cypressknee

We got this, you guys!

Congratulations @Aurél! I want to say a couple of things in response to your question. First, if you are admitted, that doesn't mean you are obligated to accept the offer. How many programs did you apply to? It might be wise to wait and see if you receive other offers, and then begin to weigh which ones you are most interested in. I think it's generally good advice to visit the campus before committing to a program, to see if you like the vibe of the department, if you get on well with your advisor, etc. I don't know much about USC's AMST program, but the university itself is a great school. Perhaps others in this thread can speak to the specifics of the program.

Thanks, everybody! UT Austin is a great program and according to their email, they potentially offer more than 5 years of funding. I've heard something positive from 2 of the 9 schools I applied to (the other was not in American Studies), so hopefully it bodes well! Right??? Aside from BU, the rest of the applications were clunky, ugly, and generally confusing to use. Why can't there be something like a Common App for grad school?

Yep---I got an email yesterday from UT Austin informing me that I am waitlisted for the American Studies program. Exciting!

I read Wynter's On Being Human As Praxis for a MA seminar on Race and Cultural theory. It's fascinating stuff, but MAN was it difficult to parse through. Reading theory is a muscle, though, I suppose---it gets easier the more of it you read. I am also a 19th century American lit person (and early 20th)! Do you have any particular authors you'd like to focus on?

But seriously... should we have an academia.edu page?

I got my MA in English Lit and happened to fall into food studies, the history of labor, and the hemispheric South. Specifically, I'm interested in exploring the ways in which drinking/imbibing affects our conception of urban and regional spaces. I also got really into digital humanities as an MA student and public history, so I hope to continue that sort of work as a PhD student. Brown and UNC Chapel Hill are my top schools, because both have focuses on public humanities and have several faculty members I would love to work with. Yale would be a great program too, but I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting into Yale!

If the applicant pool is indeed smaller, I wonder if it has more to do with the election than the economy, or that people are less willing to continue with their education because of student loans. Perhaps it's some combination of all those things.

Same here. I also noticed that some American Studies departments were ambiguous about funding, and to those that were I didn't even bother applying.

This thread is so quiet compared to last year's American Studies thread. Do you think the applicant pool is smaller this season, or that more people are just lurking?

Would you mind elaborating on the interview a bit, @screamingacrossthesky? Was it a Skype interview or in person? Who interviewed you---potential advisors, admission committee, etc? Did they only ask about your potential proposal? I'm applying to one of the schools that interviews, and I'm really curious as to what the process is like.

Six of the nine programs I'm applying to are American Studies! I don't know very many people applying to AMST programs, but I'm coming from English. Which ones are you applying to? I'm applying to Yale, Harvard, and Brown, to which I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting into, as well as UNC Chapel Hill, BU, and UT Austin.