psycholinguist

Win!

I semi-accidentally wrote almost an entire novel this month, so I think I'll take next month off. Or, you know, maybe actually start that whole 'MA thesis' thing.

Dear Professor Awesome, I'm a prospective student in Field for Autumn 2010. I've been very interested in That University of Yours for some time now, and in your lab in particular. This is how I heard of you, this is how I decided to specialise in Specialty Area, this is what I wrote my honours thesis on, and these are a few projects I'm thinking about undertaking. Are you accepting graduate students for next autumn? And I happen to be living in Nearby City this year and would be eager to visit; would you recommend that I do so? Thanks! - psycholinguist

Welcome!

No problem! Is there anyone in the program you could email in order to find out about requirements and such?

They're pretty different in most places. Some researchers are really into 'social cognition', which straddles the divide, but I wouldn't say that one of them includes the other, or even covers most of it. In cognitive-psych, you'd be looking at a range of phenomena from psychophysics/perception to higher-level cognition such as attention and information-processing. However, I don't think you'd be too lost if you went for that; I'm working on an MA in cog-psych coming from an undergraduate background almost entirely outside psychology, and the only thing I'm really feeling behind on is statistics.

I'm getting used to the new layout, and I was getting tired of the old one. One issue: the sub-categories of forums (e.g. "Applying to Graduate School") don't seem to work anymore...though they're not very important.

Win!

Ah, well then, you've got plenty of contacts! And ones who actually know something about their graduate program, as I don't. * grins * The LSA institute sounded really fun, but I needed the summer off after my ridiculously intense senior year. Am vaguely hoping to make it to the next one, though; we'll see. Heh. If you like clitics, you're probably just fine! (There are some times when I love being a linguist simply because we can say things such as 'I like clitics'. * laughs *) w00t. Since happiness is being a linguist, we're so happy that we just exude friendliness. And then get all excited when we use words such as 'exude'.

Concordia's department is kind of decentralised, as I understand it. And yeah, not particularly well-known aside from Hale, although that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Aha. Well, if you need any advice about the Cornell linguistics-department (or Ithaca in general), let me know; I just spent three and a half years in it, after all! * grins * I know three people at Santa Cruz. They're all really enjoying the program, though I get the impression that it's pretty syntax-heavy. Heh.

Thanks! I've mainly been looking at Charles Boberg at McGill, Sali Tagliamonte and J. K. Chambers at the University of Toronto, and Jeff Tennant at the University of Western Ontario. Heh, I always forget that Mark Hale is in Canada! Montr

Yeah. I'd call myself a sociolinguist, except I'm more interested in looking at language-change from a historical/theoretical perspective than a social or sociological one. I'm very interested in syntactic and semantic shifts in present-day English (and, to a lesser extent, French), but I'd much rather look at them thinking about the theoretical underpinnings and historical precedents (if any) than what they might imply about social groups and identities and stigmas, or what people are trying to express by saying this or that. Waterloo is fine, thanks! To my surprise, last year's dilemma of which field I wanted to do my Ph.D. in was resolved within four days of starting the psychology MA: I immediately started missing linguistics like crazy. I'm sticking around to finish the MA, since I want the background in statistics and experimental design in case I still ever decide to do any psycholinguistic-y things over the course of my career (probable), but I'm also completing it in a year (there's not much coursework, and, more importantly, I'm feeling a bit impatient...heh). Yes, I'm very interested in perception and cognition, but I'm finding I'm not all that fond of doing research in it, whereas working on my undergrad thesis was so exciting that it was what persuaded me to go into academia. However, I've figured out from my BA that I love linguistics, and from this MA that I love the grad-student experience. And now I can't wait to combine them! * grins * I totally hear you about the learning-the-basics here! I like that I'm making all of the clueless-first-time-TA mistakes (such as going out and buying the textbook, unaware that there was already a copy put aside for me) here, so I'll know better from now on, once it's more important. I'm applying primarily to Canadian schools, since a) my top choice is in Canada, and it makes my life a bit easier. I did my BA in the States and had a fantastic time, but things such as banking and payroll and taxes and sending packages across the border were a pain in the rear-end.

Heh. If it's any consolation, when I learned that I'm set to go to Boston in November for Psychonomics, I thought of fuzzylogician immediately. * grins * Yep, same here! I mean, I actually know which field I want to go into now! That should help, right? * laughs * And I'm now aware that I want to specialise in language-change. The only problem is that, having narrowed things down so much, I can only think of three (maybe four) schools that I really, really want to apply to. But then, with better statistics (my senior year pulled my GPA up a bit), a completed undergrad thesis, more time to devote to applications, and a way better idea of what the absolute heck I'm doing this year (and hence immeasurably stronger SOPs), I'm hoping my chances will be much improved. We'll see. How's Wisconsin been, incidentally?

Heh, I definitely found myself thinking about this last year! The fact that gender can remain nebulous (and possibly even insignificant) even through the process of (sort of) getting to know people is one of the things I like about the Internet. If anyone's desperate to know, I mentioned my gender in a post from (I think) this past early spring. But I'm perfectly happy to keep guessing when it comes to everyone else! * grins *

Hey, welcome back! Those programs had better watch out for us now that we'll have an extra degree each. Heh heh heh. Yeah, I survived my first real winter in 2005-06!* You definitely have to invest in some warm layers, but once you do, being outside really isn't that bad. And snow can be really pretty, at least before the annual point at which you get totally sick of it. * grins * * I also survived a few in later years, but that was reportedly considered somewhat less impressive.

Heh. You have a good idea of what you're doing. I'd just keep emailing people, especially the more-general social people, and see how they react to your interests. (Have you been over to AVEN, by the way? There are probably people on the forum there who've done a lot of reading on the subject and might be able to suggest other researchers.)

Fascinating! I self-identified as asexual for two or three years while in high school, and I think asexuality deserves some attention! Well worth studying. I even wanted to write an article about it a while back, but my editor nixed it and said, "Isn't that just a really low sex-drive?" Understandable, but misguided, in my opinion. (I've identified as straight since I was 19, but I still completely respect those who like the asexual label. My issue was simply that I have to be pretty profoundly in-love to feel sexual attraction, and that was the first time in my life that I'd gotten that far.) Don't know much about the researchers at most of the schools you mention, but at Cornell you've got Daryl L. Bem and Sandra Bem. Good old Daryl retired some time ago, but he's still involved with the department (last I checked, he was still doing guest-lectures for the undergrad social psych class); however, I'm not sure if he takes grad-students. Sandra might be a good bet, though (although I've never actually met her). I'm in Canada now, but we have one woman here who studies sexuality - B.J. Rye. She technically works out of an offshoot of the University of Waterloo called St. Jerome's University, but the degree ultimately attained is from the U of W.

Yeah. Email the director just as enthusiastically, and see how it goes!

Although I got a score I expected, I agree that the analytical writing section is silly. I've even heard that ETS is beginning to use computer-programs to automatically search through essays and pick out structures/phrases that they think convey the writer's ability to express him- or herself clearly. But then, the whole test is arguably a bit of a farce (along with the SAT); all it really tests otherwise is your ability to cram vocabulary and review high-school math.

* laughs * Really good to know. Thanks!

Yeah. Given how academic writing tends to be profoundly dull in tone, I'd keep it serious. Earnest and eager, but serious. As both a future academic and an aspiring novelist, I know what a drag it is to have to keep the levity out of it, but that's how it goes.

Why not email a few grad-students or professors there and ask whether they are only interested in people who have studied abroad?

Heh. All I can advise to those feeling overwhelmed (by this thread or otherwise) is: take it one thing at a time.

Thanks mostly to this thread, I finally worked up the nerve to email Favourite Potential Supervisor at Top Choice University. Despite being extremely busy and halfway out the door to a conference, she sent me a reply along the lines of: 'You sound exactly like what I'd want in a graduate student!' And encouraged me to come visit this autumn. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Hang in there, guys! When I was left at my undergrad school (across North America and south of the border from where I grew up), I was miserable. For a little while. Once I adjusted to being there, though, I loved just about everything about it, and now I miss it as well. If the academic side of things is going well, that's the best possible sign that you made a good decision!