gorange94

Thank you for mentioning. I have a specific focus in terms of which kinds of courses I want to take, but in terms of specific career goals, I'd be interested in giving a consulting, think tank, or lower level teaching type job a look before fully committing to a PhD. So, for the first two at least (non-overseas teaching I'm not sure MAPSS alone would help for) the program would work well for setting me up for that. The 'master of none' concern is definitely a good point to consider though... But I also don't know if I'd ever feel 100% on my career path without having a chance to give things a trial run. And it sounds like MAPSS's program is better for my test options than a history program, but of course you're welcome to correct me if you feel I'm underestimating the history degree, maybe I am. @TMP They were more or less suggesting the same conundrum I'm dealing with now. That MAPSS in a vacuum is the best choice, but it's impossible to tell someone else how much money that should be worth and it's up to me whether I want to spend that much on the additional degree value it supplies. One thing they had not really advised was taking a year off (that's why I mention the human element-- I had thought about it a bit but talking to them I got the feeling it would have looked bad to them turning down multiple good offers just to do that in the end, when I had applied to a lot of schools and gotten their letters for all of them). And then also, if I did that there's no guarantee I get into MAPSS again down the road, or with about 2/3 tuition off. But I do see the value in terms of thinking about things more and not needing to do that if I now feel confident enough in a specific path to not need to shell out the money for an MA allowing me to explore multiple options.

Not rude at all, thank you both for the feedback! I probably should have been more clear- When I mention taking a regular job, I still mean work that requires an MA, just not PhD. So I feel like, unless I were to take a year off and realize hey, I really do feel good about going through a PhD, I'd want a masters regardless. And then also, there's a human element to it all, and I feel like it wouldn't be a good idea to turn down both good offers at the MA level (and an offer from a PhD I think I'll be turning down given my uncertainty) and then next year go back to the same professors who have just worked hard writing my letters and ask them to do it all again. So, anyway, I definitely agree with the idea of taking the time to further familiarize myself with options outside of being a professor. It's just that, along with what I just mentioned, I feel like the best way to do that is take a masters offer given I need a masters for my other career options anyway.

I think I'd like to become a professor (whether a 'prestigious' school or not doesn't matter much). At the same time though, I'm also wary of both the fact that I don't already have any experience trying out a normal job first and my research interests (20th century political) are such that if I weren't doing history academically, I think it translates well enough to non-history sphere jobs... So that's why I see a lot of value in Chicago's program that a different MA doesn't offer. It's just very difficult for me grappling between that and the fact that $20,000 is $20,000.

I'm in a similar position to the OP, but asking a question more so about flexibility: I need to decide at the MA level between Chicago's MAPSS (just under 20K tuition) and a well-ranked regular history MA (my alma mater) with no stipend but a tuition waiver. I really like having the opportunity to use MAPSS for interdisciplinary means and get a degree with more value in the job market if I do not then pursue the PhD, but is having this flexibility over a normal history MA worth paying the $20,000?

Hi, thank you for the response. There is an MAPSS perspectives syllabus online, sorry, I should have mentioned this. I mean other graduate courses in history, I am just curious to see what the grading breakdown for these seminars typically look at.

Does anyone have syllabi from any MAPSS courses?

Thank you both for the advice! I will do so

Got an email Tuesday night from a POI accepting me to a PhD, informing me of the decision and saying let's talk. The POI is very nice, talked to them once before when I was considering applying and in my field so I don't want to harm any potential relationship. However, since applying, I looked into the school more and the placement records just aren't good enough for there to really be anything the POI'd say that would cause me to decide to attend. At the same time though, I can't say I already received an offer from ___ because I haven't been accepted anywhere else yet, and in fact it's possible I don't get in elsewhere this cycle- I just feel I'd be better off doing something else for a year than locking myself into a program below what I'm hoping for career-wise at this time. So, my question is, am I being more polite by saying the right things and talking to the POI about the program first, then politely rejecting the offer after the fact? Or am I better off literally responding to the email with thanks but there's no need to as unfortunately I won't be accepting? I need to respond soon since it's already been a couple days but I just have no clue how to go about the situation.