msafiri

The first that comes to mind is On the Make by David Grazian, but it might not be as ethnographic as you like and was written by a sociologist. There's also Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street by Karen Ho. You could also look into the work by Steve Herbert, a geographer that's conducted ethnographic research with a local police department, and Venkatesh, a sociologist that studied a gang ethnographically. I can't think of the specific names right now but there are books and articles out there that you can find. This page from IUB's library might help too. You could also check Journal of Contemporary Ethnography.

Hey everyone, I guess I'll delurk for a moment to say that I'd love to get in touch with people headed to Central America in the fall. I'm a current Fulbright student in Central America and will be staying here through December so it'd be great to get to know some folks headed this way. Feel free to PM me. Felicitaciones a todos!

When emailing students I use the following format for the signature, though I usually sign the email with just my first name. FirstName LastName Instructor XXX Office Location Office Hours Email address You'd be amazed at how often students can forget which course they're writing you about...

Kexin, where/how did you hear this? I've read through the FAQ with the announcement and it says those who aren't selected will start getting notified in Feb/March and those selected anytime from April through the summer... Just trying to verify your info because, if it's true, that would be amazingly helpful!

vertices and ktel, I think it's important to remember that not everyone has the same opportunities to apply for external funding. Many options are limited to being a US citizen, which the OP here is not. Furthermore, opportunities may not be available depending on whether or not you have already taken graduate courses and based on your field of study. For example, I was not eligible for many of the major external fellowships (NSF GRFP, NDSEG, Javits, etc.) when I applied to PhD programs for the reasons I just cited (already had a master's, though not in the same area, wasn't studying the right field, etc.). For international applicants, finding appropriate opportunities may be even more difficult. While it's easy to sit there and type that everyone should apply for all the external funding they can, it's a lot easier said than done.

When does your current lease end? Could you potentially find someone to sublet the place rather than buying out your lease? Otherwise, for short-term work, look into temp agencies. You may be able to get a couple of weeks of (low paid) work that way. Every little bit helps.

During my MA program, I dated a fellow MA student, albeit one in a different subfield. It just sort of happened and was definitely *not* planned since I'd been all about the don't sh*t where you eat thing. It took a few months before it was public knowledge. Yes, we were hiding it but it was also because we were trying to get to know one another and didn't want to make a big deal out of it if we just when on a few dates and left it at that. But, like Molzy said above, we were careful to keep our relationship professional when we were on campus. That meant no kissing, no holding hands, etc. We'd go get lunch together sometimes but mostly, when we were on campus, we were each during our own thing. Our breakup was not so pleasant BUT it affected him more than me since I'd already graduated and he was still lingering about saying he was going to finish his thesis while working a FT job. There are definitely pros and cons to dating another grad student. You can get a built-in stay up late and work partner, which can be helpful at the end of the semester. The downside is that you don't have someone to distract you from school work and get you to leave the house, go to a movie, etc. The last person I dated was extremely smart but NOT an academic, and I really enjoyed the dynamics of having a partner that worked a steady schedule.

My understanding is that about the same number of grants are given out in the region each year (at least for full grants) but the distribution across the region varies from one year to the next. For example, I'm currently on a Fulbright in a Central American country and we were told at orientation that this year was a fairly big group for that country, even though our group is smaller than those of several nearby countries. At any rate, sorry to hear that you all are still waiting. It's like a month later than we were notified last year. I'll try to check back in periodically but, if anyone headed to CentAm/Caribbean has any questions, feel free to send me a PM.

There are loads of dissertation writing fellowships out there. Search for them via UIUC or Cornell's fellowship search pages. Also, NSF DDIG, AAUW, Mellon, etc., depending on exactly what stage you're at.

I decided not to continue my MA topic for my dissertation for a variety of reasons. And yet, I find myself returning to some of the literature and theory (and papers I wrote) from my MA as I've ended up doing sort of related work unexpectedly. Anyway, I had no clear idea of what my dissertation would be on when I started my PhD but I figured out the general idea of it in the first couple of semesters.

Don't go into debt just to go to an Ivy.

This really varies by field. I've never worked on any of my advisor's projects. My first two summers, I found small grants to pay for preliminary fieldwork and then spent time once I got back analyzing that data. I'm in the field now conducting research with funding I secured. I imagine it works differently in fields where you need a lot of equipment or lab space or where you're working for someone as a RA...

I used to use EndNote but then switched to Zotero, rather than upgrading to the newest version of EndNote. Otherwise, I can't say that I use any specialized software really... Just MS Word/OpenOffice, PowerPoint/Impress, notepad, etc. Oh, I used to use Post-It Notes for the computer but, I stopped when I started using my netbook more often because it made the screen too cluttered. I did feel more organized when I had it though.

I just finished The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, which took me a while to get into but was actually really, really good. Today, I started Hunger Games. I'm planning to start Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and The Girl Who Played With Fire in the next couple of days. (I prefer reading more than one thing at once, though all of these have the potential to be depressing.) From an academic perspective, I'm slowly reading The Oyster Question by Christine Keiner. Thanks for all the great recommendations!

It would definitely NOT be out of line. Do it and be polite. Then, at conferences, try to have coffee/beer with that person so you can keep in touch with one another and be up to date on research and that sort of thing.

I feel your pain. One of my posts got downvoted repeatedly because I guess people don't like my graduate experience or think that it's valid in some way. Amazing, really. Anyway, I'd say that extracurriculars really depend on what they are and what they do for you. If your aim is to study college athletes and their experiences, then having been a college athlete will provide you with a good understanding of why that is interesting. In that case, mentioning your extracurriculars in your SOP could be a boon to your application. But, if you're trying to focus on doing things that will get you in, increase your methods training and get research experience wherever possible. Maybe you take a class in a related field (psychology, anthropology, religion, etc.) where you get to do some independent research. Maybe you take another stats course or a qualitative methods course or a historiography course. Those kinds of things will prepare you well for grad school.

I would email your chair. My MA thesis defense went like this: 20 minute presentation, then Q&A from the audience (as in, my grad school friends, one of whom was given a "softball" question to ask first), then they kicked the audience out and my committee asked me questions. The questions they asked were mainly about the document itself, rather than the presentation. After that, they kicked me out and had a private discussion before inviting me back in to tell me that I'd passed and what revisions needed to be made. Oh, in my department(s) there's usually food of some sort. My chair agreed to provide doughnuts and coffee so that was one less thing for me to worry about.

First year was crazy hectic and intense and fun. In a nutshell, a shit ton of reading. Someone earlier said 500 pages/week. I'd say more than that, especially if you're doing research as well (and you should be!). You've got to start working on the end of semester papers well before they're due, which will require reading above and beyond what you're assigned for your courses. There's the required courses that may make you want to pull your hair out, especially when taught by obstinate faculty. But, those courses are good bonding for one's cohort and give you a chance to get to know everyone and their interests pretty quickly. For a lot of people, there's the experience of teaching for the first time, even if that's just leading discussion sections, and grading student work and giving feedback on that work. There are a lot of times when you'll feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done so you'll be making decisions about what has to get done and what can wait. You'll learn to prioritize if you haven't already. You'll eat junk/fast food until you figure out easy, quick, inexpensive things to cook and keep around. You'll forego most physical activity by saying you don't have time without realizing that sacrificing your health is the last thing you should do. And, in many cases, you'll want to quit at least once or twice.

Important: Make sure the committee members have good "chemistry" with one another. There's one professor that is pretty knowledgeable in my research area but is NOT on my committee because my advisor doesn't enjoy working with him. That's the way it is sometimes, you know?

ohhello, I'm going to give you three pieces of anecdata from my own experience which you are, of course, free to ignore. The first is that the people I turn to for advice/support academically are not my cohortmates primarily because they're in the same place I am and thus not really in a position to offer me helpful advice. Number 2, I haven't and won't co-author with the others in my program because, at least right now, there aren't enough similarities in what we're working on for any of us to do with without putting aside our own dissertation research. While this is definitely not true for everyone in my program, it is true for at least half of us, if not more. Third, you don't really know what you're getting when you meet people at a visitation weekend. Personally, I don't pay much attention to those visiting or give them very much of my time. They get that if they show up on campus in August, not by visiting in March or April. I doubt I'm a very good representative of my department then but that's because I'm usually wrapped up in my own stuff and trying to find 30 minutes to spare to potentially waste on someone that I'll never even see again. I realize this sounds rude but it's true and becomes even more true the more visiting weekends you have to suffer through. Two more points and then I've gotta go do some work. 1) When I was visiting programs, I was not at all concerned with impressing the other people visiting. If you don't know why I want to go to graduate school and you want to, that's your problem, not mine. 2) All cohorts will have their superstars, the majority of the folks in the middle, and a few people that struggle and/or eventually drop out, for whatever reason. If departments could predict who those students would be in advance, admissions would certainly be different than they are. You get what you get, in a lot of ways. Not every student at Harvard is a superstar, you know? And, sometimes the people that you would least expect to be successful are. I was a solid "middle of the pack" grad student my first few years, then I steadily started writing successful grants to fund my research and ended up with better funding than anyone else in my cohort. I can assure you that no one, not the adcom, not my advisor, and certainly not me, would've guessed that would happen 4 years ago when I decided to enroll.

Yes, it's definitely an issue. Often, when departments talk about diversity, they are only referring to the balance between the number of male and female graduate students. The faculty are overwhelming white, male, and from middle class or higher backgrounds. They do not understand the struggles that minority graduate students face (for example, teaching and lower evals or networking at conferences), have no experience helping said students apply for diversity-related fellowships and grants (and may even dissuade one from doing so!), and, in some cases, are not even aware that such issues exist. It can be a problem, to say the least.

Honestly, I would finish this semester and then take a leave of absence. During that time, you can get divorced and move, hopefully to an area with several universities where you can improve your language skills and then subsequently apply to MA or PhD programs.

I'm currently in the field and I'm using a netbook as my primary computer. It also tends to be my default computer when I'm at home, though I'll plug it into my 21" monitor and my external keyboard and mouse so that I have a complete workstation. When I get, I'll be buying a new laptop, likely with a 15" screen, that has the power to run the data analysis programs I'll need. I would get a bigger laptop, but it's not necessary given that I already have monitor/keyboard/mouse. I'm also considering a desktop but, I like the portability of being able to analyze my data anywhere.

I agree with the recommendations to talk to current grad students in the department. They should be able to help you with ideas about where to live and to avoid, give recommendations about management companies, and possibly also give you some leads on properties/roommate openings. I don't recommend doing what I did when I moved cross-country. I did come out for a visit in the summer and I looked at a bunch of apartment complexes that I didn't like. It was too early to look at anything else since I came in June and they wanted people who could move in on July 1 but I was working until the end of July. I ended up finding a roommate on Craig's List who seemed normal but misrepresented where I would be living and what could be shared in addition to being a crazy person. I moved in at the beginning of August and moved out before the end of the month. Luckily, I had a month-to-month lease (which I strongly recommend you get if you're considering moving into a place sight unseen or without knowing your future roommate). I gave my 30 days notice less than two weeks after I moved in and without having found another place. Luckily, since classes were about to start, there were a bunch of desperate landlords on Craig's List and I was able to find a place quickly and move into it at the end of the first week of classes. The lessons I learned from this: - If you can wait until the last minute to move in, there are deals to be had. Last year, a house I had my eye on was renting for $1100 for August 1 move-in in June and July, then fell to $900, then $800, and was listed at $650/month in early September when someone snagged it. Now granted, that would mean moving in after classes have started but, I totally would've in that case. - Get a month-to-month lease if you can, especially if you can't see the place, the people, or the area. That way, if something is bad, you can move out without paying all the penalties that accompany breaking a lease. - Posting a "Housing Wanted" ad on Craig's List will lead to lots of random people emailing you and you'll have to weed through the emails. But, it is how I found the second place I moved into (and I stayed there for almost two years).

ohhello, have you considered the possibility that people weren't being that specific because it's a visit weekend and that's not what you're there for? I'm a fourth year PhD student and ABD so obviously my research is pretty specific. But, when people I ask, I tend to start with a general description and only get into more detail if the person really asks.