wreckofthehope
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Posts posted by wreckofthehope
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Hello Grad Community!
I'm at this point to make crucial decisions and I needed advice!
I have finished my BA in English Literature in Iran and I will start my MA in the same field again this Fall. But I'm planning to study my PhD in Cultural Studies in a foreign country and I have little time to choose a place and start my communication with teachers and departments! I'm eager to study in Europe, in free universities with the chance of having a job and stable situation. I would be happy to receive any suggestion around this subject, whatever it is; for I'm a beginner in this way of applying and finding places and I need your knowledge and suggestions.
Thanks
Hey!
Two really good places for Cultural Studies in Europe, that offer very, very good funding (you're a full fledged employee of the university), are The University of Amsterdam, and the University of Copenhagen. In the UK, Goldsmiths and Birkbeck are good (though Birkbeck's London Consortium no longer exists, and that really was the best place in the UK for Cultural Studies) - but funding is scarce.
The U.S. has more options, e.g. UC Davis, Minnesota and a wealth of pop-culture oriented humanities programs (if that is where your interests lie).
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An MPhil is a much stronger degree than an MA.
Generally MAs in the UK are "taught" degrees, meaning you take courses and write a dissertation at the end, usually in one year, earning the equivalent of about 90 ECTS in countries that use the Bologna system.
An MPhil usually has a much stronger research component and shows greater autonomy. In every case I would take the chance to do the MPhil rather than a terminal MA -- unless you got funding at UV?
A Cambridge MPhil is just the same as an MA elsewhere, it's just called that because of the practice of awarding MAs to Cambridge BAs a certain length of time after matriculation, without any further work. There is the same issue at Oxford, which is why their English MAs are called MSts.
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Tweedledumb2 and I are presenting at PCA, but we'll be gone before the beer panel, so that's sad. We'll just drink lots of beer before we leave
I'm presenting in the British Popular Culture area. Can't wait; soooo many interesting/fun looking panels!
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You can get a BA and an MA in it as well. They're quite popular and useful degrees everywhere except the US, where some Harvard fuck said that Geography is useless and everybody listened to him.
My college has a Landscape Studies program for undergraduates. It's like critical theory of space with some architecture thrown in.
And don't do an MPhil at Cambridge in anything. They need that money to pay their adjuncts.
Speaking of Cambridge, it offers a BA and D Phil in Land Economy, which is a mixture of economics, geography, and law. It's really cool and I was gonna do it for undergrad.
There are a few exceptionally strong geography programs left in the US: UCLA and Kentucky, to name a couple of the best, but almost all top private schools closed their departments a long time ago, like you said. (Hilariously, the QS world rankings had a geography ranking a few years back that was topped by a bunch of US schools that don't have geography departments...just goes to show what a crock of shit rankings are!).
Not being from the US (and being a geographically inclined lit student) , I was a little taken aback by the two geography posts above!
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Even though I have no evidence, I'm also going to say our love lives are better.
I've now written 3 term papers and a thesis chapter on Henry James.
My joke is I do the short 19th century. Melville to Henry James. But seriously, folks.
I reckon American Modernists have the most sex, but that it's probably faintly unfulfilling.
- pinkrobot, Shirbs and dazedandbemused
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Thanks for the input! Glad to hear that ranking doesn't matter as much in the UK, though I will likely be going with either Manchester or Leeds, which are both highly ranked in policy. Fit is great at all of them (which is why I chose these universities over Oxford and Cambridge). Now I just have to find out the funding info...
Good luck!
If you'll be looking for jobs in the UK, one thing to do might be to scour departments for their new lecturer hires in your field and see if either Leeds or Manchester are educating a large portion of those hires. Just cos, if one of them is, then that would be a big plus in their favour.
I know in my subfield, in the last five years or so, two unis (Sussex and Birkbeck) completely dominated hiring so even though another uni might be a marginally better fit, one of those two departments would probably be the safest bet for getting a job.
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Americanists Unite!
I do post-45 stuff: cultural history, fiction, film.
I'm mid-degree now, I guess (final qualifying exam this semester), yikes.
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I have been accepted to a few programs now. Just found out yesterday that I was accepted to one that is ranked significantly higher than the others. I won't find out about funding for a few weeks at least (March/April for two programs), so that isn't a factor yet. However, I am probably more likely to get funding from a lower ranked university due to the competition at the higher ranked program. How much does ranking matter? Since I'll be in the UK, will it even matter in the US if I come back for a job? Will they even be aware of the rankings of UK programs?
Outside of maybe four or five universities (Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, St Andrews and maybe Edinburgh), UK schools are almost all unknown by name in the US. There are exceptions within highly specialized areas (York for Medieval Studies, Essex for Government) but the majority of academics wouldn't know where, say, Durham stood against Kent in the general university pecking order, and will probably not know anything much at all about either. So, I'm not sure you should worry all that much about it.
In any case, within the UK, rankings, as such, matter very little at the PhD level and for jobs afterwards, most PhD students are drawn by funding and supervisors to a particular university which for a particular topic could mean that Kent, say, is a far better place to be than Oxford, for example.
The US job market is, of course, very rank-sensitive but, like I said, considering the pool of universities you are choosing from I don't think the perceived ranking is going to matter much because of the general lack of awareness of UK institutions over here.
I'm from the UK, Durham is the most highly ranked for undergrads (seen as just below Oxbridge), but it's almost unknown in the US. Manchester is likely the highest ranked internationally because it's massive and research heavy. I'd hazard a guess that Leeds or Kent are better for the OPs subject, since they both tend to be places where less traditional academic disciples flourish.
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If I could upvote this by a million, I would.
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You’re like a British school info savant and I thank you for it!
Well, I'm English and I do American Studies/Cultural Studies type stuff, so I don't know about being a savant as much as being marginally aware of the 17 schools that do my subject in my homeland
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Maybe I’ll contact them and see about applying for their American Studies program, as well. Thanks for the info!
No problem!
They do have an MA in American Studies and Film Studies that might work for you (and I know they also have AHRC funding for MA students, somewhat unusually, and you may also be eligible for that - the rules on giving it to international students seem to be up to the university that holds the awards).
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This is so great to hear because I applied their MA in Film and Media Studies! Is it just the American Studies program that does the funding?
I'm not certain...it's my impression that the funding is through Am St, but I could be wrong as I don't know the Film dep't too well (and there's a fair amount of crossover faculty-wise).
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It sounds like you and are soul sisters. I’m currently drinking tea from my Union Jack mug. Haha.
The cost of UK programs is definitely what is holding me back. I actually was admitted to some UK programs for my MA and wanted to go desperately, but couldn’t scrounge up the funding, even though I was lucky enough to receive partial scholarships from a couple of places. I’m still heartbroken about it. I’ve avoided taking out student loans, but might do so next year if it comes to it.
And you’re right--academia IS addictive. Even as I say I can’t imagine doing this again, I’m making notes on how to improve my portfolio. Isn’t there a term for loving torture? Masochistic?
Hi, I’m an academic masochist. *Hand shake*
Kamisha: take a look at UEA American Studies, they have funding explicitly for US students (one of the only places I know of that does this) and they have both the top film and media department in the UK and one of the top Am St dep'ts.
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I have a few questions on this topic myself.
First, my old MA advisor suggested that if I don't get into any doctoral programs this season, that I perhaps try doing a program at Oxford (I'm a medievalist, so yeah). Just wondering what people think of this. It could get me some great rec letters for later PHD apps, and it would be nice to use my brain again. On the other hand, it's expensive as hell, and intimidating as hell, and feels like a massive and scary decision.
Related to that, if I did a M.ST instead of the M.Phil, would that look less good? I wouldn't mind doing the M.Phil, but since it's a second Masters degree, I don't really want to spend another two years before submitting PHD apps again. I'd like to maybe be done with school before I'm 40.
And lastly, and I know this question is a long-shot, does anyone know if there are grants or scholarships or whatever if you're studying over there as an international student with a disability? From my brief travels, I know they are awesome with disability fees for stuff like museums, but I don't know if that consideration extends to universities, and even more if it extends to wandering Minnesotans.
I'm feeling out this idea, so input would be great.
I'm in a TOTALLY different field, but I did my BA there, so feel free to PM me if you have questions about the uni or colleges or the English Faculty, or anything really.
I wouldn't be intimidated - if you're good enough for a US PhD program, or good enough to apply to one, then you are a serious candidate with a good chance of being accepted. It sounds like Ox would be a good fit academically, so go for it.
The MPhil is usually a research degree at Oxford... if you were planning to stay at Ox for the DPhil then doing the MPhil would be worth it (because your MPhil work is the start of your DPhil work); otherwise, the normal MSt should be fine. Most UK Master's are one year.
Disability provisions for UK students are quite good, but they come mostly from the government, not the university (or, at least, from the government through the university) and so I suspect you would not be eligible.
All that said, if this would be a second Master's (am I reading your post correctly?), I'd personally be very wary - what would it add to what you've already got to offer?
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Roughly how much higher is the percentage of acceptances? I'm trying to determine whether it would be in my interest to apply to multiple UK programs. From what I have seen, American MA programs don't tend to accept more than 60% of applicants (if that, though strangely Villanova accepts more according to Petersons). How does this compare with British programs? Also, are they more interested in accepting international students (for the higher tuition obviously)? I may be able to get the EU tuition rate as I am in the process of getting an EU passport.
I'm not sure of actual numbers for Master's programs (you can search most university websites and there will be a document somewhere with this information). But I can say this: I'm from the UK, and I do not know anyone who has applied for an academic MA who has not been accepted (of my friends, family, acquaintances etc); finance and journalism tend to be the most competitive Master's programs in the UK.
For PhDs, in English Oxford and Cambridge accept around 40-50% of applicants, I imagine the percentage is similar, if not higher, at other universities.
You don't pay for UK apps (do you as an international student?) and the process is much less involved than the US, so you don't have much to lose by applying to a few - I'd say 3-5 programs would be more than enough. I applied to one...as did many people I know.
Unless you've been in the UK for three years prior to the start of your program, then you will be charged international fees. Though, in the last few years scholarships for international students have improved drastically (they are still not great, though). I know UEA has some scholarships particularly for American students.
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When I was applying, the then program director told me that the program was intended for people whose work could not be done in a single-discipline department. So, interdisciplinarity needs to be a central feature of your project. Don't know if that really answers your question, certainly not directly anyway...but it might be of some help.
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As a clarification to the above post: I meant to say, too, that at some public schools with budget issues (e.g. Washington, most of the UC's etc), international students are at a disadvantage because they cost the school more than a US student (tuition scholarships only cover resident fees and an international student can't become a state resident). So, you really really want to make it clear in your application that you come with funding!
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You are a godsend! I am an international student and U-Dub is my dream school. I studied in Seattle for a year before I left for my M.A program and I loved it. I am now thinking of pursuing my PhD elsewhere, which would be the fall of 2015, Seattle is the first place I would think of. I won't be needing funding from the university because I have a full-paid scholarship. Should I write this part in my statement of pupose? I am not well aquainted with the politics of American academics and I would like to know what you think.
Also, I have plenty of time to work on my application. Do you think that doing an M.A. thesis would help boost my chances to get admitted to Udub's PhD program?
Finally what are the chances of international students to be enrolled in the program? As an insider, do you have any information about internationl's GRE scores? Are they the same as native speakers or do international students compete within a different range (and spots)?
I know that some of the questions might be hard to answer. But, these are the very questions that are worrying me.
Thank you for offering to help us...Enjoy Seattle!
I'm an international student, and when I was applying three years ago UDub was a top choice for me. I ended up not submitting the application because funding is very iffy for international students (as in you are very, very unlikely to get it - this was stated at the start of the online application). BUT, if you have funding already - then I imagine there is no issue and I suspect they'd love an application from an international student who comes with funding, since you'd allow them to diversify their cohort while not having to come up with the money to do so! I would get in touch with a department administrator and see if they can advise on where/how to mention the funding - you definitely want to make it very clear that you have this scholarship.
They also used to have a different application deadline for international students (in November) - so double check that!
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^ that was essentially my first qualifying exam
(but with loads more books). (is M. Keith Booker your adviser?)
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I'm doing research in theoretical computer science, so my research for the most part involves a lot of playing with math. I end up with large stacks of scratch paper, containing ideas or derivations which may or may not be useful later. So far I have not been very successful in organizing my notes (read: piles of paper littering my room), and it is hard to actually find anything later. If I have solid, important ideas, I will rewrite them more concisely and orderly, or even better write them up in LaTeX, but that would be time consuming to do for everything.
I've never used a tablet, but the idea of using a stylus to take notes electronically seems like it could help. Ideally it would allow me to organize, manipulate, store, and retrieve all my notes more easily. (This could be used for classes as well, but class notes have inherent structure and so are easier to keep organized)
Can anyone who's used a tablet give their thoughts: Is writing on a tablet easy/natural/frustrating; do you find yourself preferring to write on paper? What kind of tablets are best for extensive handwriting math equations? Do I need an iPad, or is will something cheaper suffice? Will this likely improve my efficiency, or should I just learn to organize my paper notes better?
Thanks
I've used normal capacitive styluses and they're not really a substitute for pen and paper. Tablets with a digitizer, though: amazing! I have an ASUS TF810 and I use One Note for absolutely everything now - I particularly like how it's easy to organize into digital notebooks for different subjects/projects and that it all gets saved automatically, so I don't need to worry about it. Writing on this particular tablet is almost the same as writing on a piece of paper (if your paper was shiny and very solid) and I've heard that the inking on other Windows 8 tablets with digitizer is very good, too (the Lenovo Think Pad Tablet 2 is cheaper than the ASUS and is supposed to give a very good writing experience).
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I think your strategy has to be tailored towards your exam itself - i.e., is it written or oral, is it 4 hours or 2 days, how long is your list, and when's the date?
I started studying for my written qualifying exam on research methods (6 hours locked in a room; answer 3 essay questions, one you wrote yourself, and define 11 terms), which I took in May 2011, in February 2011. I had a weekly study group I met with. We were all taking the exam on the same date. We each took an essay question and answered it, made copies of our answers and distributed it to our partners, talking through the answer and where we got citations from. That way, I didn't have to answer as many essays myself but still got the benefit of seeing a good completed answer. We worked on areas of expertise (the anthropologist answered the ethnography questions; I answered the statistical and quantitative questions and the mixed-methodologist took interviews and focus group questions). We also divided up the reading lists and discussed the reading with each other; that way, I only had to skim the materials that I wasn't assigned to read. We obtained a list of terms from students who had successfully pased (the 11 come from a pool of 150 terms, and we're supposed to give a one-paragraph definition of each) so that we didn't have to track down definitions alone, and quizzed each other using flash cards. Each week we focused on 15 terms to learn.
Studying for my oral qualifying exams (which I took in May 2012) was a completely different experience, because those are not a standardized date and they're very individual. This is a 2-hour oral exam with two professors who can ask you anything on the two lists you submit to them, and the purpose is to test the boundaries of your knowledge in the field and also to see if you are ready to write a dissertation. I compiled my lists using old students' lists that were made available by the department, adding on other works as necessary. Then I got to reading. This exam took about 2 months to prepare for, and most of what I did was skimming and reading relevant excerpts. Then I would summarize - either aloud, or I would write summaries of what I was reading and organize them and reread. As I got closer I used to sit in my room and talk out loud about the points I was reading to see if I could discuss them in tandem with each other.
In both cases, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of studying. No, really! You get to learn so much and when else are you going to have dedicated time to just read major works in your field? I think I learned more studying for those two exams than I learned in my coursework. But you definitely don't have to master it all. Think of your qualifying exams as a foundation upon which you will build your career. This is just laying the concrete. You don't have to know everything, but what you learn from qualifiers is where to start and how to find the stuff you don't know.
This is so interesting, thanks!
All of our exams are oral exams and sound similar in set-up to your orals. The minor was an hour and a half, while the major will be two hours. My preparation for the minor took about 10 months, and I expect preparing for my major will take about the same, which, until now, I thought was fairly normal! Were your lists mostly shorter works/scholarship...what sort of things were on them, genre-wise? I'm guessing the big difference is the need to read and master a field of primary texts in my discipline (English), which can take up a lot of time. My current in-progress major list has about 70 primary texts (including 50 ish novels, and then another 30ish full books of secondary scholarship and ten or so articles) on it...many of them I've read before (which helps) but not with the kind of questions in mind that my exam is asking...so really I still need to read them again. We have a third oral exam prior to the dissertation that's on just the materials you'll be using for your dissertation. I definitely found the minor exam a great experience, and it helped me feel more like a scholar than a student - it felt like I was mapping out my approach and interests in a very proactive way. At the same time, though, it felt a little like a practice for what I'm doing now...with the major I'm fretting about coverage and how this exam is going to hem me in, or not, hence wanting to include as much as possible. Obviously massive coverage is neither possible nor productive, so I'm trying to fight my urges and cultivate a more task-oriented attitude to the whole thing!
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Thought I'd see if anyone else who is doing (or has done) exams would care to pool tips and strategies for their successful completion.
I'm currently studying for my central exam, and passed an exam in my minor field earlier this year. This one seems so much more intimidating, in part because I feel like I have to master it all (my list gets bigger every day, despite pruning)...I mean, I'm hopefully going to be making my career in this field. Argh, gots to know it alllllll!
So, yeah.
How is everyone else finding exams?
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Have you looked at McGill and UBC? McGill, at least, is in a more affordable city (do your research, though... they're having huge budget cuts, so your resources may be disappearing and some of the faculty are as well).
Yeah - maybe look more closely at other Canadian schools? While Toronto has issues funding international students, other Canadian uni's offer generous Master's (and PhD) funding. I know Toronto is the Canadian place for Medieval...but I'm sure some of the other schools could also be good fits. Calgary and Alberta have very generous funding, I know UVic has good MA funding, too, and I think UBC does also (others possibly also worth looking into: Dalhousie, Queens, McMaster, SFU, Ottawa).
I'd also add that there's a thread in here somewhere on funded MA's - go through it and see if any would be a good fit. I was thinking Wake Forest's MA might be?
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There is also scattered, occasional, and highly contested nonresidential parking in the area.
Though, to be serious, it really depends what bit of Brighton you are in. There's a fair amount in the little triangle between Sutherland, Comm and Chestnut Hill Ave - I used to live there and we could usually get a spot when needed (though often only after circling for 10 plus minutes). Beyond Sutherland to the east it is almost nonexistent. I don't know about Brighton Centre as I've never needed to park there.
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in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Posted · Edited by wreckofthehope