Saltwater

This is tricky. It depends on individual programs, their funding situation, and number of incoming freshman and other things. Here is my story. I applied to UC Irvine for their MA and got accepted. As a result of increased freshman, and the funding situation, I was able to acquire funding while others on the MA course we’re not. The only thing I can say is discuss and strategize with your POI. Faculty can have a big pull on who gets funding.

Hi - first off, congrats on getting to this point. That is a big achievement in of itself. Based off of the information you shared, I think of two options: 1. First off, Northern Arizona University is a great place to do an MA. It is a small department, but offers funding through TAships, is an awesome place and has some specialists you could work with. There are great archives there for anything in the Colorado Plateau. 2. the second place is UC Irvine - who also offers a year long MA program that could potentially find you. There are so many great people to work with here, particularly for the graduate cohort and faculty. Personally, I have gone to both schools for separate degrees and I think either way is going to be a fantastic experience.

Yes - however, to get funded for a MA in medieval studies, you will need to know Latin well. Language will be a big barrier medieval work. Getting funded in general for MA work is hard, especially now.

Okay! Thank you for dropping the link, I will check it out. And that’s fantastic, I hope that you get into the school(s) you want. I’ve never been, but I know that Vanderbilt is beautiful! You applied to a PhD or a MA? I definitely agree though, I would be over the moon to get in anywhere. It’s a great thing to like have that stability of knowing where you are going to go. I’m a history teacher and even though I enjoy it, I will be so happy to be a student again. Cheers!

HI, well first off good luck to you! I hope everything goes well with your applications! Do you have a number 1 where you would like to go to? Also, being an Americanist sounds fun - I work on early modern Europe but I remember in college taking several American history courses that I absolutely loved where we worked a lot on the history of American ecology and food-ways. I think we even read Will Cronon! Anyhow, I applied to only a handful of schools. I can't wait until I hear back - at least I won't be in agony anymore haha. I used to think I would feel free after submitting applications because there was nothing else I could do, but I was wrong. The waiting game is in many ways more challenging. Also, what's been going on with the dispute on SOP? How do I find it?

So, my MA was in medieval history and not medieval studies. Here is the difference - to be a medieval studies program, the school has to have the tools to train you in paleography, latin, medieval historiography, etc. An MA in medieval history (which is what I did) allows you to take historiography classes on the medieval/early modern period, and produce a thesis on a medieval topic. I focused on late medieval Italy and worked with French and Italian. As far as the question of negatives - it will be much harder to get a job with a medieval studies PhD. Not impossible, but very hard. If you get a degree in history, you have a little wider options. No matter what you do, my advice would be to a) do what makes you happy and b) make sure that your project is broad enough a topic to help with the job market.

I was asked to write a letter of recommendation for one of my students to medical school - that felt very strange to be asked to do that. Luckily, the student was accepted into multiple schools

During my time as a TA as a master's student, I was very nervous. The MA program I attended normally didn't fund MA students, however as a result of increased enrollment, I was lucky to receive funding. This also gave me a unique perspective as my first quarter of graduate school also entailed teaching on top of trying to adjust to graduate level coursework. I found it fun though - the students (at least the one's I worked with) want to learn from you, and those that don't still are interested in what you have to say. Being a TA is a profound opportunity to help students find the excitement that your particular discipline can offer. For me, it was history. One of my goals was to get the students excited about history, so that our weekly discussion sections were fun. I remember having one class that was absolutely wonderful: we discussed if a spongebob meme would be a primary source. There was fierce debate and it was just so much fun, the kids were engaged and really offering these fantastic arguments. I hope your experience is the same.

Hello all - I am new here and I don't know exactly how this site works yet. I was just curious if there are other PhD applicants who applied for matriculation for fall of 2021. I, like many, am in the waiting game - it is difficult. I have been focusing on reading as much as I can and trying to learn as much in preparation for what I hope are eventual acceptances. I wonder if anyone else has been doing this or has maybe been dealing with this in another way, or have found useful alternatives to kill the time while awaiting decisions that are of paramount importance. One thing that has been difficult for me in particular is the feeling of being in limbo, where no one who is in the same situation can really understand what its like to await PhD applications. Does anyone else feel this? Here's to everyone getting into the right school and trying to learn during a crazy time!