astroid88

I am also curious about this. Is there any place where the placement data is complied (or someone who has done the work?)?

Great news! What is your geographic area/time period?

Is it a sign of anything if our POI hasn’t contacted us despite being admitted to the program? Is it like a “reluctant acceptance”? Should I contact them? Having a hard time telling myself they really want you.

Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets--J.K. Rowling

I think you made your thoughts very clear on this board. You’re just getting on people’s nerves at this point.

E-mail. On a weekend night, too.

In at Minn Twin Cities. Just found out!

Congrats. They told you this on a Saturday??

I believe colonial/imperial history, while definitely not new, is a growing field. American universities are offering more languages than ever before and there are a lot of untapped questions depending on which colonialism/imperialism you are looking at. The field also isn't as over-saturated as others I think. The wide linguistic knowledge needed for some areas serves as a filter.

The University of Michigan is the best (literally number 1). My S.O. just did their 16 month program. Michigan really focuses on practical experience. During the program, she had a year internship in an agency as well as a work study in an agency. She got a salaried job a month before graduation.

Graduated with a 3.7 in history and 4.0 in philosophy (my other major) and a 3.7 overall. I'm trying to take as many Arabic classes as possible, connect with a person that who knows my field well, and prepare a good thesis.

@ltr317 Thanks for the perspective. I had not looked it at it that way. This was my original aim, but then I started considering notoriety. Glad to hear I was going about it the right way. I understand the importance of not getting into a lot of debt, but no debt? Austin is first on my list because of its low tuition for out-of-staters and its Arabic program, but I figured if I get in, I'm going to have to take out some loans. I have no debt from undergrad, which makes me okay taking out some.

Hello, As am I anxiously awaiting the results of my MA applications, I was wondering whether or not (or, rather, to what degree?) the prestige of an institution should play a role in my future decisions. I ask this question because I am in a weird situation where the more prestigious schools actually have less faculty and courses in my thematic and geographic concentration. I applied to MA programs in MENA studies at 4 universities. They are UT Austin, Arizona, UMich, and Chicago. The last two (Well, Michigan does have one.) do not have full time faculty in my thematic and geographic area, despite being the “better” (whatever that means) schools. In a hypothetical situation where I get into all 4, what would be the best option? A place where I can be guided by two or three scholars in the area I intend to study at the doctoral level? Or a place that will have, at best, one person in my area but “wow” people more? I am a little self-conscious about this because I did not attend a remotely prestigious undergrad (though I did do academically well there). I don’t know if I need to offset that with a “prestigious” school to make me more competitve for history PhD programs.

ls one locked out of fellowships if you are not among the first admitted?

You're making me antsy! I applied to Minnesota as well. The stats of those on the grad cafe admissions page do not bode well, though... Good luck to you!

Any tips for FLAS essays?

@historynerd97 See what you started! And the future you are in for!? /s

Reputation numbers ≠ quality. I've noticed the snarky people tend to congregate and support each other. And that's no assumption! ;]

I forgot to mention that I majored in history and carried out a big research project my final year, so I'm pretty aware of that issue. All the MENAs master's programs I applied to are kind of these crosses between many departments. The four master's programs I applied to all have historians (as in their main department is the history department) with whom I can imagine working. So I think I'll be good on that end. I know my post came off a bit as a list, but I understand your point. I was just trying to relay what I've done in order to get more specific feedback. Thank you!

Hi All, I am currently applying to MENAs master's and History PhD programs, with the intent of going to into a MENA master's program. I applied to 2 10-20 PhD programs as feelers for later on. My goal is to get into a top 10 history program after my master's. I graduated with decent grades from undergrad (3.75), typical awards (PBK, magna cum laude, history senior award, etc.), proficiency in two languages related to my research area, study abroad experience in two countries related to my area (A North African country and France. I study French colonialism), archival research experience in France, and I have teaching experience (3 years as a French language teacher). I scored highly on the GRE Verbal and Analytical Writing, so I don't plan on retaking the test. I am applying to MENAs master's program to work on my Arabic. I have a preliminary goals list, but I would like to add on to it. My goals are to: get my Arabic to third-year proficiency, do intensive Arabic study abroad my first summer (or one in the US if that doesn't pan out), develop good relationships with my professors, write a master's thesis (and get in a second archival visit in the process), present at a conference, and be a TA. Is there anything else I should be doing? As a side question: I feel like I did well in undergrad. A lot of people apply to master's programs because they didn't do too hot in undergrad. I was wondering, all else being equal, will my strong record in undergrad play any role in the admissions process? Are people who do well in both undergrad and MA programs seen in a better light than those who went into one because of poor grades and lack of focus? I realize I'm not the only one applying and entering master's programs with a strong undergrad record, nor is my undergraduate record the best. I'm just curious as to how that record is factored in to future PhD applications.

Agree with your post except this part. I can't speak to medieval programs, but there are a lot of language-oriented master's programs designed to get their students from A1 to the B range, which is usually the level need to do reading research.

The newer versions of word have this feature. It’s pretty easy to use. It’s called Read and you can set it to different voices and speeds. Reading aloud doesn’t catch every error, but it helps catch a lot.

I submitted my first two apps this past Friday. Honestly, I didn't even put the page numbers for one of my writing samples. One application wanted the whole thesis, so that obviously had the page numbers. But for the app that wanted just a chunk, I copied and pasted parts of my sample that I wanted to show without adding the page numbers. Probably should have in retrospect, but the application instructions did not require it. Oh, I also used footnotes and then gave my project's full works cited at the end. I think what you are proposing is fine. Take it with a grain of salt, though. I'm in the application process as well.

Tip: Avoid looking at your application materials once you've submitted them. Your mental health will thank you for it.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/history-rankings Look for the school.