kineto

The 3 questions I’ve been asked in nearly every interview are: Why do you want to get a PhD? Why is this the best department for your PhD? Tell me about your research project (and why it’s important)? I found it really helpful to practice answering these questions and even record myself doing so. For a POI meeting I would also read up on their work and prepare a few thoughtful questions for them. Good luck!! You got this!

I interviewed with MCC on Friday. They said they will announce final decisions this upcoming week. If you still haven’t heard from them perhaps you can call the phone number in the department’s PhD admissions FAQs?

Have you checked the USC decisions portal? If it opens to a blank screen then try loading it again or in a different browser. If you don’t see a decision in the portal you could email the director of doctoral studies. The admitted student event is next week so I imagine all decisions should be out by now.

Hey! I applied to IS programs at Michigan and Cornell, as well as a few Communication programs. I'm interested in the politics of technology design and digital infrastructures. The process was definitely stressful amid the pandemic, but faculty conversations were very helpful for finding a good fit and talking through my research. Good luck to everyone!

I didn't see anyone mention an interview for USC, Penn, or Stanford in past threads or on the results page, so I don't think they do interviews. I know NYU MCC does require them. Not sure about the others.

Very cool to see someone else interested in IS and Comm! Thanks for the recommendation! I looked at Wisconsin but didn't find a strong fit for my research either.

Hey folks! I'm interested in digital infrastructures, social movements, and transnational flows of technology. Would love to connect with anyone with similar interests so feel free to DM me. I also cast a wide net and applied to a couple information studies programs in addition to comms/media studies. American Cornell (Information Science) Michigan (Comm & Media) Michigan (Information) NYU (MCC) Penn Annenberg Rutgers Stanford UNC Hussman USC Annenberg Good luck to everybody!!

I've been wondering this, too. I get that a lot of people are burnt out by learning online etc. but it's been eerily quiet.

Read the research published by a department's faculty to get a sense of the training you'll have access to. If ethnographic training is important to you then political science probably doesn't make sense if you are in the US. Based on your interests I recommend taking a look at communication in addition to sociology.

It depends on why you're only applying to one program. Personally I would be concerned that the applicant isn't serious about getting a PhD if they are putting the trajectory of their career on one school, especially since admissions is not strictly merit-based. I would also wonder why they can't find a good fit in more than one institution. Are their interests too narrowly defined? Are they not flexible/open to different advisors or specializations? If so, what if their interests change during grad school, or the advisor becomes unavailable? Two good reasons I can think of are: (1) the training and research experience I want is only available at X so if I don't get in I'll just take my career in a different direction, and (2) geographic constraints.