RageoftheMonkey

Best of luck to everyone this application season! This forum was so helpful to me last year and I hope it will be just as helpful to others this year! I just wanted to say: it might all feel overwhelming and never-ending now -- but eventually you will finish your final edits, submit your applications, and (hopefully) hear good news from programs. I'm in my first year of the PhD program of my dreams and I absolutely love it. So yes, it does all work out sometimes

I think you will find Marxists --or at least people influenced by and knowledgeable about Marx -- in most history programs. It's hard to ignore historical materialism as a foundational approach to history -- though many people try to do so That said, a large reason why I personally chose Cornell is because the program is full of leftists of all varieties. I think it partly depends on what you're looking for in terms of Marxism ie super theory heavy vs people who study leftist history vs people doing economic history vs whatever. That's where things will really vary by program, imo. I chose programs to apply to by asking my undergrad professors for recommendations of good fits and exhaustively researching those schools (and many others). It takes a while, but you can look through the faculty everywhere to get a sense for who is doing what kind of work and where interesting/important stuff is happening.

Serious question: if you don't know what kind of history you're interested in studying, why are you applying to grad school to study history? Sounds to me like it might be useful to take some time off, have some other experiences outside school, and apply to grad school when you have a clearer sense of what you want to do.

I officially accepted my History PhD offer at Cornell today, really excited!

I turned down American Studies at Yale today, hope that frees up a spot for someone off the waitlist! I accepted my offer for Cornell's History PhD. Hard to turn down Yale, but Cornell is the perfect fit and I realized after visiting both that I really do want to be in a History department rather than American Studies. Good luck to everyone still agonizing over decisions!

I wonder about this too. If I end up at the program I think I'll end up at, I would see myself doing my major field in US History with minor fields in (subsets of) Latin American and European History, all with a general focus on history of the transnational Left. Would this make me more attractive ("he can do more!") or less attractive ("we want someone with specialties in several areas of US History")?

I'm choosing between PhDs in American Studies at Yale and History at Cornell and it's been a hard process (though obviously I know that I'm incredibly lucky to be making this choice). Cornell was my top choice heading into the application process and visiting solidified that. It's truly an incredible academic fit -- the department is very strong in exactly what I want to study and there are like six professors who I'm really excited to work with and immediately clicked with when we met in person. The incoming prospective cohort is also great and I can see myself easily fitting into conversation with them in a really productive way. It's also become clear to me that I am much more invested in History as a discipline than I am in the interdisciplinary world of American Studies (though I know that's not gonna make me any friends on this forum lol). Yale would also be a fantastic place to be, and I enjoyed my visit. Great profs, great incoming cohort, and obviously it's pretty unparalleled in terms of prestige/reputation. If Cornell wasn't such an amazing fit I would be very happy to go to Yale. Both programs have excellent funding, though Yale's is better. My choice would be easy to make if Yale wasn't, well, Yale. It certainly feels hard to say no to it, and I'm having to think long and hard about the decision and its far reaching implications. I've been making extensive pro and con lists, writing about my feelings, talking with friends and family, and of course spending an inordinate amount of time on gradcafe. I would love to hear how other people are going about making their decisions!

Yeah I think you're right, and I'm pretty sure that's where I will end up. It's just hard to turn down Yale.

I ideally want to be a professor in a History department and be cross-listed in American Studies. After visiting both programs it's clear to me that I am invested in History as a discipline in a way that I am not invested in the interdisciplinary world of American Studies. That said, I could easily ground myself in History and get my MA in History at Yale en route to the PhD in American Studies. But it is definitely not as good of a fit as Cornell, which was my top choice going into applications because they are incredibly strong in exactly the kind of history I want to do, with around five or six professors who I'm super excited to work with and clicked really well with in person. I also really liked my incoming prospective cohort there and feel like I would be part of a really vibrant community of people who are all interested in similar historical questions as I am, which was not necessarily true at Yale.

I was actually kinda hoping that you would chime in lol. How much difference do you think it makes that I would be doing History at Cornell vs American Studies at Yale?

I'm curious if you think that holds true in all cases.. for me, I'm choosing between Yale (tied #1) and Cornell (tied #11). Is it unthinkable to turn down HYP, even if I think Cornell is probably a better fit?

That seems like something you might regret in the future -- there will always be the "what if I didn't withdraw" question... I think you should stick it out til the end!

Both have excellent funding and academic fit. I'm really lucky to be able to choose between the two. Yale has six guaranteed years of funding but you're cut off after that, whereas Cornell only guarantees five years of funding but says that they usually find money to get everyone teaching jobs past year five, and external fellowships add years to your funding (whereas they don't add to your time at Yale). It would certainly be hard to turn down Yale, but I could see myself falling in love with Cornell when I visit. They both have visiting days in the next couple weeks, so hopefully I will realize that one is clearly the better fit and the decision will be easy!

Interesting, yeah I was wondering why Brandeis was so high. I also wonder how much the results hold across disciplines. For me, I'm deciding between American Studies at Yale and History at Cornell. Yale is #2 in History and Cornell is #15 -- so that's a pretty significant difference -- but I don't know how to work American Studies into that. Of course, I know that it's harder to get a job with an interdisciplinary degree, but it's hard to get a sense for how to compare American Studies at Yale vs History at Cornell. I would be very curious to hear anyone's thoughts!

If you open the "supplementary materials" pdf from the study it actually gives the school rankings. Weird that it's buried in supplementary materials instead of being part of the study and the article about it!