Bactrian

Can anyone tell me anything about the Near Eastern Studies program at the University of Arizona? Namely, is it a good program? Is it well respected? How does it compare to other programs? Do its graduates place well in PhD programs? Basically, my issue is that I've been accepted to Arizona for an MA in Near Eastern Studies and an MA for Global/Comparative history at Georgetown; I'm trying to decide between them. After my MA my goal is to go on to a PhD and, eventually (hopefully), into an academic position to study modern Iranian history. While my focus is on Iran my interests (colonial/imperial pressures, social adaptation/resistance and revolutionary movements) do lend themselves to a comparative framework and Middle Eastern history faculty at Georgetown are well respected (or so I hear). Does anyone have advice or a recommendation? While I'm more interested in hearing about the academics of the two programs I will note that I haven't heard anything about funding from Arizona (and since it's an MA I'll assume that means "none") and Georgetown doesn't offer MA funding outside of a some competitively awarded scholarships. Thanks!

I think it depends on where you see your career going. If you want to focus on women/gender studies (WS primary, history secondary) then PSU might be the way to go; if you want do history from the perspective of women/gender (history primary, WS secondary) then Michigan may be better. The difference in rankings is such that I'd be hard-pressed to recommend Penn State over Michigan if you want to focus on history. I completely understand with wanting to live in State College though, it's a lovely place (I grew up there and did my undergrad at PSU). Ann Arbor isn't a whole lot bigger so you may be pleasantly surprised when you visit.

I don't have anything and I'm EST.

If you don't make it in anywhere this year maybe you can use the time between now and the next application cycle to research and create a new writing sample that's more solidly places in American Indian history. Perhaps in this new writing sample could show a link between your training in the history of medicine and your interest in American Indians (I don't know enough about either to really suggest any topics). If I were you I would definitely contact my old professors, especially those who wrote your letters of recommendation, and ask if they would be willing to mentor you (informally) for it. It might be especially profitable for you to strike up a relationship with professor who works in your target field for this. If you live near a university perhaps you can take some non-degree classes in American Indian history to meet some professors and get new letters of recommendation from them. If you can't afford to actually take classes maybe they will let you sit in on them, do all the work and then write you a letter even if you don't actually get credit. This is what I did as I was several years removed from my undergrad days and have two bachelors degrees in fields totally unrelated to history. I haven't made it into a PhD program (though I'm still waiting to hear back from a bunch ) but I have been accepted to a competitive MA program at a well respected school; it's a strong step in the right direction even if it wasn't what I was really shooting for. Without seeing your applications for this year that's about all I can suggest. But go ever them closely and try and improve everything you can think of, I think I literally did a hundred drafts of my statement of purpose before I got it to a point I thought was good enough to submit. Some departments are willing to tell you what kept you out if you contact them politely (not all though, and I'd wait a month or two to let this whole process finish). And hey, maybe OU or UNC is putting the final touches on your acceptance with full funding! I wouldn't give up hope yet but even if things don't work out for you this year it's by no means the end of the road, there's tons of stuff you can do to make yourself a stronger candidate for next year. Good luck!

Did you learn anything about when the decisions might come?

I haven't and I was just wondering the same thing. Either no one active on this site got an acceptance or they still haven't finished their deliberations, anyone know which it is? Edit: New acceptances that is, not the few that were sent out at the beginning of the month.

Does anyone know the reputation of the MAGIC program, especially with regard to how it is perceived by admission committees? If I'm rejected from all the MA/PhD programs I've applied to (which seems more and more likely) this is where I'll likely end up as I was accepted last week. I've done this whole process with little guidance as I've been in the work force for several years, thus I have don't have much insight into the scuttlebutt on various programs. I applied because it fits with what I want to do and I thought it prudent to apply for some MA-only programs but I'd like to know more than what is on the website.

I haven't heard a peep from them. Does anyone know anything about how many people they are going to accept, how those acceptances are broken up across sub-fields, etc.?

Did everyone else's UPenn rejection say "I trust that you have been, or will soon be, admitted elsewhere to a university of your choice?" That seems like not the smartest thing to say in a form letter (in my case I do have one but still...)

I think people tend to be pretty honest because the actual reporting is anonymous. I've seen many rejections go up on the board for other schools and have been diligent about reporting all of my own responses, both positive and negative. The fact that OSU only has a few acceptances up probably means that a small initial cohort of the top candidates was notified early, possibly or even probably before the rest of the decisions were made. OSU is a guaranteed funding school so it's likely that they don't know up front how many people they can accept each year; they let their top candidates know early (to compete with other schools) and then figure out/fight out who else they are going to accept. I'm not at Ohio State and I don't have any contacts there but this is my understanding of how the process (more or less) works at most departments, at least the large ones. So, moral of the story? If you haven't heard anything that doesn't mean you're out the running, at least not yet. If you see another round of acceptances go out and you still haven't heard a peep then it's probably time to write off the school.

By 'decisions' do you mean acceptances or acceptances and rejections? That's my field but I haven't heard anything from Ohio State.

Update: Just got my rejection from Berkeley, no surprise there. There's probably someone going down a list sending them out one at a time.

Did you all get official rejections or emails from POIs? By this point I'm assuming that I've been denied entry but I still haven't received a rejection either. Edit: From Berkeley, sorry.

If you want to buy and you have reliable transportation, and you aren't planning on having kids anytime soon, then you might look to purchase something outside the boundaries of the State College Area School District. The prices inside the district tend to be significantly higher than those outside of it. Personally, I'd rather live closer to town (for a myriad of reasons) but you can save a pretty penny you're willing to go out farther.

Hey ej_flambert, I grew up in State College and did my undergrad there too. If you want to talk to someone who knows the town well feel free to PM me. Either way good luck to you and your husband!