kdavid

Thanks for all of your replies so far. This is why I would really like to do an MA in the States before moving on to a PhD. At the end of the day, the three years I've spent here studying have done wonders for my Chinese, but I've gotten very, very little out of the classroom. With that said, I have been using the time wisely to self-study and increase my knowledge of my period.

Background: My goal is to get a PhD in Chinese history. However, my undergrad (graduated in 2005) was in English, with a minor in history. I’m currently completing an MA in Chinese history at a Chinese university in China (I’ll graduate in 2014). I speak, read, and write modern Chinese fluently, and am learning classical Chinese as well as Japanese and Russian. I’ve been told my Chinese MA won’t be worth squat back in the States. Though I'm researching and writing a proper thesis as part of my current MA studies, I’m not sure how much it will be worth in the eyes of top programs—it may not be worth much other than a writing sample. Question: First, do I stand a good chance at getting accepted to a top program as is, or should I plan to do an MA first and then apply for the PhD? Second, if I applied for a PhD, would a school who liked me, but thought I needed more work before hand, say something along the lines of "We really like you, but you should do the MA here first."? Or, alternatively, I apply for an MA and the school says, "You can actually skip right on to the PhD." To be honest, I’d like to have the experience of going through an MA in the States with proper professors. On the other hand, I don’t have all the time, or money, in the world to do so unless absolutely essential to my long-term goals (getting a PhD) and career (teaching and researching). What do you think?

Is anyone else out there studying while also raising a family? I'll be beginning my graduate studies in when I move home from China in 2014. There will be at least three of us (me, my wife, and son--and maybe a fourth! ). I'd like to get an idea as to what I can expect regarding expenses, and whether or not universities offer any type of assistance. For example, would a university provide a dormitory big enough for a small family? What about health insurance? Could my family eat on campus? Etc. I won't be going home dirt poor, but won't have a lot of freedom economically. I'm not against working part-time as long as it doesn't interfere with my studies. My wife is Chinese, and won't have her green card right away. Aside from private language tutoring, she won't be able to help out financially; at least not to start. I appreciate you sharing your insights and experience.

Yes, I'm looking specifically for free services. I use Google Scholar. While it's great in theory, it's essentially just Google weeds out non-academic stuff. It's useful, but it's not located the content I need.

Hello All, I'm currently completing an MA in Ancient Chinese History in China. I've been very impressed by the amount of free (Chinese) information available. There are a number of free databases which provide tens of thousands of publications written by professors throughout the country. This makes it very easy to gather a lot of information from many different sources all in one place. This has made collecting (Chinese) data for my research easy. However, I'm having a very hard time locating English sources. Does a similar free database exist which pools scholarly publications from western professors/universities/sources, etc?

This website outlines the six levels (on the left-hand column) of the "New HSK", also referred to as the 进版. At the moment, both tests are being used, though I'm not sure what to think of only the old HSK being used in 2011. Perhaps they'll update the website later. My Mandarin level is near-native. At the moment I'm working specifically on being able to discuss more specialized topics, etc. I'll work on Japanese as the primary third, and get a good foundation in Russian. There are tons of Russians here in Harbin, so it wouldn't be a problem to practice a bit as well.

I'm very impressed and appreciative of everyone's responses so far. I do tend to take it too far by thinking too many steps ahead. Thinking just one or two steps ahead seems to be the best plan for now. I just took the "old" test November 28, 2010, and scored an "8" on the 初中 exam. The HSK website, when posting 2010's testing schedule, listed two exams, one for the "old" test, and another for the 进版. Is that the one you're referring to? By the way, the 进版 doesn't seem to be listed for 2011 dates, unless that's all they're offering now...? I'm working on traditional characters and classical Chinese as well. I've looked into taking the JLPT, and likely will once I get to that level. @ east asian hist phd What would you recommend for a third language? I've started learning Russian as I figure that could satisfy the European language requirement that many schools seem to have. Also, is reading knowledge of these languages enough? I can progress much faster if I don't have to focus on also learning how to speak or write them. I know I'll need to be able to understand spoken Japanese for the JPLT, so I've been working on that.

Thanks again for your responses. Everything you've all said makes sense and is starting to sink in. I appreciate the time you've all taken to reply. In light of what you've all said, I have another question: Let's say I've graduated and now have a PhD. I'm entering the job market. Let's say I've become known (but not well-known) for my PhD dissertation/publications, and while I'm not "famous", my interests show potential for further publications, etc. Will the merit of my dissertation and other related research alone be enough to land me a good job if my PhD isn't from a great university? What do schools hiring professors look at first: research/dissertation or the name printed on my degree? While it makes sense that I should choose a school which offers the best package, and which "feels right", I feel that if I were hiring a professor for my department, and had a list of 50 fresh graduates to choose from to fill one position, I'd likely look at those who graduated from better schools first. Of course, I know nothing about what goes into hiring university professors. It just seems logical that grads who graduated from a better school may be considered first, and in a tough job market, sometimes you need as much help as you can get.

Thanks for your contributions thus far, and your suggestions. In my head, I feel that if I could get into a top-10 then I would an appealing candidate for other programs as well. My current approach is make myself as marketable as possible so that when it comes time to accept an offer, I have a lot of good offers to choose from.

Like (mostly) everyone else, I want go to to an Ivy League school. My ultimate goal is to get into a PhD program in Modern Chinese History at a top-10 school. My academic history: 28 years old BA from University of Florida (2005); Major: English, Minor: History Graduated Summa Cum Laude, overall GPA 3.64, major coursework 3.85 Honors thesis earned me Summa Cum Laude Currently living in China (married with a 16-month old son) Work experience: I've been teaching English as a foreign language since 2005 (one year in Europe, in China since 2006) I co-founded a TESOL training institute, which I'm currently running. We train about 100 teachers a year. I'm proficient in Mandarin Chinese (reading, writing, speaking); HSK level 8--working on taking Advanced level this year, 2011 I'm learning Japanese and Russian I have about a year of professional translation experience; translating articles focused on Chinese politics, culture, etc. I've been writing for a Beijing-based magazine for six months I haven't taken the GREs yet, but plan on prepping for those this year. I'll be entering an MA program (in modern Chinese history) at a Chinese university via a Chinese government scholarship this autumn. I'm looking to start applying for PhDs in 2 - 3 years. Any help anyone could provide me with would be greatly appreciated. In short, where do I stand now in comparison with other PhD graduates? Would I stand a chance at getting into a top-10 program now? If not, what can I do to make myself more marketable for the future? Thanks!