lyonessrampant

On the doc, they've also notified early March, so hopefully they'll do that again this year. I think it is a good sign that they're to the point of contacting you about considering the other grant. Hopefully that means they're through the rest of the candidates' applications as well and are finalizing decisions.

So the email came from the Italian Fulbright Commission then? That is good news that they've said they're reviewed your application. Hopefully news soon. All this waiting sucks! It sounds like you've got a compelling case for why you need more time. It also sounds like they're really interested in your project, so that's all good!

Is there a compelling reason why your research would require 9 months to complete rather than six? If so, I think you can make a strong case for why you need extra funds. If the reason is just that you want to be in Italy longer, I'm not sure that would be as persuasive. Either way, especially if they say you can be considered for both awards, there's no reason not to. If you have to pick one or the other, that's a tougher call. Hopefully you get clear answers to your questions about not being a grad student and length of stay. It is good to hear that you've been contacted. It means the Italian commission is reviewing our files so hopefully we hear soon.

I haven't. I'm guessing because your research topic overlaps with the deafness grant that they're wanting to see if you're interested in that because they feel like you're a strong fit for that award, which is a good overall sign! Do they give you the possibility to be considered for both? If so, you could see if you get the research award and take that if you prefer, and also have the option of taking the deafness award if you get that but not the research award. More possibilities seems like a good advantage. Good luck!

My guess is that you're on a short list and one of a number of possible candidates for a specialized fellowship offered through the grad school or department. IU has funding issues sometimes, so it would make sense that they would be especially sensitive to trying to figure out if people on a short list are still interested. I'd take it as a good sign.

We've been building our 18th c. profs. They're especially good if your interests include theory or philosophy (Tony Brown and Amit Yahav), though if you do cognitive work at all, Andrew Elfenbein, though he more does 19th c., works with some 18th c. grad students. Our Romance poet specialist is Brian Goldberg.

Hi Tiana, I also am a research semi-finalist to Italy. A colleague in my Ph.D. program did the ETA to Italy and loved it. I hope you receive the award. Best of luck to all of us

Nope. I had the paper ones sent. I worry about digital copies going to the wrong email or something, but if it gives directions how to do it, I would assume you just follow those and see what happens. They did say that they alert us by Feb 19 (if I recall the date correctly) if they haven't received them.

Did you apply to MAPH? If you did, those decisions come much later, as they funnel most of the unaccepted Ph.D. applications into MAPH review. I recommend searching about MAPH in this forum. Suffice to say that it is primarily a cash cow program. Full disclosure: I did MAPH and learned a ton, had a great experience, and did have a partial tuition scholarship. Even with that, though, I regret the debt, and a funded MA at an unknown or small school is going to probably do more for you CV than an unfunded MA from UChicago.

Also just heard I was recommended for research Italy. Congratulations to everyone else getting good news and condolences to everyone who didn't get good news.

So . . . crickets all around? I really hope they notify today.

Well, this will either motivate me to try to finish as much of this chapter as possible by Friday so I can either celebrate or drown my sorrows depending on the news or will completely derail productivity. Good thing I've got a deadline for the chapter for the following Friday. :/ Good luck to us all!

Most people in my program stay here for the summer, but if you're going directly from undergrad, you might want to go home. One woman in my cohort did that during the summer after our first year. It would certainly make your stipend stretch further if you didn't have to pay rent in the summer and went home. You'll definitely need to still work over the summer, but the good thing about lit is that you can do a lot of the work anywhere. As you advance in the program, you may find that summers need to be used for language learning, research trips, studying for exams, etc., but again, a lot of that could be done even if you do go home.

On funding, 25K is actually pretty high. If you're at a state R1, the funding will be lower; so, too, will the cost of living generally, but 25K is really only going to come from an Ivy or well-endowed private school or somewhere in NYC where that's still chump change. People in my program generally can live on their stipend. I took a small amount of loan money my first year to cover moving expenses, but I haven't taken any loans after that. When things get dicey, though, is summer funding, as many programs do not guarantee that. People who don't get summer teaching or research money usually get a job or take loans. Basically, money will most likely be tight, but if you keep yourself on a budget, you should be okay. On departmental politics, that will vary significantly from program to program. For grad students, though, it's best to keep your head down and avoid it as much as possible. On friends, my cohort is very close, and I'm also good friends with people in my sub-field. That will also probably vary by program. If you're at a school where people feel very competitive, it might be harder to make friends, but my experience has been quite positive in that regard. I think if you're friendly, people will reciprocate.

Good to know that the 30th is a by date and that it might be earlier. Fingers crossed for earlier (if it's good news . . .if it isn't, I'd just as soon wait to know until I submit the chapter I'm working on in a couple weeks

On the Fulbright website, if you go to Competition Timeline, and then move the calendar to January it says Recommendation Notifications Jan. 30. Editing to add that based on the doc from the last couple years of competitions, the first round notification for everyone (recommended or not) happened the same day (Jan 16 last year and Jan 28 the year before), so at least the notifications for everyone happen together and on one day. Based on that, I'd guess that Jan 30 will be the notification date, though I don't know if Fulbright said on their calendars last year and the year before the notification state and stuck with it.

A bit late, but as my partner is a lawyer, most of my close friends are lawyers, and I strongly considered going that path (debate in high school and college tends to fuel law school lol) and I'm an advanced Ph.D. candidate, I have some experience with both fields. I'll avoid duplicating (as much as possible) what other people have said. On the question of whether a law degree and legal practice can be an advantage: my program has hired twice for TT lines: one time for two 18/19 lines and this year for one (maybe two) 20/21 Am lit lines. Both searches culminated in campus interviews of 8-10 people per search, and in both searches at least one (and up to two or three) people had the JD/Ph.D. combo, so while this is solely anecdotal evidence, I think it can be an advantage if your research requires unique legal skills that only someone fully trained in law can bring. I have a colleague who does law and literature in the EM period. I know many law and literature scholars who work in that period, but while a modern legal training is helpful for this particular subfield, it is hardly required. Particularly if you're working on English or continental law, you're not exactly learning about that in law school so a dedicated Ph.D. researcher who spends her time reading through legal cases and codes can develop an expertise absent a legal degree. Since you're interested in contemporary (20/21 c.) American lit, you can absolutely set up your research in such a way that your legal expertise makes you uniquely suited to accomplish a specific research project. If you can frame your project with this in mind, you have a case for why your law school grades and legal experience trump undergrad grades, and more important than the grades issue is the feasibility of research question. On the MA question (or rather rejection): I, too, think an MA might be a good path in that it sounds like you haven't figured out a research project that draws on your legal experience in a lively, new reading of literature. An MA would give you space to figure that project out, develop a strong writing sample (can't overstate how critically important that is . . . and it will, or should, look very different from what you wrote for law school), and get good grades for an English program that can overshadow your undergraduate performance. Whatever you decide to do, best wishes to you.

I'm applying for Italy and it says the award amount on the Fulbright page, breaking it down by amount for rent, travel, and living, but it isn't in a super obvious place, so maybe go search through the webpage for your country/area and you can find out? Maybe not all places update their pages with funding amounts, though.

Do you have friends in your cohort or ahead of you who could help you figure out what is considered to be meeting expectations at your program? Learning the terrain at a new university can be difficult, and often other graduate students can be your best resources because they've had to recently negotiate that terrain themselves. In particular, I'd suggest trying to talk to other students your advisor advises or has advised. They will have the best insight into what he or she expects from you and how to meet those expectations. Good luck!

IQ84's advice is spot on, and I'm posting only to add a little bit to what was written in the last paragraph about fit. Whether you name professors or not, do be sure to read faculty profiles (and ideally work) to get a sense of current research interests. Do some of those interests appeal to you/fit with your research area? If so, that's a good indicator that you could fit in the program. It can also help you use more specific language as per IQ84's suggestion. Additionally, try to see what other resources are available at the university, especially in regard to research centers. Many universities have research centers that bring together faculty and students from numerous disciplines to work on a particular topic or time period. Knowing that those centers exist and what they do and saying how you'd contribute to/participate in center activities in your fit paragraph shows that you've researched the university community as a whole rather than just looked at the department webpage.

Your project sounds really interesting, too! I'm sure if you made clear why the longer grant is necessary for your project that it won't hurt your chances. My dissertation project arises from my research interests when applying to grad school and then the ways it has evolved based on feedback from my advisors and other faculty and the archives we have at my university and then ones I've worked with in the US, UK, and Italy. Good luck to you!

I don't think most people are making the point that international students are offered less funding, but actually funding packages are not always equal at all universities. At some places (according to my international student friends) international students are offered less funding to offset their higher cost to the department (and not just international students are affected by unequal program funding). Some universities respond to the higher cost by admitting no or few international students, as you and others on this thread note. Some respond by offering unequal funding. Some eat the extra cost and still offer everyone the same funding package. People are sharing that information as well as specific places that offer equal funding to the OP.

Germany is actually not as competitive because there are so many grants given. Last year, for example, 299 applied but 78 grants were given. http://us.fulbrightonline.org/studyresearch-grant-application-statistics Of course, all of them are competitive and it is a huge honor to get an award anywhere. For notification, on the Fulbright website it says notifications are scheduled for January 30, 2016. Fingers crossed it might be earlier! I applied to work with the Medical Humanities group under the supervision of Prof. Gian Mario Anselmi at the University of Bologna. I'm a graduate student and would be completing my dissertation there if accepted. I work on 15th-16th c. epic romance, armor, and anatomical and surgical texts. What do you work on? Did you also apply for a Fulbright to teach English since you're a recent undergrad? Good luck!

Wild chartermage, I also applied for the research Fulbright to Italy. I reviewed the statistical reports on the website, and the UK is the most competitive (statistically speaking) followed by France and Italy (if I remember correctly). I wish that it didn't take until late January to hear if we made it through the first round! Where do you want to work? Good luck!

There are usually 1-3 people per cohort of 12 that are international students at my university, and we are all guaranteed the same basic funding package (some fellowships through the grad school or department or research centers can result in some earning more but everyone has access to the basic assistantship through teaching a 1:1 load for 6 years).