KuroNeko

Unfortunately they do not, but they do acknowledge that the data contains both Americans and foreigners with foreign PhDs. I would also like to see all of the data differentiating those, plus exactly which programs/schools were present - it's a very different situation if it is mostly or entirely Canadian and UK PhDs, for example. Nonetheless, hiring is not done based entirely on where one's PhD came from, but on a multitude of other factors as well. I thought I'd just point out that study for anyone else reading here who might be considering going abroad for their PhD that it is far from hopeless with a foreign PhD in the American market. I also plan to return to the US afterwards, so only time will tell!

5.5% of the tenure track positions obtained from 1994 to 2014 were from PhDs obtained at foreign institutions. See: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0202528 Honestly, those aren't terrible odds considering that only 21% of PhD graduates in the US land a tenure track job in the US. That 5.5% for foreign PhDs does not tell us the percentage out of those who applied with foreign PhDs were successful, but looking at the top universities where PhDs were hired, only 5.6% came from the highest ranking university, Chicago, for example. Only five schools made it into the 96th percentile, plus foreign universities as a whole. In terms of sheer market share, then, chances are pretty good for foreign PhDs in anthropology. But ultimately it's up the individual what kind of risk they are willing to take when applying and choosing (assuming they are able given admission rates) where to do their PhD. Data helps.

I've officially received all my rejections from American and Canadian schools. If anyone is considering throwing their hat into next year's ring, you might want to consider doing your PhD abroad and applying to a couple schools outside of North America. In some cases, while the rigor is the same, the competition to gain admission is not as fierce, and it could be the difference between getting to do a PhD or not at all, as was my case. In any case, good job everyone! You are all smart and capable people, regardless of how your applications turned out. Whether you decide to try again next year or pursue other areas, I wish you all the best of luck and success. ?

I'd be happy with even a two minute note on the subject, like "vague SOP" or whatnot to give some kind of idea. Then again, many departments probably don't want to give out statistics or any indication of how they make their decisions, which are likely idiosyncratic and based more on interest of a faculty member rather than some objective measure. My rejection from UT Austin and Michigan was just a note to check the portal, which were both rather harsh in their wording. Not even a letter. I'm more miffed by all the schools who wait until the last possible moment to send out their rejections. If I'm not even being considered, at least give me a heads up so I can move on with my life rather than just holding on to the possibility.

I'm feeling the same way. Just got my second official rejection, even after having good responses and interactions with the POI (again). I'm logging in every day and refreshing my email constantly... And no interviews, nothing. I think this round is a bust, and I have to just give up doing my PhD in the US. I just hope a PhD from a non - American /European university will be enough when it comes time to apply for postdocs. I can only work on the things within my control, and that is my research from here on out.

Interesting. Maybe I was on the long-list but not the shortlist? Either way, the end result was rejection. I just wish I could have saved those hours I rushed to put an application together at the last minute.

Well I received my official rejection from Michigan. I had allowed myself to get my hopes up after being asked to apply for a FLAS last month. Did they send that out to everyone?

I'm so sorry you're having such rough luck. And it really is up to luck. Getting rejections are the result of any number of things including the fancy of the admissions committee, professors taking students or not, political in - fighting, and so on. It absolutely does not have any bearing on the worth of your ideas or your likelihood of success as a scholar. It's not over until it's over, and you might still get an offer, but if you don't, and academia is something you really want to do, there are ways to get there. - You can improve your application for next year. You can do research. You can go live in the country you want to do research in. You can make sure you are now fluent in your research language. You can read a lot and completely revamp your SOP. You can do programs adjacent that will help you. You can study for and retake the GRE. - You can try different programs to apply to or consider getting a PhD outside of the US where competition isn't as fierce and more focused on the quality of your research rather than other factors. And other things I haven't thought of. I know people who have gotten good offers in their third round as well.

I have had these exact thoughts and it's not doing much for my anxiety. ?

I think @pmcol already gave you a great response, but I'll add my two cents just in case it's helpful. I would agree that having an MA helps, but only so far as what you've done with your experiences there. If you did original research/fieldwork, and can show that in a publication or writing sample, then that is certainly a plus. If your coursework and/or research helped you narrow down your focus and inspire you to a research question/area, then that is great! Or maybe you impressed the pants off of a professor or advisor and they write you an awesome LOR. Or any number of things that might make a better PhD application for you. For some programs, like those in Canada or outside of the US actually require a master's of some variety before you can apply for a PhD at all. But it looks like you're not applying internationally, so that's less relevant for you I'm guessing. I've also heard, but can't confirm, that some departments like to see a master's because of bad experiences with students finishing with an MA, then dropping out of the program as a way to get a funded MA. As for MS versus MA, that depends on your research interests. If you think your MS is relevant and can demonstrate that in writing samples and/or SOP, then great! There are plenty of people doing research in STS where having a background in science is essential for the kind of research they want to do (or at least extremely recommended). Also, it's not unheard of for applicants to apply for an anthropology PhD program with backgrounds outside of anthropology. It's often the case that having experiences outside are very beneficial. It's too early to tell for my North American applications since I haven't even received an interview request yet, but I'd say my MA has been very helpful to getting to where I am now. It was crucial for my acceptance and fellowship outside of the US, both for requiring it and for the research proposal I was able to write and the paper I'm editing for publication. Compared to where I was coming directly out of undergrad (when I applied the first time and was soundly rejected everywhere), I am in such a better position research-wise, and even better after doing additional research in country. So what I'm taking a lot of words to say here is that having an MS will not hurt you, only help you. That being said, there are always ways to strengthen your application for next year if you have to do this again like I did, and it doesn't say anything about you for being rejected anywhere. The best of us receive way more rejections than acceptances. The important thing is that you keep pushing onward and adopt the position of being unreasonably persistent. And it's still early! Don't give up hope!

Thank you! It's not my country of origin, but the geographic area/country I've been looking to study, which is why I moved here after MAPSS, to get experience in the country and to improve my language skills. I'm hoping that counts for something during this round. But I'm American, applying as a domestic student, out of country. As for MAPSS... it primarily exists to serve two functions. One, to earn money for the university. Two, to discourage people from continuing on to a PhD program. My cohort was around 180 students, which meant they basically had no meaningful way to give advising to anyone. They had current phd students serve as discussion moderators during the "core" class in the first quarter, who also helped with proposal writing for the thesis. In fact, many of the faculty don't want to bother with MAPSS students at all, and it was really difficult for many in my cohort, including myself, to find an advisor for the thesis. Their marketing is that they get their graduates into funded PhD programs, but they manipulate those numbers. They don't actually support everyone, and they only support those who they think will get in. They seem to be rather successful at discouraging people from pursuing an academic career, and I only know a handful of people personally from my cohort who successfully made it to a PhD. It's not a bad idea to do an MA before reapplying to a PhD, but I think just about any other traditional MA will be a better choice than MAPSS. Trying to do nine classes, fieldwork, and write a decent thesis in nine months is nearly impossible, especially given the lack of advising, guidance, or support. I'm currently a research student at an Asian university at the moment (because I didn't have the letter writers I needed, and my MA thesis needed serious work to serve as a writing sample or to be publishable), and the differences are pretty stark. I've gotten so much support from professors in my current department, from writing fellowship applications, work-shopping my writing, and just general camaraderie. At Chicago, I felt unwanted and lacking, a reason why I'm not reapplying to their PhD program either, though I'm sure it's a very different experience for the actual PhD students. I won't say I gained nothing, as I absolutely did. I found directions I wanted to pursue further, and I think I did some decent fieldwork in that very limited time. But I could have done that anywhere, and I think the gains I made were in spite of the program, not because of it. Anyway, in case anyone else is faced with this decision, I'd be happy to discuss my experience further to anyone interested, or to answer any questions.

This is my second time applying, and after having submitted my applications, I have just now found out about this site. I spent a lot of time looking at past posts and at the response times of last year, and that's been really helpful to know about when I should expect to hear something. At least for me, that has helped with my anxiety a little, too. Anyway, seven years ago I applied to six schools, and after being soundly rejected everywhere, I was offered the MAPSS program at Chicago instead, which I took (and I don't recommend). Then I've spent five and a half years in my country of focus, and I'm now trying again, this time applying to nine schools. I've been accepted to one school with funding (in the country where I'm living), but I haven't heard from any schools in the US or Canada. I've been obsessively hitting refresh on my email, and now this website. Fingers crossed for everyone!