography. Does anyone have any suggested reads or advice for someone who didn't major in History in undergrad and wants to (hopefully) come into a PhD program as prepared as possible.
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On 9/9/2016 at 7:51 PM, gsc said:
Off the top of my head, and fairly biased towards French imperialism— Rutgers (Judith Surkis), NYU (Frederick Cooper), Wisconsin (Mary Louise Roberts), Michigan (Gabrielle Hecht), Cornell (Camille Robcis), CUNY (Gary Wilder), Stanford (JP Daughton), Minnesota (Patricia Lorcin), UT-Austin (Judith Coffin). I can't vouch for any of these historians or programs, other than my current program, but take a look at them and see what you like and what you don't-- every historian studies something slightly different, and every program is geared towards slightly different interests. It's important to nail down what about France or Europe you're interested in. Gender? Colonialism? French-American relations? Science? You need a school with a strong European contingent and at least one French historian, but beyond that thematic fit is just as/if not more important. For example, if empire is really what you dig, I wouldn't hit up Wisconsin, but I would try Rutgers or NYU.
On 9/10/2016 at 4:05 PM, TMP said:If you have been so focused on top 20, then you're completely missing out on Ohio State which has some of the top French historians-- Bruno Cabanes and Alice Conklin. We also have a early modern French historian (Elizabeth Bond). You can't go wrong with this trio if you're interested in French cultural history. Bond is all about 18th century and information networks (including print culture). Conklin is one of the best, if not THE best, historian of French colonialism as she has broken new ground in French colonial history with her books on French Africa under the Third Republic with her cross-disciplinary approaches with anthropology. Bruno Cabanes is focused on the culture of French military and France during WWI. So if you're looking at working with a group of French scholars covering from the Enlightenment to 1945, you've got to apply to Ohio State. Our French history graduate students have turned down Mary Louise Roberts to come to OSU to be with Alice Conklin because (A) better funding and (B) more advisor attention. And you are pretty much guaranteed a graduate seminar or two each year with emphasis on French history.
Thank you very much for the responses!! I really appreciate it. I definitely would have missed Ohio State, but will be looking more deeply into them now!
Another question for everyone. I didn't major in history in undergrad but double majored in Classics and modern languages and literature (French/Spanish) so definitely had a lot of overlap with history. My question pertains to the writing sample. I worked super hard on my senior thesis and put in a bunch of research into it and ended up receiving Distinction on it, and would want to use this as my writing sample; however, it's written in French. Would it be completely fine just to translate it and use that as my writing sample, because I don't really want to put on my applications that I want to study French history, but then submit my Classics thesis, which while good I'm not as proud of? Also would be really interested in talking to people who didn't major in history in undergrad and if they have experienced any problems in the application process because of this?
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Hi everyone! New member here but hopeful for fall '17
Quick question that even after lots of online searching I'm feeling a little lost. I'm interested in studying modern Europe (particularly 19th C France) and am having trouble narrowing down the list of schools I'm looking at. I have been looking mostly at the top 20 schools, but I'm worried I might be missing out on hidden gems that have better programs for what I want to study because when you search all the initial results are very recognizable names. Mind you I obviously am not opposed to the Ivies or recognizable names, I just don't want to overlook a great school. If anyone has any recommendations at schools to look at that would be great! Or just how they went about creating the list of schools that tailored to their interests. Have a good one!!
Fall 2017 applicants
in History
Posted
Mine hasn't. I was contacted by my POI to inform me of acceptance and tentative funding. My portal still shows that my application is under review tho.
Thank you very much! I can't believe it truly. My main POI is Alice Conklin but I expressed interest working with some other faculty members in the French and African history departments.