Hi everyone. I have no idea who to go to with this question so I am posting it here.
I'm Canadian and applying to both Canadian and US Ph.D. programs in anthropology.
In the Canadian schools that I'm applying to, the process is that I find a POI to work with and then I apply. After I find a POI to work with the process of applying/getting in is pretty straightforward. This was the same thing I did for my masters (I found a POI, I applied, I got in).
In America (particularly at Stanford) I'm confused because I haven't gotten a response from POIs that I'm interested in working with (I've only e-mailed 2). Their admin assistant told me that it's not common for people to have POIs before coming to the school... but then how can you write an SOP with a research interest/question in mind without knowing if the POI you're interested in wants to work with you or not?!
Anyway, if I don't hear back, does this mean they don't want a Ph.D. student? Should I not be writing my SOP in a way that is directed toward their kind of research? Also, it says on their website that Ph.D. students work under a committee and not a single advisor. If that is the case, then I assume my research can fall under more than one person's research agenda. Is that correct?
It just confuses me that I'm supposed to apply to a place without knowing if the POIs I'm interested in working with are taking students or not! Isn't it kind of a waste of their time and mine if I apply without knowing that my POIs are taking on students?
Sorry...very confused by this method! Someone please help clear things up.
Hi everyone. I have no idea who to go to with this question so I am posting it here. I'm Canadian and applying to both Canadian and US Ph.D. programs in anthropology. In the Canadian schools that I'm applying to, the process is that I find a POI to work with and then I apply. After I find a POI to work with the process of applying/getting in is pretty straightforward. This was the same thing I did for my masters (I found a POI, I applied, I got in). In America (particularly at Stanford) I'm confused because I haven't gotten a response from POIs that I'm interested in working with (I've only e-mailed 2). Their admin assistant told me that it's not common for people to have POIs before coming to the school... but then how can you write an SOP with a research interest/question in mind without knowing if the POI you're interested in wants to work with you or not?! Anyway, if I don't hear back, does this mean they don't want a Ph.D. student? Should I not be writing my SOP in a way that is directed toward their kind of research? Also, it says on their website that Ph.D. students work under a committee and not a single advisor. If that is the case, then I assume my research can fall under more than one person's research agenda. Is that correct? It just confuses me that I'm supposed to apply to a place without knowing if the POIs I'm interested in working with are taking students or not! Isn't it kind of a waste of their time and mine if I apply without knowing that my POIs are taking on students? Sorry...very confused by this method! Someone please help clear things up.