a piece of bread

Even if I don't know your fields I think both of you have a shot at schools you are applying. As a Middle East historian (18th century Ottoman), I am applying both history and Middle/Near east studies programs. MES/NES- Harvard Princeton NYU Chicago History- UT Austin UPenn Ohio State Queens (Canada) McMaster(Canada) Maryland Georgetown Islamic Studies- McGill(Canada) UG GPA: 2.96 (Economics) MA GPA: 4.00 (History) TOEFL: 106 GRE: 570V/800Q Strong SOP and great LOR's included in my package. I did spend much time on language training, am native in Turkish, near fluent in English, advanced in German and Persian, elementary in Arabic and have an excellent reading ability of ancient Turkish, Ottoman. Very best wishes in your applications!

This year I am taking a course named "Readings in German" but want to withdraw it since it takes all my time. This course will be seen in my transcript as "W" written with "red color" but not affect my GPA if I do so. Do you think it hurts much? My current cumulative GPA in my MA program is 4.

Thanks for the answers. I have one more question that is currently making me puzzled. This year I am taking a course named "Readings in German" but want to withdraw it since it takes all my time. This course will be seen in my transcript as "W" written with "red color" but not affect my GPA if I do so. Do you think it hurts much?

Hi all, I am finally on the way to PhD after a tiring MA in History. I don't think I have a big chance to get in due to the financial economics crisis. Needless to say, most American schools including even Harvard lost huge amounts of money in stock markets but still I want to bend over backwards to open the doors of an American PhD (Canadian, perhaps). Well, the fact that I put a disappointing performance as an undergraduate in Economics (2.96) is why I said there is a little chance. I am not sure, maybe I am exaggerating the role of GPA. It was what I did in Economics. After having admitted to one of the best three schools in Turkey for History MA, I did pretty well (4.0). My program was a 3-year one in which we have been given eight fourth year undergrad courses in the first year of it. These courses consisted of American and European histories as well. The second and third years were as they were in a regular MA. The biggest advantage of mine, to me, is the language training that I have spent much time. As a prospective PhD student focused on the Middle East history (Ottoman), I am native in Turkish, near fluent in English, advanced in German and Persian, beginner in Arabic and have an excellent reading ability of Ottoman Turkish. I have a 106 on TOEFL which outweighs all schools' requirement for this exam with the exception of several schools. I took the GRE and got a 570V/800Q that seemed to me not so bad for an international student. Now I am concentrating on my SOP and writing sample waiting for reduction. I believe the thesis I am currently working on is of good quality. Apart from what I mentioned above, I have presented a paper at a graduate student conference and one of my papers have been published in a middle-class history journal. I am regularly writing to three professors from Harvard, Texas at Austin and UPenn and specially two of them make me feel that they admire my work. The problem is that I did not mention to them of my undergrad GPA I beware that some programs have cut-off GPA's and have a tendency to accept students holding a BA in History. However, in general, how do you see my chance to get in such programs as Harvard, Princeton, Austin, UPenn, Ohio State, Arizona, UCSB, McGill, Queens etc? Thanks

Actually almost all programs in England and some other European countries are one-year. To McEuroboy, if you are interested in European and Middle Eastern english-speaking grad schools, think of CEU (Hungary), Leiden (Holland), Leuven (Belgium), Amsterdam, American U of Beirut, American U of Cairo and of course many British schools. If you insist on doing your MA in the States , then be aware that Indiana U (Blo.) has also one-year MA programs.

Hi all, As far as I know, normally it takes at least 6 years to get a PhD degree in History. 2 years for course load, 1-2 years for language requirements and qualifying examination, and 2-3 years for research and writing the dissertation. In some cases, even 10 years may not be adequate. But I realized that traditionally some schools tend to enable students to complete their doctorates within 4-5 years. Texas A&M University may be counted among them. Do you know any? Do you think it makes sense to obtain the degree in a shorter period? Why do American schools keep it longer while European schools can give it just in 3 years?

Could you guys write whether you got financial support from the schools you got in? What type of a support? I am wondering if economy is getting better. I think it is not worse than the last year. Right? It was indeed terrible especially for historians. And now?

RockEater, I will think about the process you recommended. The period I am interested in is the 19th century, rebirth struggles of the Empire through mostly nationalist intellectuals who received a Western style education. To what degree, the ideologies of nationalism and patriotism affected the rebirth process? I will determine a specific title soon, though. I know the names who wrote in this field but have not read all yet. After reading the whole literature (hopefully before the summer), I will start to contact professors that I already know. For instance, Sukru Hanioglu of Princeton University is maybe the best Professor in the 19th Century of the Ottomans. Shisler of Princeton, Engin Akarli of Brown University, Hillel J. Kieval of WUSTL, Cemal Kafadar of Harvard, Resat Kasaba of U of Washington etc. Thanks for your valuable suggestions and comments. Noodles, thanks for your recommendations and encouragement. I thought Binghamton University is another safety school. Isn't it? They have Quatert and two other Ottomanists and seemed quite friendly to Turkish students in previous years. So did Ohio State. If a department has many Turkish students, does it mean I have more chance in it? As you emphasized, top schools have more scholars researching in such fields and I would add some other safety schools to the potential list below. Ticklemepink, thank you for reminding me the Near/Middle East departments. Ottomanists in Princeton, Harvard, Utah, UCLA, Chicago, New York, UW work in these departments. I will also apply to them. By the way, what is the importance of recommendation letters? One of the graduates of my department who received a letter from Halil Inalcık, a leading historian of the Ott. Empire, got acceptance from Chicago's Near East department. She had no very good scores.

Hi all, My turn is approaching soon. I want to get prepared before the next year deadlines ahead of time. It is because I need to compensate my deficiencies like undergrad GPA. Therefore, I thought that those of you who experienced the admission process may help me. Well, I received a BA degree in Economics from a prestigious university in Ankara/Turkey with a GPA just below a 3.00 (2.96). I must emphasize that I did well in History and IR courses. Then, I have been admitted to the 3-year MA program in Ottoman History at Bilkent University. I am doing well here (3.92). I am interested in the birth of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire and intellectual history of it and will start to write an MA thesis very soon. By the way, I got a good score on TOEFL (107) and have not taken the GRE yet. In addition, I have good command of German, basic knowledge of Arabic, and excellent reading ability of Ottoman Turkish. I was motivated by my supervisor who found the topic of my future thesis original and interesting. He advised me just to ignore my undergrad GPA. I am not sure about it, though. Currently, I am writing the abstract of the paper I plan to present in the MEHAT conference at Chicago University. Being accepted to the conference as presenter may increase my chance to get in the doctoral schools. I will be applying to the History PhD programs this time next year. I did not decide the schools I will apply to. But I can give the names of some of the departments which have a focus on the Ottoman History: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, SUNY Binghamton, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Arizona, UCLA, Georgetown, University of Michigan, New York University, Ohio State, University of Utah, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin. Do you think I must apply to the top schools in this list? If the answer is no, which of these schools would be safe for me? Could you please comment on my chance and write your recommendations to me? What should I do to increase this chance? I don't want to waste my time if I don't stand any chance because of the low undergrad GPA... Thanks a lot!

I want to repeat something I wrote in the Sociology forum. It depends on when you are receiving degree. There is no need to be worry about recession if you just start. Otherwise, consider any of oppurtunuties not only in the US but in Europe and non-academic jobs of course. If you think the world as global, you won't face any problems to find a job

it is true that we have some reasons like the financial crisis to be pessimistic! but this is directly related to when you will obtain your degree. if you are just starting, no need to worry, keep your hope alive that everything is going to be ok. otherwise, why don't you expand your list? have a look at international universities that teach in english. think the world as global

Since I will be in Hungary for my second master by september, I plan to read several books in the field of Nationalism and Racism. In addition, I will be studying to improve my TOEFL and GRE scores. I am going to apply to PhD programs for 2010-2011 cohort. Therefore, I definitely need to increase them urgently. We may share here any reading lists we have or specific books that seems useful for others? Particularly books in Near Eastern Studies, European History of 19th and 20th century will be appreciated!

LunaSea, good to see an American who is interested in Sufism. Poetry forms the most important part of it. I think you speak Persian or Arabic. Sufism in Turkey is based on creeds of Mevlana, born in Belh, Afghanistan and moved to Anatolia in 13th century. He spoke Turkish, but wrote his poems in Persian since it was the language of literature at that times. As you probably know, Persian is a very strong language for poetry. To be honest, even I do not know anything about 8th year Sufism in Arabic world. Of course, it is true that Sufism's roots come from the first ages of Islam. But what I know is that it was shaped after 11th century in Central Asia by Dervishes who afterwards came to Anatoli and of course Muslims in Spain (Endulus, remember the cities Cordoba and Granada) such as Ibn Arabi. Actually, I plan to study 19th century Turkish nationalism in the Ottoman Empire, but I also find traditional Islam of these ages very alluring to study. We'll see Can you tell a few words about early ages' Sufism?

maybe because of us education system, quantitive part of gre seems to be easy for int applicants like me. i got a 800 in this section. if you are familiar with basic math concepts, i would recommend you just to practice more. i do not know your background of mathematics. i was an economics major with a minor intl relations (not focused on math). i believe that this is quite easier than verbal part and you can easily get a high score in it!

hi, I would like to write some questions asked to me in masters written exams in turkey. althrogh they are very general, still they are not so easy to determine your point and go in detail. This looks a lot like a request to get your homework done?!? Content removed - bgk.

Hey lovecleanh20, My UG cumGPA is almost same with yours. What I heard from many people is that it may be unimportant if you have done adequate relevant research. Here is what I have done: I was eager to study Nationalism and in order to meet this deficiency, I am receiving my MA degree in Cultural Studies with a 3.87 GPA. And next year, I will be doing a second MA in Nationalism Studies. I just hope to be a strong applicant for PhD programs in the US. However, please be aware that some departments determine a cut-off GPA and you may be out of pool because of a GPA below three. But still, I think that there is no need to stay one more year at college. Instead, do your best in an MA program. I wrote this post considering that your aim is a PhD. If not, UG GPA carries even less weight. By the way, as you know, they will look at not only your GPA but research, GRE etc. So if you believe that rest of your file may meet this deficiency, don't waste your time. Otherwise, it may be good to have an above-three GPA.

Hi BMCGirl10, I am not sure if you check this out. There is something which I should say since I am also eager to study this kind of topics. I am aiming to get my MA degree in Turkey, and then join a PhD program in the US. Anyway, the idea of broadening your knowledge of the field through an MA makes sense. This is what I am doing. Currently, I am writing my thesis which focuses on racist movements in Turkey. And yes, that migration and racism are related issues is definetely true. Examples you gave are probably good places to study Ethnic Studies. I decided to stay here and do a Cultural Studies MA. And next year, I will be pursuing a second Masters degree in one-year Nationalism Studies program at CEU (Central European University, Hungary) Check it out too! Another program is "History of Nationalism" at London School of Economics, UK. One thing to keep in mind is that I received a financil aid package including free housing, tuition fee and monthly stipend from CEU. The University gives this scholarship to its almost all students. In addition, it can be considered as an American institution founded by Soros. Most of its students go to the US for PhD every year. -this is what i am planning to do. Take it into consideration! Good luck!

Hi, I know it depends on my background, nevertheless I am curious about your opinions. Just a few hints about what I have done: I am an international applicant, hold an Economics BA degree with a 2.92 GPA and writing my thesis in MA in Cultural Studies where I performed well (GPA: 3.87) Next year (2010/11 cohort), I will be applying to PhD programs in the US. Actually I may not have a great shot without GRE (Q:800, V:650) and TOEFL: 107 which make me stronger on applications. (I hope so) Well, my thesis which I will present to departments as a sample paper is dealing with racist movements in single-party experience of Turkey. I took History courses (9) during my undegraduate study and Sociology and Anthropology classes in Cult MA program. In addition, I have been accepted to a 1-year Nationalism Studies MA program at CEU in Hungary. Instead of applying to American Universities, I decided to strenghten my application file with a second MA in relevant field. There, I will concentrate on nationalist discourse in official historical narratives of Turkey. At the same time, I will be preparing a powerful SOP What I am wondering is which PhD program is appropriate for me. Fields such as Nationalism, Racism, Ethnicity etc. can be studied in many departments like Sociology, Anthropology, History, Near Eastern Studies (because the thesis is based on Turkey), Political Science etc. So I am pretty puzzled! Where to study these fields? My current MA program is closer to Antrhopology with faculty members who have Anthro PhD's. One of them currently wants to offer me to NYU. I am looking for a program that can provide oppurtunities in this field! What do you think?

just never mind you have a 4.0 gpa, which is top of the class. so why do you care a "C" too much? my undergrad is 2.92 :roll: while i have 3.87 in MA. you will be competing with applicants like me!? probably they will be out of the pool when they see yours! come on! ps: nevertheless, make it A

well, my faith is a kind of original islam, has its roots from quran. i am not sure if you have any idea about it. but i feel i belong to an emotional islam (sufism of mevlana celaleddin rumi) which offers a kind of peace, and of course "love". this is the key of sufism. as yunus emre said, "we love creatures for the sake of their creator" :arrow:

the answer to the first question is a "yes". i live in ankara, just obtained BA degree, and now starting an MA program here. for the second question, as i said before, all universities i recommended as well as some other less popular colleges teach in english. we, students of these universities, are able to speak english. i mean, there is no problem with the fact that you know only english. for daily life, it is probably enough even if most people outside do not speak any foreign lanmguage. and if you are eager to learn turkish, i would say that a friend of mine from germany had an advanced level of turkish in only two years. as you know, the best way to learn a language is to live with people who can speak it fluently. one thing to keep in mind is that students coming from US and Europe went to top schools in the US and UK. also, almost all teachers here (particularly have a look at universities below) hold their PhD degrees from top American schools. however, please be aware that second round of application due to early june! so be quick if you want to apply!

1-) it certainly depends on the topic you would like to study. my priority is more important than this list because of the existence of professors in your field. 2-) forget about 1, a friend of mine told me that harvard is harvard, princeton is princeton. your future employers will just look at which school you graduated from, not good professors if you received your PhD from a low-ranked school. i do not know which one is true. i wish i could have an appropriate GPA for top schools :wink:

to begin with, it is not a dumb question. i am also curious about this issue. i do not know exactly what your problem is but I suffer from the lack of appropriate phrasing in emails that i wrote to professors. i don't want to say something silly. what i do is introducing myself, telling something about my background, then asking my questions. i think they do not like muddled and long mails. i received many very short mails which do not reply most questions in it :?

Hi, I know you do not have good views about Turkey and Turkish Universities. (probably) But here many universities teach in English and have perfect graduate programs. They are waiting for international applicants and providing very good scholarships. For instance, Sabanc? University in Istanbul gives 1200 TL (app. 800 USD which is perfect in Turkey) (more if you study PhD) monthly stipend, tuition fee and a laptop. Koc University is same (with 1400 TL in MA). Bilkent Unversity in Ankara also presents very good programs and scholarship oppurtunities. This three (private) also provide housing in personal dormitory rooms. Apart from these schools, some state schools such as Bogazici and METU demand no tuition fee, but give no scholarship. As you can see from their websites, almost all of their teachers hold PhD degrees from American and English top universities. Teachers and students are fluent in English. Life in Istanbul and Ankara is ok. At least a master degree in Turkey can be considered before PhD. And there is still enough time for applications. (Check websites) People who have other questions about universities and everyday life in Turkey, feel free to ask whatever you want. www.sabanciuniv.edu.tr www.ku.edu.tr www.bilkent.edu.tr www.boun.edu.tr www.metu.edu.tr

Stories, it is cool to hear that you got an acceptance from Yale. I think, your recommedations would be valuable. Actually I plan to prepare to 8-10 schools to decrease the risk. As you mentioned, it is really important to show what you want to do and how much you want it. I think I can show it in statement of purpose which should be strong. I am an international applicant, and TOEFL score matters for me. It is 107. And belowthree, yes research is essential for your field. I guess well-structured sample papers (eg master thesis) may be helpful and interesting for the committie. and I am curious about which schools you got in? Do you mean that some schools can accept without seeing GPA which is below 3 despite its cutoff? I did not know this.