astroid88

Welcome to academia's problem, where school="intelligence" (though most professors will deny it)

What's the average course load in the first semester of a history PhD?

Sorry if you were intending to keep this private, but what was the doctoral program that accepted you on the first go around? Feel free to PM me if you don't want that info on here.

Ah, I see. I knew it had to with something higher up, but I didn't know about the four year blocks.

Anyone else unsure of their FLAS status? Decision day is coming soon, and the three universities I am waiting on are taking forever! One is encouraging me to commit before I know my official status. What nerve! Commiserate with me? P.S: I know FLAS is not technically related to history, but I think it does affect a lot of students of history.

https://cla.umn.edu/chgs Minnesota has one with a plethora of experts and archival sources. The great thing about the program is the geographic array of the scholars. They study not just Germany, but also Africa, South America, and other regions.

Sorry to intrude, but yes, not even for Columbia. See my above post. The only way Columbia makes sense is if it is significantly funded. You realize you are gambling a lot on the idea that you will get the grades, recs, test scores, etc., needed to get into an ivy before you've even started your master's.

There are schools that offer terminal MAs for a much cheaper tuition, give more aid, and can get you to where you are trying to go. I've just finished hearing back from all my master's applications, and two master's programs have offered to pay for the first year. I would have to reapply for the funding the second year, but even if I don't get any funding, my bill will be no more than $20,000. These are at Austin and Michigan. I'm sure you can find similar. People pay for the MA at Columbia for the name, but, in my opinion, there are better routes.

It's widespread but definitely not encouraged. I would definitely look for more funding opportunities within the school. I'm not sure the route you want to go, but an MA in History will not bring much financial return. One other option is to reapply next year to schools that do offer more funding.

I like Latin America in the colonial period. Comparing the different regional experiences is fun.

FLAS notifications are out...at Michigan at least. Notified that I am a semi-finalist.

Thanks for the advice. I definitely have other paths in mind if my intended path does not work out. I've worked with languages, and I wouldn't mind doing something with that after.

Well, I've visited UMN. Very nice facilities and the professors I would work with seemed like great mentors. I brought up my dilemma to them, and they said they don't see any sense in me doing a master's, as I already have a clear focus. I brought up getting more language training in as a reason, but they said that I can accomplish that there for free. As far as placement, most seemed cautious when answering my question. The clearest answer I got was "of course the market is bad, but it's not horrible for everyone, especially for your area OP" (I have a non-Western focus). I'm still waiting on FLAS funding from two master's programs and one PhD program, so I'll be making my decision after I get those notices.

Also a little off track: I actually considered applying to NYU's French Studies/History program, but I ultimately decided I wanted my research to go in more of the African/Middle Eastern direction (I study French colonialism), as that would make me stand out more on the job market. I am already fluent in French and Spanish, so adding Arabic would be an awesome triad. Minnesota does well in this area in terms of coursework, languages, and research connections. I don't have the Arabic skills needed to have been accepted to NYU's Middle Eastern Studies/History focus, and I didn't see how Arabic study would have fit in the French Studies program. I felt like it would have been more of a "side focus" in that program than the main focus. If I get an MA in MENA studies, I will probably send an app to the ME/History program. I will keep your advice in mind moving forward.

I thought the schools on my second list were reach schools at the time (and maybe they still are and I just got cocky after the acceptance?) This is a lesson for those out there: don't let others deter you from following your gut.