Seeking

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. 

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.

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.

Since this is a question about "worldwide" - 
 
Royal College of Art, UK
 
Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

Sorry to break into this conversation, but I agree that at least a B.Ed would be required to teach in school.
 
But that's not the point. The point is that if all these Graduate students wanted to teach in school as their first career choice, they would go the B.Ed/M.Ed route. They chose to go to Grad School instead because this was not their first career choice. Now, if they get a B.Ed and go to teach in school, it's not exactly a success, when seen from the point of where they started.
 
The writer of this article seems to be quite a capable researcher - it's not easy to get a PhD on Kafka. She also seems to be developing her publication profile quite well. Here is her short profile -
 
http://germanic.osu.edu/people/schuman
 
I doubt that many "Yale-Harvard category" students have better callibre than her. I have seen quite a few from the Ivies who don't even match her callibre.
 
But she seems to have faced the injustice of a system that ignores the academic potential of a candidate and only looks at the brand name on their degrees.
 
It's true that Humanities PhDs get a raw deal from this unfair system and this should not be happening in a country like the US.
 
Or else, if this is a country so obsessed with the brand names on the degrees, then they should shut down the PhD programs at the schools that stand below the so-called "Top 20" level.
 
At least, don't delude the Humanities students into thinking that a PhD on Kafka from UC-Irvine followed by further research and publication record can get you in the same standing with an average, non-descript PhD on a recycled topic from the so-called "Top-20" school, with little or no publication record. 
 
Perhaps the Grad funding available at these so-called "below top-20" should be diverted to the "Top-20" schools, so that they can have more PhD candidates, rather than running PhD programs at schools whose brand names don't sell in a brand-obsessed country.
 
PS - The faculty at the University of Nebraska also come from the so-called "Top-20." So, I don't see how their teaching quality is lower than that at the "Top-20."

Sorry to break into this conversation, but I agree that at least a B.Ed would be required to teach in school.
 
But that's not the point. The point is that if all these Graduate students wanted to teach in school as their first career choice, they would go the B.Ed/M.Ed route. They chose to go to Grad School instead because this was not their first career choice. Now, if they get a B.Ed and go to teach in school, it's not exactly a success, when seen from the point of where they started.
 
The writer of this article seems to be quite a capable researcher - it's not easy to get a PhD on Kafka. She also seems to be developing her publication profile quite well. Here is her short profile -
 
http://germanic.osu.edu/people/schuman
 
I doubt that many "Yale-Harvard category" students have better callibre than her. I have seen quite a few from the Ivies who don't even match her callibre.
 
But she seems to have faced the injustice of a system that ignores the academic potential of a candidate and only looks at the brand name on their degrees.
 
It's true that Humanities PhDs get a raw deal from this unfair system and this should not be happening in a country like the US.
 
Or else, if this is a country so obsessed with the brand names on the degrees, then they should shut down the PhD programs at the schools that stand below the so-called "Top 20" level.
 
At least, don't delude the Humanities students into thinking that a PhD on Kafka from UC-Irvine followed by further research and publication record can get you in the same standing with an average, non-descript PhD on a recycled topic from the so-called "Top-20" school, with little or no publication record. 
 
Perhaps the Grad funding available at these so-called "below top-20" should be diverted to the "Top-20" schools, so that they can have more PhD candidates, rather than running PhD programs at schools whose brand names don't sell in a brand-obsessed country.
 
PS - The faculty at the University of Nebraska also come from the so-called "Top-20." So, I don't see how their teaching quality is lower than that at the "Top-20."

The US Consulate requires the visa applicants to have an address in the US where they will be going. This means you need to have at least an email from someone saying you'll be staying at this address when you come to the US. 
 
Contacting the International students office may help you in finding flatmates, so the rent will come down to half.

Hi boysh!

I've lived in Lincoln for 5 years, and can tell you that a lot of places have not exactly grasped the digital revolution yet. I've always had the most luck just driving around town and looking for "For Rent" signs, but that may not be an option for you right now.

I currently rent a downtown studio apartment from Nebraska Real Estate Solutions, Inc. (http://www.nebraskaris.com/), and it's $320/month + utilities, and witihin 10 minutes (walking) of the downtown campus. They have a lot of other properties scattered around town that you could get more information on, although if you wanted roommates you'd have to maybe post an ad on Craigslist searching for one.

If you do find a couple roommates, another place I've had a lot of good experience with is Chateau Development (http://www.chateaudev.com/). It's a large complex/area near 56th and Vine Streets (about 15 minutes drive to city campus, and less than 5 minutes to east campus); they have apartments and townhomes ranging from 1-3 bedrooms and are very reasonably priced.

Since it's a college town, a lot of places offer 9 month leases, so leases end all year long. A lot of places (Nebraska RIS, for example) only allow people to reserve a place 30 days in advance, so you'll find a few more openings for August pop up in early July. Hope this helps, and good luck with the move!

First about your thesis - apart from the modified code, you need to give a background of the original code, some brands that are using the different variations of it, the need to modify it, what kind of variables and principles you are following to modify the code, why you chose to modify it in this particular manner, theories related to it if applicable, then the code itself. Finally, you need to explain why this code is better than the original one, how it works, if there are comparable modifications available in the market and suggest the directions this field can take in future. All this should easily cover at least 60 pages, typed in 1.5 spacing, 12 pt font. and this is in addition to the technical writing that you normally include related to the code itself. Besides, I believe STEM candidates are not required to write a very long thesis.
 
Now, the main question about your feeling about leaving or not - since you have already invested considerable time, money and energy in this program, perhaps you should complete this program and join in a job afterwards. While in job, you can figure out what exactly it is that interests you - search on the web, read some books and articles in that field to confirm that you will really enjoy your new field. Once you have decided upon your new field, take some undergraduate courses in it either online or as part-time. Get about 15-18 credit hours in the new field with a good GPA. After this, you'll be ready to transcend into your new Graduate field. While doing all this, you'll have your Engineering job to support you and you'll also save some money for your future Graduate study if needed.
 
Leaving something halfway through after you have invested considerably in it doesn't reflect well on your profile and also is a waste of your time, effort and money. So, look upon your Engineering training as a stepping stone to your new field of interest, rather than abandoning it. 

A lot depends upon how influential your POI is.
 
Perhaps you can see the POIs' profiles at both schools and how successful their students have been in finding a job after PhD. Schools usually have a list of alumni, where they are now and you can search the profiles of PhD candidates under your POIs in Google.
 
But I speak as an outsider. Attending candidates in your sub-field may be able to say better if they know about the names of both schools - perhaps in PM.

First about your thesis - apart from the modified code, you need to give a background of the original code, some brands that are using the different variations of it, the need to modify it, what kind of variables and principles you are following to modify the code, why you chose to modify it in this particular manner, theories related to it if applicable, then the code itself. Finally, you need to explain why this code is better than the original one, how it works, if there are comparable modifications available in the market and suggest the directions this field can take in future. All this should easily cover at least 60 pages, typed in 1.5 spacing, 12 pt font. and this is in addition to the technical writing that you normally include related to the code itself. Besides, I believe STEM candidates are not required to write a very long thesis.
 
Now, the main question about your feeling about leaving or not - since you have already invested considerable time, money and energy in this program, perhaps you should complete this program and join in a job afterwards. While in job, you can figure out what exactly it is that interests you - search on the web, read some books and articles in that field to confirm that you will really enjoy your new field. Once you have decided upon your new field, take some undergraduate courses in it either online or as part-time. Get about 15-18 credit hours in the new field with a good GPA. After this, you'll be ready to transcend into your new Graduate field. While doing all this, you'll have your Engineering job to support you and you'll also save some money for your future Graduate study if needed.
 
Leaving something halfway through after you have invested considerably in it doesn't reflect well on your profile and also is a waste of your time, effort and money. So, look upon your Engineering training as a stepping stone to your new field of interest, rather than abandoning it. 

My HP laptop is more than 6 years old now and it never gave me trouble - whenever I had problems, it was because of my own fault.
 
Considering buying a Sony Vaio now. 

Because I can be nowhere but in the academia - this the career I love despite all its insecurities and not-so-hidden inequalities and injustices that plague the academic world.
 
I come from a family of high-achiever professionals who make a lot of money, but none of them is an academic. As a person involved in the academia, I don't earn like them, but I am the most highly educated person in my family and they are proud of it, though I feel I have a lifetime to learn.
 
Perhaps I won't be an Einstein, but let's see - after I die, I may be remembered by my books by the next few generations of students.

Well, I have been a victim of this.
 
I have a name that is incredibly common - wherever I go I find at least a dozen people having the same name - and often also surname - as mine. People often confuse me for someone else and I have to explain to them that I am a different person.
 
But all this was fine till I published a book - from an international publisher. Most libraries across the world confused me with another author having the same name and surname as me, who writes in a related field.
 
As a result, my book across the world in libraries and book-selling sites got catalogued as this other author's book and I went through hell to get it changed. Many of them asked me to get a statement from my publisher as evidence and my publisher refused to give a statement. Even now, this book is sold on many websites as someone else's book. I have given up now as I can't keep on pursuing millions of websites asking them to change the entry. Of course, I'll never publish with this publisher again. This other author never came out to say that this book was not written by them and I couldn't find their contacts online.
 
I have managed to get the entry corrected in most major libraries across the world, but still there may be a few where my book is wrongly entered.
 
Now, I am thinking of publishing my next book in another name, but my worry is, how do I prove then to the academic world that I am the same person as the name printed on this book?
 
I don't want to officially change my name because of the hassles involved. 
 
While I had to go through all this just because of my common name, I do know of a European academic who works on India and writes in an Indian name without changing the name officially - but they began to use this Indian name early, so it has stuck to them. If I use a different name after publishing a book, I don't know how I can prove that I am the same person as the one known officially, if I don't change my name in official records. 
 
It's not just about being searched in Google. It's a much greater problem if you are publishing and want to be recognized for your work if you have a common name.

Well, I have been a victim of this.
 
I have a name that is incredibly common - wherever I go I find at least a dozen people having the same name - and often also surname - as mine. People often confuse me for someone else and I have to explain to them that I am a different person.
 
But all this was fine till I published a book - from an international publisher. Most libraries across the world confused me with another author having the same name and surname as me, who writes in a related field.
 
As a result, my book across the world in libraries and book-selling sites got catalogued as this other author's book and I went through hell to get it changed. Many of them asked me to get a statement from my publisher as evidence and my publisher refused to give a statement. Even now, this book is sold on many websites as someone else's book. I have given up now as I can't keep on pursuing millions of websites asking them to change the entry. Of course, I'll never publish with this publisher again. This other author never came out to say that this book was not written by them and I couldn't find their contacts online.
 
I have managed to get the entry corrected in most major libraries across the world, but still there may be a few where my book is wrongly entered.
 
Now, I am thinking of publishing my next book in another name, but my worry is, how do I prove then to the academic world that I am the same person as the name printed on this book?
 
I don't want to officially change my name because of the hassles involved. 
 
While I had to go through all this just because of my common name, I do know of a European academic who works on India and writes in an Indian name without changing the name officially - but they began to use this Indian name early, so it has stuck to them. If I use a different name after publishing a book, I don't know how I can prove that I am the same person as the one known officially, if I don't change my name in official records. 
 
It's not just about being searched in Google. It's a much greater problem if you are publishing and want to be recognized for your work if you have a common name.

Yes, every application is unique. Essentially, you need to show strength and innovation in your research topic and writing skills and you need to have a clear focus on what you want to do and why. This is why SOP and writing samples are so important.
 
While coming from an Ivy is not absolutely essential, it does add extra value to the application - so does coming from a well-respected non-Ivy school. For example, an application from U-Chicago will be reviewed with interest. But it doesn't guarantee selection in either case.
 
GRE doesn't matter in Art History - unless your verbal and writing scores are dismal. I know candidates with failed Quant score, just above average - but not poor - verbal and writing scores who got selected with funding on the strength of demonstrated research skills. 
 
While the writing sample doesn't have to be related to the expressed topic of interest, it is preferable if it is related to the area of Art History (in terms of cultural region and time-scale) in which the candidate wants to research. This is because Art History is so culture-specific across time and space, that it's almost like studying another discipline if one specializes in one area of Art History and is reading/writing a paper in another cultural region and/or time-scale.
 
Art Historical skills in one area don't easily transfer to another area. So, it may happen that if your writing sample doesn't gel with the interests of the faculty members reading it, they may quickly lose interest in your paper. Besides, by submitting a well-written writing sample in an area closely related to your expressed topic of interest, you also demonstrate that you have already done some work in this field and you are good at it.
 
One also has to keep in mind that in most schools, a distinction is made between History, Fine Art and Art History-Theory-and-Criticism and there are different departments or at least segments for the three kinds of study, although a correlation can be drawn between them. The methodologies used in the three disciplines vary to some extent.
 
If you are applying to an Art history Department, your research interests and methodology should draw from this discipline more than from the other two, although you can make it inter-disciplinary and use ideas from the other two as well - especially because Art has to be contextualized in its historical setting. But there has to be a primacy of Art History/Theory/Criticism over History or Fine Art in your research focus. Although the dividing line between these disciplines is blurred, but at some stage it is possible to see the divergences. 

Because I can be nowhere but in the academia - this the career I love despite all its insecurities and not-so-hidden inequalities and injustices that plague the academic world.
 
I come from a family of high-achiever professionals who make a lot of money, but none of them is an academic. As a person involved in the academia, I don't earn like them, but I am the most highly educated person in my family and they are proud of it, though I feel I have a lifetime to learn.
 
Perhaps I won't be an Einstein, but let's see - after I die, I may be remembered by my books by the next few generations of students.

If you have a strong application profile and do a related job or project this year, then there is a fair chance that you'll get in the next season to some other school. In this case, you can take the risk of taking a year off.
 
On the other hand, see the profiles of the faculty at the new program - especially your POI's. If they have good contacts and have good number of publications, they may be able to help you with job prospects after PhD - especially because it's a new program and they have to build a good reputation of it.
 
But if you can't afford the second school and feel that your profile is not strong enough, then go to the first school.

This seems like a cross-cultural misunderstanding.
 
In most US schools, it's the Department that decides upon the admission list as well as Departmental and regular funding awards. University funding outside the Department and external funding possibilities are handled by the Fellowships and funding Division of the Grad School.
 
However, the official letter of admission is sent by the Grad Admissions School. They also ratify the admission and funding decision of the Departments.
 
In most cases, this ratification process by the Grad Admissions School is just a formality. They just go along with the decision made by the Ad-Committees.
 
However, in some cases where the Grad Admissions wants to confirm the genuineness and the eligibility of the successful candidate, they may either get the credentials checked themselves, or they may ask the candidate to get their credentials verified, before they can make a formal offer of admission and funding to the candidate.
 
This usually happens when the candidate's case is an uncommon one - such as when a candidate having a PhD in one discipline wants to apply for a Grad program in another unrelated discipline - or, when the candidate's previous education is not from a familiar institution. 
 
So, in all probability, the suggestion made above seems to be the most probable one that Ramswell was considered for admission and funding by the Department and the Grad Admissions wanted to verify the credentials before making a formal offer. 
 
For whatever reasons, they may have thought it was alright to ask the candidate to submit a verified evaluation of the credentials. They may not have realized that the candidate might take offence at this. On the other hand, the candidate may not have realized that just spending 200 USD would smooth out the process of admission and funding. When s/he showed unwillingness to do this, the Grad School may have changed their mind about funding and admitting such a candidate, interpreting this unwillingness as obstinacy.
 
The phrase "I need time to look into it/think about it" can be interpreted by many as "I don't want to do it."
 
I also understand that 200 USD can be a big amount for many, but if you can spend the money, it's better to do so. If you can't, just tell them very politely that at the moment you don't have the means to spend this money, so can they suggest an alternative. Chances are that they will get the credentials evaluated on their own.
 
I am aware of cases where the Grad Schools accepted scanned copies of GRE scores and got the scanned copy of IELTS scores verified from the IELTS themselves, rather than insisting upon official copies.
 
Anyway, Ramswell has got another interview, so hopefully this will turn out well.
 
This incident doesn't mean that everyone who has got a funded offer from the Department should double-check with the Grad School. Wait to hear from them. Most probably they will send you the offer letter. If you don't hear from them in a week or so, just send them a short, polite email telling them you received this offer from your POI, but have not yet received the official letter. They will send you the letter, or will ask you if there are any doubts to be clarified. 

All programs don't necessarily hold interviews prior to making their decision.
 
Some interview all shortlisted candidates, some do it only for those candidates about whom they can't make up their mind, while others don't interview anyone at all.
 
So, not getting an interview call is not a cause for worry.
 
You should check the results page and see the dates for past years' decisions and if the schools where you applied called anyone for interview. Besides, you can check if the schools where you applied have begun to notify this season. If others have been called for interview or have been selected/rejected, wait for a week or so and if still you don't hear anything, may be you can send an email to the Grad Admissions.
 
Good luck with your applications!

My HP laptop is more than 6 years old now and it never gave me trouble - whenever I had problems, it was because of my own fault.
 
Considering buying a Sony Vaio now. 

Thanks for this list, which is very helpful indeed.
 
I would like to add a few to the above - 
 
The "Grade" in the link given above largely applies to the STEM disciplines and perhaps to the MS programs. It will differ largely for PhD programs and for Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines.
 
Before applying, candidates should search for their preferred Programs' rankings on US News, Times Higher Education Rankings and QS Rankings, NRC rankings etc to name a few.
 
Besides, they should write to the Graduate co-ordinators of each program and ask about the success rate of the alumni of these programs in the job market. They should also find out how many candidates are typically admitted in a year and out of these, how many are International candidates.
 
The GRE scores are not so very important in the admission process, unless funding is not automatically linked to admission. Candidates with lower GRE scores can get admitted over those with higher GRE scores if their overall application package is stronger.
 
Especially in the Humanities programs, Quant scores don't have much importance in the admission process.
 
Before applying, the candidates should find out from the Departments what kind of role the GRE scores play in the selection process and if there is data available on the range of the GRE scores of the candidates admitted to the Department in previous years.
 
Often, all the above information is given in the university website. So, the candidates should spend time exploring the websites of the various programs to see what information is given and about what more they have to write to the Department to find out.
 
Those who want to apply for funding, should explore if the University website clearly mentions funding - for domestic as well as for International candidates. If it's not mentioned clearly, they should write to the Department and find out the possible sources of funding. They should clearly mention their citizenship and residency status while asking for this information.
 
Like the SOP, check and proof-read your writing sample several times and make sure it's related to the field you are applying to and it's the best writing sample you have in that field. SOP and writing sample play a vital role in the selection process.
 
A Majority of the American universities expect that you should have already taken Undergraduate or Graduate level courses in the discipline you are applying for - this is true of even many top-ranking universities.
 
There are some that don't make this a requirement and they usually say so in their websites of the relevant programs. If the university doesn't clearly mention that prior training in this field is not necessary, it usually means that you should have taken coursework worth of at least 12 credits (15-18 credits in some cases) in the discipline in which you are applying. This translates to approximately 4-6 courses.
 
So, make sure you have taken enough courses in the relevant discipline before you apply for a Graduate Program in the US.
 
MBA program may be an exception to this, where many STEM candidates are admitted without a prior training in financial fields. However, most MBA programs are not funded.
 
In your SOP, you should write very clearly why this program is relevant to your future career goals. Relate the professors' works and the courses being taught there to how you want to use this training to your future goals.
 
And before convincing the admissions Committees, convince yourself that this program is really relevant for your career goals. Don't get admitted into a program just for the sake of getting admitted.
 
Especially for Indian candidates -
 
It's not a good idea to get admitted into a low-ranked non-funded program by paying a lot of money to the university and/or to your admission counselor in India.
 
Greater chances are that your degree from these low-ranked non-funded programs are not going to be valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
A graduate from a higher-ranked school will most likely always top you in the job market.
 
So, it's really a waste of time, money and energy to get into such programs.
 
Please check the ranking, success rate of the alumni and the reputation of the universities on the list that your admission counselor in India places before you when you go to them, especially if the universities are not very well known and especially if the payment of a lot of money is involved.
 
There is every possibility that you are just being exploited for your money and being sent to a low-ranked non-funded program, from where your degree will not be regarded as valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
Don't fall for such admissions counselors in India, even if they are well-known.
 
Know this that many Indian candidates have fallen into this trap before you and they have suffered later after completing their US degree.
 
If you need any help and advice regarding this, you are welcome to PM me.

First about your thesis - apart from the modified code, you need to give a background of the original code, some brands that are using the different variations of it, the need to modify it, what kind of variables and principles you are following to modify the code, why you chose to modify it in this particular manner, theories related to it if applicable, then the code itself. Finally, you need to explain why this code is better than the original one, how it works, if there are comparable modifications available in the market and suggest the directions this field can take in future. All this should easily cover at least 60 pages, typed in 1.5 spacing, 12 pt font. and this is in addition to the technical writing that you normally include related to the code itself. Besides, I believe STEM candidates are not required to write a very long thesis.
 
Now, the main question about your feeling about leaving or not - since you have already invested considerable time, money and energy in this program, perhaps you should complete this program and join in a job afterwards. While in job, you can figure out what exactly it is that interests you - search on the web, read some books and articles in that field to confirm that you will really enjoy your new field. Once you have decided upon your new field, take some undergraduate courses in it either online or as part-time. Get about 15-18 credit hours in the new field with a good GPA. After this, you'll be ready to transcend into your new Graduate field. While doing all this, you'll have your Engineering job to support you and you'll also save some money for your future Graduate study if needed.
 
Leaving something halfway through after you have invested considerably in it doesn't reflect well on your profile and also is a waste of your time, effort and money. So, look upon your Engineering training as a stepping stone to your new field of interest, rather than abandoning it. 

Well, I have know about it for quite some time and have talked about it often on the Gradcafe. 
 
I have seen absolutely below-mediocre candidates coming out of top-ranked schools without any publications trumping candidates with shining research, publications and teaching profiles - and not in one case, but repeatedly.
 
And I don't really understand why these schools are top-ranked if they produce such below-mediocre candidates. 
 
When it comes to employment, the Academia is absolutely rigged and it's sacrilege to speak against it.

Well, I have know about it for quite some time and have talked about it often on the Gradcafe. 
 
I have seen absolutely below-mediocre candidates coming out of top-ranked schools without any publications trumping candidates with shining research, publications and teaching profiles - and not in one case, but repeatedly.
 
And I don't really understand why these schools are top-ranked if they produce such below-mediocre candidates. 
 
When it comes to employment, the Academia is absolutely rigged and it's sacrilege to speak against it.