d.grace

I was at the national conference for my field in November. I was at a dinner, and my advisor introduced me a professor who I'm actually using for my thesis work and has connections with a program I'm interested in. As we're talking, he mentions that he's taking a new direction looking at religion in contexts of political communication. He's a professor at Utah, so I asked if he had done anything with the Mormon community, patting myself on the back for and interesting segue. Except, he didn't take the bait. He just said no and stared at me. I hadn't planned on that, so we stared at each other for a good 30 seconds. Then I apologized for being so awkward. I wanted to melt into the floor for the rest of the night. I've since made up for it, and got invited to write a paper with him.

It looks like we actually have some similar interests. I'll tell you that if you're hoping to apply this cycle, a lot of the deadlines have already passed. If you're interested in taking a more political communication route you may want to consider Georgetown for a masters. UT-Austin has a phenom program in rhetoric and language with a lot of big name faculty in political communication. If you're thinking more human rights issues you could go into policy, you might also consider UW-Seattle. They have faculty that are pretty diverse in terms of interest, but they all tend to concentrate on political comm, global comm or things like that. For health communication, some of it is indicative of area. Purdue has a pretty decent program for both masters and PhD. You might also consider UGA, Kentucky, even Arizona. Part of the issue you may have is trying to concentrate you're focus. You should ask yourself if you're more interested in health issues of social activism or the social issues of social activism?

I have a class policy for all my classes that I do not discuss grades for 24 hours after they are given back. It gives students a chance to think about the grade and make a logical argument or compose good questions. I also give them 2 weeks to discuss a grade after it's handed back. This way they aren't banging down my door at the end of the semester asking about grades from January. By biggest thing is to remember they're human. I had a horrible experience the first semester I ever taught. I thought I needed to crack the whip, and it certainly hit be in the face. I quickly learned that flexibility from all parties goes a long way. Be upfront about your hard lines. A big one for me is I don't accept late work ever. They know it from day one. I also try to make them come visit my office hours at least once during the semester. They realize I'm not a monster out to get them, and I get to know them as people. Just trying to build some sort of rapport with the class is the most helpful thing you can do. They're easier on you and you actually look forward to teaching. On a side note, if you have a war story of some kind, you should write those down. They're great party stories later on...depending on the situation.

You should find out if Simon Fraser is part of the Council of Graduate Schools. If they are, then they should adhere to the agreement that all grad students have until April 15 to make a final decision. It also wouldn't hurt to tell them that you are still considering offers and while you are certainly interested in the program, you want to make sure you're making the best decision.

Hi all, Texas has sent out their funding packages if anyone was accepted and waiting to hear on funding.

Purdue determines by unit. I know they haven't finished with all the units. Media and Health Comm were already sent. Org comm is still being considered. You won't here anything until they've filled the cohort with acceptances. As people decline they send new letters.

They've taken it down for everyone. You won't hear anything until February from UPenn. They sent out a mass email in December. Good luck, it's a great program!