sidiosquiere

Indiana-Bloomington and Michigan are also really good for ME studies.

As Bukharan points out, it all depends on your background in ME studies and what your goals are in the end. There are various programs throughout the US that offer excellent training. If you don't have language training in one of the major ME languages, then these programs can offer you language training, and then, depending on what your goals are (academia, government, etc), you can decide. A lot of people choose to do MA degrees in ME studies before branching out into other disciplines - such as history, political science, education, public policy, etc. So, again, it depends on what your goals are and whether or not you have language training. If you don't have language training, you will have a difficult time getting into PhD programs (if that is your goal), and in that case I would recommend MA programs. If you do have language training, then your options, I think, are greater, and you be competitive, depending on your other academic background, for top PhD programs in ME studies such as Princeton, NYU, and Chicago. Other excellent MA programs in ME studies are the University of Arizona and the University of Texas-Austin. Many students from these schools end up competing quite well for other PhD programs either in ME studies or other disciplines (usually in the humanities). Other REALLY solid programs are Georgetown and the University of Washington. Again, it all depends on what your goals are. This list of schools is not all of the programs, but these are some good programs that come to mind.

modern, what is your field?

Is OSU a reputable department? I don't know how to find these things out ...

this. exactly. enough said.

I don't know what your MA is in, but I didn't do one in History, and I ended up fine (I think). I did my degree in an interdisciplinary area studies program in the southwest. It provided me with excellent training, so as long as you are getting what you feel need from your MA program, I think you should be fine. Best of luck to you.

I agree. A Piece of Bread and I are in the same field, and oddly enough, we both had the almost the same GPAs and GRE scores. We both did well this application season. I think that what helped me, personally, was having a focused statement of purpose (which some people on this forum critiqued for me), and having a writing sample that demonstrated my ability to conduct primary source research in my research languages, and then using secondary materials to make my conclusions relevant. I think that having an MA helped too, since I had a bad undergrad GPA (2.9). Good letters certainly did not hurt either. I'm not sure what the purpose of the GRE is at this point. I think it's just a formality more than anything. From my experience, professors don't seem to think that much about them, unless you did really bad. Don't be intimidated by all the 4.0's and near perfect GRE scores you see on this forum.

After much thinking, I have come to the decision that I will turn down the big name school and go with the lesser ranked program because the fit is much better. I asked myself - who do I REALLY want to work with, and why. I kept coming to the lesser ranked program. The fit is just incredibly perfect, and I get along great with the potential advisers. I really believe that I will write a strong dissertation if I go to this lesser ranked program. I will be losing out on some language learning opportunities, but hopefully I am successful in my bids for national fellowships that fund language study. I have not yet made the decision, but I think I will be making it official tomorrow morning. The only thing I hope and pray for is that I do not regret this decision five years down the line when it comes to applying for jobs. I keep coming back to the question, does name really matter?

I am still undecided between two schools. School A has an excellent fit, but the library sucks, the school is not THAT prestigious in terms of History, the school does not offer language instruction for what I need, and I only received four years of funding (two year fellowship and two year TA-ship). I would have to try to fund my own way for summer language learning opportunities. There is no doubt though that I can get the best training in the historiography of my field at this school. To make things more complicated, I did my BA at school A. Having done my MA elsewhere, I wonder how it would would look like to people who hire if I did my PhD at the same place I did my BA at. School B is a very prestigious program for History. It has excellent language resources, the library is pretty damn amazing, and the money they offered me was amazing. On top of that, they have excellent language learning resources, and they even offer one time summer stipend to fund language training abroad. Here's what sucks - the fit. On top of that, the main adviser I'd be working with did not even let me know that he was not going to be in town when I visited the school. I had to e-mail him when I saw that he was not on my itinerary. We've talked on the phone, and he seems nice. None of this would be so much of a concern if there was a better supporting cast, but there is not. It makes me wonder why I applied here in the first place. Quite frankly, I do not know what to do.

did you hear about funding? i can't accept their offer yet, cuz i dont know

Has anyone heard anything regarding funding? April 15 is coming soon ...

tanzimat and ottoman! i love reading these words on this forum. the site is becoming less euro- and american- centirc. great! no offense to europeanist and americanists.

Yeah! I was referring to both of them! They are both great books,and Prof. Burgos is really cool. And StrangeLight, you're right - I shouldn't use terms like 'cultural turn' without really knowing what they mean and whether or not we are in the middle or end of it. Hopefully I learn what it really means once I take a historiography course in the Fall!

Also, I've heard of a book on Latinos in American baseball. Again, the author tied it into larger questions about identity and racism in the US. It got him tenure Honestly, sports history is cool! We are in middle of the culture turn, so take advantage of it!

I've read a dissertation on Egyptian soccer. The scholar is turning it into a book, but he is not tenured yet. I guess what helped him is that he was able to tie it into larger questions about nationalism, identity, and class. I guess it's possible. Just over-analyze everything and present it in an interesting way as TMP's friend did!