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Seeking

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Everything posted by Seeking

  1. It is meant for enhancing your visibility online. You post your publications, conference papers, talks, add your CV if you like. You can invite people to have a look at your profile and "analyze" it. If you have used it only to add your academic activities and not for posting comments, you can use it as a professional portfolio online and include the link in your applications.
  2. See link below - http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/tag/canadas-best-schools/ Perhaps those who have studied in Canada can comment.
  3. UK - Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, King's College London. If you want to specialize in Africa/Asia, then SOAS, London. Canada - McGill, Toronto, Queen's
  4. Not if it's a great school like the London School of Economics, or Oxford, Cambridge, SOAS, UCL, King's College London - or even a prestigious university in the rest of Europe for that matter.
  5. I too would suggest re-applying next year. May be you can get some kind of relevant work or project experience. Or, perhaps re-take a couple of courses to improve your grades. Or, resent a paper at a conference to improve your profile. Also, review your application to see where you can improve it.
  6. In some countries the police clearance cell directly sends the certificate to the Canadian Embassy. They have a fixed timeline for this that can be found on their websites. You have to see the process for your country and for the US, or talk to some one who has gone to Canada from the US. See also the following websites - From the US to Canada - http://www.canadavisa.com/canadian-immigration-state-police-clearance.html#N From India to Canada (as an example of another country) - http://www.blsindia-canada.com/pol_clr_cert.php From India, the timeline is of 4-6 weeks, but many people go from India to Canada. Likewise, you have to find out for your own country.
  7. Yes, you need to show focus in one particular area of Public Policy. Since you have worked in the area of Politics, you can easily argue for an interest in Politics-related Public Policy. That's why a background in Political Science etc will help. If you go for say Science Policy, an Undergraduate Major/Minor in one of the Science subjects would help, with some courses in Liberal Arts. Now you seem to be zeroing on your focus area. If Middle-East is your interest, you'll need Undergraduate credits in that area, along with some Statistics courses. One option for you can be to go for Masters in Global Studies and write your thesis on an issue related to the Middle-East. Later, you can follow it up with a PhD in an issue related to the US policy for the Middle-East, or go directly for Global Policy-related jobs after Masters. For this, you need some Undergraduate credits in Global Studies - and Statistics. You can explore which of the two leads to more jobs that you'd want to do - a Middle-Eastern Program or a Global Studies Program.
  8. Thanks Takeruk and Geoling, for explaining in detail about the Canadian education system. Let's hope some more people will explain the systems in some other countries.
  9. Unfortunately, yes. You have to show you are interested in one chosen field of yours, have prepared yourself for it and at least know at this stage what you're going to do with this field after you come out of Grad school. I too am interested in a myriad fields. (I'll always have the regret I didn't become an Astrophysicist at NASA for example. ) But finally I have found a field I can stick to for my academic lifespan and that's how the Grad School wants it. Of course, once you establish yourself, you can always diversify into several other fields of your interest if you have the time and money, but at entry level you need to show you are focused on one particular field of research. In fact, if all you're looking for is a paying job linked to a Grad Program, then the most pragmatic route may be to complete whatever Biochemistry courses you couldn't finish or do well in Undergrad and apply for an MS or PhD in Biochemistry. Amongst all the subjects you've mentioned, Biochem has the maximum potential of getting you a Grad-Program linked job. But be sure you can stick to Biochem for a few years at least. If you don't like the subject, you'll be wasting some crucial years of your life. As for Public Policy, you don't have to "fake it." Just link it to the kind of politics-related work you have done and say that you want to develop further in the field of Public Policy by getting a Grad degree, using skills in courses A, B, C etc (mention the courses the school is offering). Show how these courses will be relevant for you. You don't have to mention the exact job you will be doing, but the field - academic teaching in Public Policy, join an organization and work in the area of Public Policy related to politics, work as a researcher in a think tank related to Public Policy etc. If you're taking the Public Policy route, you'll need some training in Political Science and/or Public Administration and if possible Public Policy courses. Essentially, you have to show 1) you are strongly motivated in this one field (Biochem/Public Policy/any other), 2) You have prepared yourself for Grad School work in this field by getting coursework credits and 3) you have an idea where you'll go after completing this degree - teaching/research/Industry/Organization etc. I know it sounds quite formatted and not what a creative person likes, but Grad level education is about clearly and logically organizing oneself in one's field of interest. So, you need to decide first about one subject that you can hang on to for a few years at least, then begin the spade work.
  10. Ultimately you will figure out what you want to do that suits your tastes best. But here is what I feel, reading your post above. You come across as an extremely talented and creative person, with multidimensional abilities, who is trying to express in many different ways, but unsure what suits you the best. And you are not the only one who is in this state of flux. Many creative people are made this way. I myself was, for a long time, in a state of not knowing what suited me best out of a myriad interests I had, in which I usually excelled. I spent most of my Undergraduate and Grad years trying to figure my way out. I found my way out eventually, ended up getting some good publications and also teaching my subject. However, the number of years I took to figure my way around cost me the degree of success of my career graph - I could have gone much higher if I had been more focused since high school years and had known what I really wanted to do best. That's because Grad School is not made to accept highly creative, multidimensional people who don't have a single focus marked out clearly. They usually expect that you should have a clear focus of what exactly you want to do in Grad School and why. This is one question you need to think about - you'll spend a lot of time explaining it to people in your application as well as in Grad School. Looking at your post I get the feeling that perhaps you can go into some kind of policy analysis jobs, where you can use your mathematical skills and political campaign experience. For this, you need to decide what kind of policy analysis suits your interests - cultural policy - since you have majored in English and are into performances, policy related to governance, since you have been engaged with political campaigning, health policy, global policy, or what. If this interests you, then you need to take Undergrad courses in economics, statistics and in the field related to the form of policy you want to work with - culture, political, global policy etc. This is only one route I am suggesting based on your profile above. There may be many other ways to combine your past experience and present interest to arrive at a discipline, in which you can take undergrad courses. But I feel that perhaps you will do best in the field of Communication - again based on what you have written above. Again, you'll need to take some courses in Communication before applying to Grad School. And Communication too has many branches - you need to decide what suits you best and take courses in that branch. Whatever you choose, make sure that this field will hold your interest for several years to come. It doesn't usually pay to change disciplines at Grad level. The best part of your situation is that you don't have debts and your family is there to support you. With your determination, I'm sure you'll arrive at the choice of a discipline and will do well in it. Good luck with your journey towards Grad School.
  11. Well, you can just apply as an International candidate rather than making it a study abroad - if your current school doesn't mind. You need to find the rules at your current school. Most European and Australian schools should be able to accommodate you - especially if you can fund your trip. This school has one of the most interesting urban design programs I have ever seen. I don't know if they accommodate students on a study abroad, but you can always write and ask - http://www.fisd.eu/en/application/course-enrolment.html You can also try the UCL - http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture/programmes/postgraduate/march-urban-design Since Europe is going through a crisis at the moment, funding may be a problem. Australia has mostly 2-years urban design programs.
  12. Only for citizens and some partial funding for all.
  13. As far as I understand the Canadian immigration system, you have to present a police certificate from your country and also from the US, but I may be wrong. Someone else who has gone from the US to Canada can clarify this.
  14. Takeruk, Thanks for explaining this. As long as the Undergrad's views are taken as advice from the student community, it makes sense. What would you say are the shortcomings in the Canadian system - since it was part of the original question?
  15. MA in Museum Studies would be more helpful if you want to go into museum jobs. But increasingly, they are asking for a PhD qualification. So, perhaps you can go for a PhD in Art History and take some courses from the Museum Studies Department. Alternatively, you can register for a PhD that allows you a Curatorial or Art Conservation track such as at Delaware or a Cultural Studies PhD that allows a Museum Studies concentration - such as at Claremont University. PhD in Museology is more popular in the UK than in the US and UK has several Museology PhD programs, but I don't know how they stand in the US Museums job market. If you have time, you can also get an MA in Museum Studies followed by a PhD in Art History.
  16. This is a very informative thread! About the US - I'd like to add that perhaps it would be better for the US to invest more funding into tertiary education, to reduce the cost of education - as Canada does. Brazilian and Indian systems are almost completely run by the government and hence, costs are not high. Their problem is more to sort out the recruitment and the entire academic job system - the way it functions. India is a classic example of how to destroy a well-structured tertiary education system by its own people. The argument given here makes sense, as when these Indians come to a Western country, they do very well. They are obviously talented researchers. For Canada - I don't know if it's right to involve the Undergraduates in the faculty appointment process. I'm not sure they have the expertise for the process. But the way Canada looks at funding the tertiary education as an investment in social welfare is quite commendable. I hope we'll see more accounts from other countries as well.
  17. Stanford has attempted to provide a solution for the job crisis in the Arts and Humanities and some others have critiqued it. Link to the article - http://chronicle.com/article/The-Multi-Track-PhD/134738/?cid=oh&utm_source=oh&utm_medium=en
  18. It's true that prestige matters mostly for Arts and Humanities and for Post-PhD jobs in the academia - and again, for more in the Arts and Humanities than in any other field. For Science and Technology candidates and especially those who want to go into a professional career after Master's it doesn't really matter so much. So, if you are getting a funded offer, I'd take it if I were in your shoes, regardless of the prestige of the school. If you have more than one funded offer in a professional Master's, you can consider other criteria such as location, comfort-level of the vibes you get from the Department, cost of living etc.
  19. Sanjayadhikari, Usually, Masters Programs in professional courses have little funding and if they do offer you funding, they either mention it in the admission letter, or say that the funding information follows. If the brochure says they don't have funding for this program and if your admission letter doesn't mention funding, it most probably means that you've got an unfunded admission and will be expected to pay the fare yourself, which is going to be quite expensive. You can email them and confirm just to make sure, but if you can wait for another application cycle, perhaps it's better to re-apply next season to more programs - unless you want to take out loans. PS - Well, their website makes it very clear that TA/RAs are available for PhD only and there is no funding for Masters. But you can still email them and confirm - http://www.cmu.edu/me/graduate/funding/index.html
  20. Although on an intellectual plane I agree with Oh_La_La and anonymousbequest - this is how it should be - but unfortunately, I have seen too much of the other kind of appointments happening. I have seen people with interesting dissertations, major book publications with prestigious international publishers, interesting conference presentations being sidelined by absolutely unpublished, non-descript PhDs from the T-20 who eventually got the job - and didn't publish much even after getting the job. I have seen it happening over and over again. So, till I actually see a non-T-20 PhD with an interesting research in a larger picture etc getting the job over and above a non-descript, non-published T-20 PhD, I am not going to be convinced that this actually happens in the US (in the whole of the Western world perhaps). Honestly, all those who sit on the hiring committees - if there is a choice between a non-published Ivy or Chicago non-descript PhD candidate and an interesting PhD from The Not so Famous University, with a book from a prestigious international publishing house, whom would you choose? I have to see the latter getting hired over the former to believe it. I too would like to believe that the US academia gives really a fair deal to the candidates and recognizes the quality of their research more than where they came from, but it doesn't happen quite often.
  21. Although there is a lot of competition in the field of Italian Renaissance, Chicago has a good track record in sending its Grad students into academic jobs. You have a fair chance of getting a job, either in a university or in a museum.
  22. An Imperial College Masters can lead you to the top-ranking funded PhD programs in the UK and North America. Perhaps after PhD, you can find a high-paying job at the Masdar - that is, if you want to come back to your part of the world after a Masters at the ICL and a top-ranking PhD in the West. As a highly-regarded researcher or professor, you can make greater contribution towards building Masdar than as a Masters and PhD student there. If you want to explore opportunities in the West after PhD, then Masdar degree won't be much help - not because it's not good, but because that's the way the world is oriented - whether we like it or not. If you want to stay in the Arab World or in some other Asian country rather than go West, then Masdar is a good choice - however, exclude Singapore, Japan and South Korea from your list in that case, as a Masdar degree may not go far in these countries. So, you can make your decision based on what you want to do after PhD.
  23. I agree with selecttext. Amongst all the Humanities disciplines, English is one of the most competitive - with several hundreds, if not thousands applying for Grad programs and later for academic jobs. This is not to say that you can't make it, but with the kind of competition, it may turn out to be a long-winding case for a TT in English. So, it's better to take this job and get stability and do your Masters part-time. After getting your degree, you can negotiate for a higher salary at your job and a few years later, can decide whether you would like to go for a PhD in English.
  24. Penn State, Syracuse, Hunter, Nebraska-Lincoln
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