historygeek

Hey everyone! I'm currently in my Masters program and taking a seminar in my intended area of expertise (Medieval Europe), as well as working with my school's medievalist as her research assistant. I spent the summer learning languages and reading. In doing my own reading and then reading for my seminar, I've noticed that I've gotten more interests. While I've narrowed my temporal interests a little, my geographic and thematic interests have expanded. I wanted to use grad school to refine my interests, but it doesn't seem like it's happening. I'll be starting looking into PhD programs casually in the spring, but I'm not sure how to narrow down these interests, and I feel as though my current plan of "writing down every person I could possibly work with" is maybe not the best plan. Help?

Shameless plug: have you looked into Villanova? Our Medievalist is phenomenal, and the program offers funding.

My current program at Villanova University has a student specializing in Armenian history. 'Nova also has the option of a funded Masters program, so it's worth looking into.

I had originally thought of starting looking this spring, after my first term is over, but some people I know in that application season have already started looking, so I was concerned.

Hey all! I'm an incoming Masters student and will be applying to PhD programs for Fall 2021 entry. When should I start looking at programs/for suitable advisors?

Just wanted to give everyone an update. I'm going to be taking Latin and German this fall (though I'm already working on both) and have been teaching myself French. I've been reading more independently, and have started to figure out what the heck I want to focus on. Geographically, Italy is my primary interest, with lesser interest in England, Bohemia, and the Balkan Peninsula. In terms of time, the High to Late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance/early modern period. Approach-wise, I want to explore visual and material culture, archeology, and anthropology, as well as social and cultural history. (I'll have the approaches more nailed down after my Theory & Methods course this fall). In terms of actual topics, the big question I have is "how did the presence and prevalence of disease shape medieval and early modern culture and society?" I'm still figuring out if I want to focus more on the medicinal or cultural aspects. I'm specifically interested in the way that disease shaped religious belief and practice, the cultural and social implication of disease on female bodies, the spread of ideas about disease, how disease affected daily life, and how ideas of diseases caused (or didn't cause) scapegoating of other religions or foreigners, especially in the borderlands. Thanks for your help, everyone!

It is! If you have any questions about the program, specifically admissions, feel free to PM me.

Thank you for the advice, everyone! I really appreciate it! I have a OneNote notebook set up for my readings, but I'll likely transition to a Google Doc, just in case something happens with my computer. The note strategies you all describe are great and I'll definitely work them into my reading notes. I'll probably invest in a couple of notebooks for my seminars, in case something comes up in our discussions or there is a particular point I would like to make.

I've looked at the topic on the Officially Grads forum and did the search on this forum, but I was wondering: how do you take in-class notes for history? I have two courses next semester (Theory & Methods and Medieval Europe) and, since I want to focus on medieval Europe (and theory/methods is important), I want to ensure that I take good notes. During undergrad, I brought my laptop to class and did an outline style, but looking back, these notes are missing quite a bit of context and I didn't pay attention in the classes because my computer was a distraction. In grad school, I'm planning to go strictly pen and paper.

May I suggest Villanova? I'm going to be specializing in Medieval history and am doing the European history concentration in their Masters program this fall. I received a full tuition scholarship and a graduate assistant position in their Center for Research and Fellowships.

FWIW: I'm a domestic student, but my roommate and I started looking at apartments fairly early (around March). We were told to check back in 90 days before our move-in date (08/01) and, by the 90 day mark (05/01), we had narrowed it down to two. We applied and were approved this weekend and signed the lease yesterday. Depending on when you're looking to move, now could be a good time to start looking. Definitely see if your school has graduate housing and, if not, if they have a resource that you could find an apartment or roommate through.

Doing my undergrad at SLU (not in SLP), so I can give some insights as well!

Exciting! See you in class next fall. Not exactly grad school related, but I just got the first draft of my thesis done! I still have to do edits on three chapters that my advisor reviewed, but all of the big writing is out of the way.

Attended Nova's Admitted Students Day and couldn't be happier with my choice!

I was notified in late Feb. (I think) that I was on the waitlist for Loyola Chicago's PhD program. The graduate program director basically let me know that they were giving other offers out first and that I had a strong application, but they'd have to let me know later. I got a voicemail yesterday that I was accepted. I had a friend last year who was waitlisted at Harvard for a philosophy PhD, and she was accepted from the waitlist a couple of days after April 15. It's possible, but it really depends on the program!

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not sure I'd address it unless you have to. I have an F on my transcript from freshman year (though in a course unrelated to my major), and still got into all of the Masters programs I applied to and a PhD program. If you're asked about it, don't lie, but I personally just didn't address it.

If you want to get a Masters degree, Columbia has a program that's History and Literature, located in Paris. They have fellowships and need-based financial aid available. That being said, the program has somewhat of a reputation of being a cash cow, but it might be a good back-up option if you can afford it.

Okay, I went through and thought about everything in this thread, all of which I'm very appreciative for. My apologies for being short and frankly rude earlier; my mental health hasn't been in the best spot, obviously. My concentration for my MA is definitely going to be European history, and I'm going to be taken a course on Medieval history (the focus is going to be largely social and cultural, including intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and global encounters in Medieval England, France, and Iberia) in addition to my required Theory and Methods course. Since I want to apply to a PhD program again after getting my Masters, I will likely take @WhaleshipEssex's advice and produce research during the spring/summer while reading more, though I plan on continuing reading through next fall, obviously! I may take the research project from the Medieval history course and refine it. I'm temporally most interested in the High to Late Medieval period, into the Renaissance, in urban areas of England and north and central Italy. I'm going to use the rest of this semester and the summer to really come up with questions that I'm interested in, since I'm sure my current questions of what was life really like and are the preconceived notions that we have about the Medieval period really correct are a bit too broad. Regarding language, I'll be taking an intensive Latin course over the summer (as well as referring to the Latin course by the National Archives of the UK, which is specifically Medieval Latin) and will also be working on French and German.

Just got a voicemail that I was accepted to Loyola's PhD program! I'm not going to take the offer (no real European history and it's unranked) but it's exciting nonetheless.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I will be taking a French class in the fall (the instructor basically told me not to worry about doing the coursework beyond practicing, which was reassuring) and an intensive Latin class over the summer. I will also be working on German. Re my research interests: I will be continuing my independent reading and taking a medieval history course this coming fall. I will also be continuing to narrow my interests (while, to a small extent, exploring them).

With all due respect, I chose a program for flexibility after talking with several of my professors at my undergraduate institution as well as the advice of the professors at the graduate institution. I've also been reading in my spare time, and (as I've said before on this thread) am heavily leaning towards medieval history, with a strong interest in cross-cultural ideas of women & gender (to an extent through an intersectional framework) and the intersection of religion and public health, as well as urban society and stratification. I'm also interested in similar questions in modern and early modern Europe; however, I'm leaning towards the medieval period. Just because I haven't spelled out all of my reading and personal exploration here doesn't mean I'm just interested in the idea of the PhD or that I'm wholly incompetent. I knew French and Latin- both of which I'm beginning to learn and planning to take courses on -but I wanted to know if there was any other language that I should take.

I'm taking an intensive Latin over the summer, as it would be a bit more difficult than French. One of the emphases of my program is the exploration of one's research interests, and the flexibility is one of the reasons I chose this MA program in the first place.

Not taken as harsh at all! What I was afraid of, but not harsh.

I took a course my freshman year of college that was a Russian Civilization and Culture class. We focused on medieval Russia, the Primary Chronicle, iconography, and church buildings. Our textbooks (one about medieval Russia as a whole, one about women in Russian history) really sparked an interest in medieval Russia, which ended up evolving into an interest in medieval and imperial Russia. I want to do academic research with my PhD, with a lesser interest in exploring archeological work (I've talked extensively to a professor at my current undergrad about marrying the two).

Thanks for your concern! I'm much more interested in medieval history than anything else, but I'm still fully fleshing out what exactly I want to focus on. My concentration in my Masters program is going to be European history, more than likely medieval. I'll definitely have a more clear idea when it comes time to write a thesis and apply to PhD programs again.