MA_cognition_1991

Thank you for the detailed and informed perspective. It's great to hear that you were able to choose from a number of papers while submitting writing samples to doctoral applications. I agree that being able to effectively articulate your study objectives doesn't require independent research experience, but I do believe that having the experience will allow you to answer by providing granular details. At the same time, perhaps doctoral admissions committees don't really consider such granularity as foundational to their assessment of candidates. It's also heartening to hear that you had several peers involved in the research projects of faculty members. While I have your attention, I'm going to be an opportunist and ask a few other questions, given your background as an HGSE grad: 1. Any thoughts about the MBE program? Do you know how large the cohort was, and whether there were any international students in it? It's understandable if you don't know cos of the sheer number of programs at the Masters level, but thought I'd ask as MBE and L&L are related. The same info about L&L will actually be helpful as well. 2. How many of the referees who submitted rec letters for you were HGSE professors from your program? Just trying to get an idea about how familiar professors are with a student's individual academic profile and strengths... 3. Any thoughts on the pros and cons of the J-term, and whether you took a course during the term? Thanks again for the response! And good luck with your doctoral applications

While we wait for decisions, any thoughts on this?

Hi all, Waiting for a decision from the Mind, Brain, and Education Ed.M. program. I just scanned through the threads of previous years, and it seems Ed.M. applicants receive decisions in early March. While we wait for next month, I was wondering if any other applicants are slightly put off by the fact that none of the Ed.M. programs have an independent research project, like a thesis or a capstone project. All the other programs I've looked at with a focus on cognition (Teachers College, Northwestern, Berkeley, Peabody) have a thesis, even if they're year-long programs like HGSE's. I've been accepted into Northwestern's MA in Learning Sciences, and the last two months of the program are dedicated to independent research. Because of this focus on research, I'm actually leaning slightly towards Northwestern right now (assuming I'm accepted to HGSE; ultimately I may not have a choice as I'll be attending on a Fulbright scholarship, but that's a different discussion). At the same time, the info I have is limited so I'm definitely open to being persuaded about HGSE. Are any of you also concerned about HGSE in this regard, particularly if doctoral studies are among your plans for the future? It'll be great if ppl familiar with HGSE's curriculum can shed light on the rationale behind the decision not to have a thesis, and the implications that result. Thanks! And good luck to PhD applications with interview calls in the next couple of days!

Thank you for sharing this link! It's great to know Northwestern is so transparent with sharing their admissions and enrollment stats. A bunch of top universities still don't do this. Fulbright has asked me not to contact any of my programs directly so I can't ask admissions about the deadline for replying.

Hi all, I was accepted into Northwestern's MA in Learning Sciences program earlier today. I'm really excited because the program is fully aligned with my professional experiences and interests. I have two queries: 1. The Fulbright program applied to Northwestern on my behalf, not me directly. I received a standard email from Fulbright telling me about my acceptance, and checked the website cos I was surprised I got such an early response. It seems like the Fulbright applied Early Decision on my behalf, as the website states ED applicants are notified on Jan 31st. Does anyone familiar with the program know when the deadline for responding to an ED acceptance is? It doesn't say so on the website. I'm sure it's in Northwestern's acceptance email, but I don't have access to that. I'm assuming ED for this program is not binding, otherwise Fulbright wouldn't have told me to wait for other decisions. 2. Does anyone familiar with the program know the average size of the cohort, and the percentage of international students? The website just states the cohort size is small but doesnt really give a range. Thanks in advance!