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!

Hi Orient, Yeah, I applied to study modern Middle East history this recent admission cycle. I don't know where I will be going yet. My interests are in the social and cultural history of the late Ottoman Empire. Where are you think of applying to?

So glad to see that there are people applying to study Middle Eastern history! Good luck!

I need some help too. I study the modern Middle East. PM me if you would like to know the specific schools. Option A -prestigious program -offered a fellowship -well known advisor, but he does not specialize in what I do. His knowledge is vast, though. -excellent language learning opportunities -outside funding options available such as FLAS -amazing library -far, far, from home Option B -better fit in terms of research interests -offered a fellowship -i know the potential advisors well professors well, and one of them is very well known and respected -no FLAS options -no language learning opportunities -library is geared more towards sciences, so i'd have to ILL everything -close to home

Yeah, as far as I know, it was cancelled in Egypt for this year, but given the current political climate there, who knows what will become of CASA. There is, however, an option for Syria, and I am going to apply for it next year. I believe your potential advisor at Arkansas did CASA. Maybe you can ask him about his experience. Good luck, though! I hope you are happy wherever you end up.

Yeah, maybe option 2 would be a good option then. Do they offer FLAS? If option 1 has FLAS and option 2 does not, I personally would take option 1. If neither have FLAS, I would go to the program with the better language resources, IF you still need more language training. Are you planning on doing CASA?

i know someone who applied for the phd but was admitted to the ma instead. funding is not clear yet. any ideas what this means for my friend? thanks!

Hi Sankd - did you a get a chance to meet the potential advisor at option 2?

When it came down to picking the school you were going to go to, was it difficult? Where any of the potential adivsors at the other schools upset with your decision?

This is what I did. I applied having finished my thesis, but my reason for doing this is that I had a low undergrad gpa (2.9) and what I thought to be a low graduate gpa (3.7) at the time. Basically, I wanted to show that my gpa didn't reflect anything, and that I could use my research languages in my thesis. That way my letter writers could write about my thesis and not just my seminar performance - which is bad, since I'm quiet (a habit I need to break). However, I know people who applied not having finished their theses' yet, and they got into some great programs - ucla, george washington, and illinois-urbana champaign. They pretty much had great grades during grad school as well, though. I think as TMP says that a thesis is better for a writing sample than a seminar paper, and if you write a great thesis, im sure your letter writers will discuss that in their letters. However, a seminar paper is fine too I think - especially, if it shows insight and use of primary sources in target languages.

Indiana and Columbia ...