astroid88

Hi everyone, Just wanted to bring up a question that often gets me thinking. I don't think it's something that is asked about much at the application stage, but the question does begin to appear more once graduate students start applying for fellowships, attending conferences, and applying for jobs. I think it is especially important to discuss this at a moment in American academic history when we are trying to be more conscious of not speaking for others, not stepping on toes, etc. I suppose this is directed more at American students studying places from which their family line has no connection. I am personally researching and writing on a region of the world that I only started learning about and visiting in undergrad (albeit I already spoke one of the languages used there). I think there is value in having people who are not from a certain region studying that region. I wouldn't want to see a world where the main criteria for studying a place is if you have a family connection to it, as I think that would close off a lot of inter-cultural exchange. Moreover, the academy has a long history of being white and male, as well as college students being mostly white. Thus, they have had the benefits of both creating and receiving this knowledge. I do believe there is value in having American POCs being researchers of not just their communities (ex. African-Americans studying black history in the US, or Latinos studying Latino history in the US or Latin American history), but other communities outside the US as well. I also think it is valuable for POC students to learn about other cultures from people within their community. For example, I am a POC and friends, family, and acquaintances have asked a lot of questions about my region that they otherwise would not have thought to ask. If I ever get the chance to be a professor, I am going to emphasize to my POC students to study and research in countries with which they do not have family connections. How do you grapple with this question?

Hi everyone, I am in my third year and applying to external fellowships for post-prelims research. A parent passed away in the spring when the pandemic and shutdowns began in the US, at the end of my second year. I was in the last third of my semester, and I had to take an incomplete in one of my courses. I am the only child and they had no spouse, so I had to go home and deal with paperwork, clearing out their home, etc. I agreed with my course instructor to have the final project (which was all that was left) in by the end of this academic year. I now happen to be in a crucial year for acquiring funding (my luck!) with an "I" on my transcript. On some applications I have been able to inform them of my situation and in others I have not. I was wondering if this one "I" on my transcript could sink my applications where there is no space to give an explanation. Since it might be relevant, I have a 3.97 gpa, have already received fellowships outside the university (prior to the "I" on my transcript), a couple of research presentations, and am doing great academically otherwise. I also think my project proposal and references are really strong. I know all of that doesn't add much, but I just wanted to make clear that this is the only blemish I know of on my applications.

Lots of graduate students and professors seem to be putting time into developing their Twitter profiles. Does not having a strong profile hurt one's academic job prospects? Asking as a current graduate student.

The only numbers that are somewhat important are the verbal and writing, and I'd argue more so for fellowships than for admission. The average (just from skimming departmental websites) seems to be about 160 on the verbal.

I feel like this should be the first thing listed on this forum assuming it's accurate.

One has to start somewhere. Please keep these types of comments to yourself. Also, knowing best researchers/best programs and being ready for a PhD program are not the same thing. You seem to be equating the two.

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.

In an ideal market, Minnesota is my first choice. I will be visiting pretty soon and asking these questions. I am also aware, like you are saying, that I could be blowing this out of proportion and possibly passing up a great opportunity.

When I was going to apply to programs last Fall, I decided I was going to apply to all PhD programs. Having resolved to do this, I started seeking advice on here and elsewhere because I was worried about the level of one my research languages being too low to get into the programs I wanted. Users on here and other professors I talked to suggested that I probably wouldn't get into the top programs I wanted (think US News #'s 1-15). So, I modified my list, taking the reach PhD programs off of my list to save money and time and leaving those lower ones I thought I might have a chance at getting into (think 20-30 on US News) while adding some MAs. I figured I probably wouldn't get into the programs on my new PhD list either and that I would go the master's route. If by luck I got into a PhD program, I thought I might use the leverage of having the offer to fund an MA. Well, turns out I got into most of the PhD programs in the range I applied, so I started regretting not having applied to higher-up schools. I feel bad committing to a PhD program that has lower job prospects without even having applied to ones that have higher job prospects. Had I applied to those schools and been rejected, I would probably accept one of these PhDs. I'm the type of person who will be bothered by this fact for a long time if I do end up committing to one of these PhDs. There will be that "What if?". So I am at the point where I can just go the PhD route or do an MA and apply later on to stronger PhD programs. I was initially very excited by these programs. I would say one them is the perfect fit research-wise but not job prospects-wise. But having received my package (which is good but a little TA heavy), having seen the packages of people at other schools I was initially targeting, and having seen how well I did without much language study in a critical language for my research, my thoughts are that doing an MA and getting more language study will put me in a better position down the road. Time is not the issue. Money, as long as it is not too much debt, is not an issue either. Thoughts? Edit: I also realize that I could do an MA and not get in anywhere after, which is something to consider too.

I've been accepted to some doctoral programs, but I would really like to do an MA and reapply to programs. My first choice MA is offering to pay about about a third (around $5,000) of the program tuition (2 year program). For it to be financially feasible to attend an MA, I'd need at least 50 percent. The MA is at a state school with reasonable tuition (about $17,000 for the whole program). I figured other people might be negotiating packages, so, in addition to offering me advice, what are some do's and don'ts of negotiating packages?

I was denied from Georgetown on Thursday, but I got an email from them yesterday basically admitting me to the law school. Thanks, I guess? Haha