inkstainedarm

Thank you all for your replies! @pudewen it's reassuring to hear that it's not unusual to work with someone with different thematic interests, and thank you for the suggestion to look at schools with strong disability studies faculty, that's definitely something I'll check out. @telkanuru my initial search focus was definitely too niche; I hadn't considered looking at historians who focus on the broader constructions of identity and difference beyond impairment and othering by physical and mental ability, which was a misstep on my part. @Sigaba I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that I was expecting a supervisor to do something in particular for me. Given the extremely competitive nature of admissions for top programs, my thinking was more that I wasn't sure how closely an applicant's potential research should fit with the current department members for the applicant to have a better chance of being accepted. @TMP thank you, that's a good point about how the exam questions and the adviser's interests will intersect, and I hadn't quite thought that far ahead.

Hi everyone, How are those of you with very specific or not yet well explored research interests choosing supervisors and balancing the need to go to a highly respected university (because, well, resources & jobs) with finding potential supervisors who are a close fit to your interests? Do you look for scholars who work in the same time period/geographical region but who don't share your interest in a particular topic, scholars who use the same sources that you do but ask very different research questions, scholars who work outside of your period/region but who share the general interest, or some combination of the three? Or do you choose universities with limited resources, weak placement records, or smaller departments that have the scholar(s) with whom you can best work? I'd love to hear what your thought processes were while choosing schools to apply to. I'm considering applying to medieval history PhDs either this cycle or next, but so far, while I've found programs that seem like they would be fantastic for their resources, research produced, and support of students, I've struggled to find academics that match my research interests even peripherally. In general, my research (during my undergrad years and for my current master's dissertation) is on disability and facial disfigurement in the late medieval period, which is a considerably better known field than it was ten years ago, but which still doesn't have all that many scholars in it. Most of the scholars in the field, especially the established ones, are UK based, and while I've enjoyed my time at UEA, if I'm going to commit to the tumultuous journey of academia, I'd rather have a US PhD for a variety of reasons. And in the US, a lot of the scholars that I'd like to work with are at universities that simply aren't good options for getting a PhD, are literary scholars first and foremost, are working on disability but in a wildly different region or culture than I am, or aren't far enough along (or are too far along, i.e. retired) in their careers that I could feasibly ask them to be my supervisor. There are some medical historians with whom I could work, but from their publications, I'm not sure that my more cultural history approach to disability would be a good match. And then, of course, there are quite a few late medieval historians with a wide range of research topics with whom I'd love to work, but I'd have to make more of a stretch to claim our specific research interests match up. Any thoughts or advice that you all have would be appreciated!

Hi! I'm a current fulbright grantee, just popping in to say that mental and/or physical conditions, especially past ones, definitely won't disqualify you unless there's a serious concern about you currently needing (expensive) medical assistance while abroad--I have a moderately severe physical disability myself, and in my case my acceptance on a medical basis was declared 'conditional' on the grounds that I would not need more extensive assistive technology while in the UK. But several other people in my cohort have various physical and/or mental conditions as well, and none of us had any problems with our candidacy being confirmed.

Hi Sigwarz! I'm planning to send the GAF in with my documents, but not on letterhead or with the Fulbright Commission's stamp. At least in my case, the funding from the Fulbright grant was listed in my CAS, and so my understanding is that sending along the GAF isn't strictly necessary, but I thought to include it just in case.

Hi hugheswf! I did my proposal on researching medieval disability, and while my project itself was obviously historical in nature, I explicitly connected the medieval to modern-day issues for people with disabilities in both the US and the UK (I'm disabled myself) in my personal statement, statement of grant purpose, and interview question, and my answers were apparently not too political for the UK, because I was selected for the grant (!!). My project wasn't on civic engagement, of course, and I was applying to the UK rather than NZ or AUS, but I would say that in general they're not against studying potentially political topics so long as the way you present your project is objective enough, and doesn't seem to carry a one-sided agenda. (to give you an idea of how political some of my interview answers were, I talked about learning about how disability activists in the UK approach fighting for rights/benefits in the UK vs how disability activists in the US approach fighting for rights)

Hey! I'm heading to a UK university, and a lot of my planned engagement will be through my university's societies and the like--outside of joining the History society (kind of expected given my program of study) I'm planning to join and be very involved with the Creative Writing society, as UEA's MA Creative Writing program is one of the best in the world! But I'm also hoping to work with various organizations that help people with disabilities and fight for their benefits and legal rights, as my project is centered on the experience of medieval disability. Other than those areas, I'm not entirely sure yet, given I don't know how much time I'll need to reserve for schoolwork, but I'm hoping to say yes to a lot of different opportunities across disciplines!

@ag2017 and @Paradoxin756, while I can't speak for mental illnesses, I have a relatively severe physical disability (that was explicitly referenced in my application essays and in my interview, I should note) and when I asked my FPA about whether that would affect my medical clearance, he said that no, the medical clearance is more to make sure that we don't have any conditions that would 1) end up costing the taxpayer money because the medical condition would exhaust available insurance funds, and 2) would make it probable that we would be unable to successfully complete the grant. So while I obviously can't say for sure, especially in regards to your specific conditions, I'm guessing all of us will be ok!

@medievalist86 and @McGhee Thank you!! I'm so beyond excited to study at UEA! I just wish more of us had been accepted. @medievalist86 and @Dilemma1, sending you all the good vibes and good fortune and hoping you get bumped up (or, barring that, that you win your other scholarships)! I'm so grateful for how wonderfully supportive all of you on this forum have been, and I hope that if this year isn't your year, next year will be!

Oh no, I'm so sorry

I just got the first email congratulating me--haven't gotten the second yet!

UK NOTIFIED HOLY SH*T

Damn, I hope that means they've just received sponsorship confirmation for you from Fulbright! Gah...I just want the waiting to be over and for all of us to know (and, hopefully, to have all succeeded!)

Well, my application ended up going through really late because of an administrative error, and so I just got my offer letter 2 days ago--and in it, they announced I had been awarded a scholarship for the exact amount of the full tuition fee. But UEA doesn't offer full scholarships for international post grads, as far as I can tell from their website. So I'm wondering if this unnamed yet very large and unexpected scholarship could be what I'm hoping it might be...won't know until Fulbright officially notifies, though!

Hey UK applicants: did any of you get a scholarship award in your acceptance/offer letters?

I'd be down! will also be drinking regardless of what my final status is lol