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foolish.nostalgia

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Everything posted by foolish.nostalgia

  1. I agree with the above. Not only are there many programs in conflict/dispute resolution and/or peace studies, nearly all of them will have at least one (if not several) professors whose main focus is on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Of those, not all of them will offer you RA/TA positions or scholarship opportunities, but many will. Of those that don't, the tuition is still far cheaper than the New School and cost of living is much better than that of NYC. I'm not saying don't apply or attend the New School. But if you are worried about finances, there are several other options.
  2. I asked about it and did a little digging and it looks like this is just a Massachusetts thing, where all the public schools have really low tuition costs but super high program fees. It's still a good program and the $10,000/ year is still significantly lower than the other (completely unfunded) programs I have been accepted into. But it is still a very weird situation.
  3. Hey all, I have just been accepted to a funded masters program at UMASS Boston. I've gotten 100% tuition waiver, which just leaves me with paying the program fees. Which is great and all, but it looks like I'll still be paying around $10,000/year in just program fees. This seems a little bit excessive to me and I'm wondering if I'm just mis-reading the funding letter I have been sent. I don't want to seem ungrateful for the money being offered, but I do want to know if this sort of thing is normal.
  4. I've never fully understood the desire to "carve out a space" for minority/oppressed groups to speak exclusively. Which is not to say that I don't understand the need or desire to seek out a safe space to express opinions which are otherwise marginalized. But if the only way I can share my voice is by creating a space where I refuse to let those from the dominant group participate at all, then what is the point? I've created a cute little echo chamber where the only thing I hear is my own voice bouncing off the walls. I believe that any dominant group member who wants to participate in the discussion should be constantly cognizant of their privilege and through practice can start to learn when it is best to silence themselves (although I think the same about anyone in any discipline). But having your voice shut down from an outside force doesn't help you learn anything. It just leads to a cycle of (structural) violence. I understand how it may be beneficial as an exercise in understanding how it feels to have your voice silenced, but as a general practice institutionalized by the entire discipline? I can't agree with that. As a woman of color, I don't want my own space to have a discussion. I want to participate in the dominant culture and engage in that discussion. And I also believe that means allowing people from the dominant culture to contribute. Anyone who genuinely cares about the subject should be generating relevant theory which is beneficial to the discipline anyway. How else would they get themselves recognized/hired by people within the same field?
  5. I can't answer to the fit in terms of academics because engineering is far outside of my field. However, I can speak to the culture. I have many Saudi friends (male and female) who are studying/working in the United States and an American friend who has been working in Saudi Arabia for the last four years. I don't want to downplay anything and pretend as though there would not be any kind of culture shock. There will be. But it wont necessarily be as bad as you might be thinking. Saudi has a pretty large foreign work force, many of which are Western. Many of these workers live in compounds that aren't under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the country. My impression that KAUST is another similar situation. (Many of these workers also have blogs, which I'd recommend looking up and reading. They can go into far more detail about specific things they encounter, in terms of culture shock and adjustments, than I have to space or experience to do) I'd also recommend reading a diverse selection of these kinds of blogs. You don't want your views biased one way or the other by a minority voice which is either highly negative or highly praising.) I don't think it would be too hard to find other European ex-pats at all, if that would make you feel more "at home". Basically, what I'm trying to say is that as a Westerner you will probably find yourself with far more freedom from a "traditional" Saudi experience if you so choose. But my impression is that the Westerners who are the most happy living in Saudi are those that at least try to adapt and experience Saudi culture (and have at least a few close Saudi friends). If that is something you are 100% opposed to, this may not be the best choice for you. Your living experience is going to effect your performance in school and then, what was the point of going at all? Just my two cents.
  6. Thank you for your response. Although I was not clear about it in my initial post, my desire to pursue my masters is not only based on seeing that the accepted students have their masters degrees. I have contacted a few of the programs and while I was told that a Masters degree itself was not required, the importance of relevant research and work experience was highly emphasized. What I took away from that was that it might not be mandatory to pursue a masters, but that attending these programs right after undergrad was unlikely. As it is, I am currently looking at a number of options including finding relevant work experience where I could be paid, rather than taking on debt. I prefer the idea of continuing my education simply because I feel that could open more doors, jobs wise, should I not make it into the PhD level programs. (There are only four and I'm trying to be realistic) As it were, my ideal master program is a fully-funded MA in general Psychology located only an hour from where I'm currently living. However, it is hard to find researchers in masters level programs in Psychology that are looking at relevant lines of research (and I'm not going to apply to only one program) so I thought to expand my search into other, relevant fields. However, I'm not terribly familiar with these types of programs so I'm just looking for a little guidance.
  7. Long-term, I want to pursue my PhD in Political/Peace Psychology. Looking through these programs, all of the current students have their masters degree and/or a few years of work experience in a field related to conflict resolution and international relations. So I've been looking into the masters programs in political science with emphasis or concentrations in conflict resolution, international relations or global affairs. However, I'm at a bit of a loss in terms of what kind of program would suit me best. A lot of these programs appear to be professional in nature, meaning that they seem to expect their students to get a job after the completion of the program. Would wanting to continue on to my PhD (with the end goal being a mix of academic research and field work) hinder my application in any way? Or are there programs which have more of a "research" goal in mind? Secondly, when it comes time to actually apply I'm not sure what would make me the most competitive. I know how it works in Psychology (your past research experience and future research plans (i.e. fit with current POI) are really the only things that matter. Just about any other activity is best left out.) What would programs in political science emphasize? Particularly at the masters level...
  8. Without trying to derail this discussion, I was wondering if anyone had any information about the Masters in applied psychology at NYU Steinhardt. My ultimate goal is to get my PhD in political/peace psychology and I am looking to get more research experience that is directly related to this subfield before applying to programs again. In the programs I'm looking at, most of the students do have masters degrees and the faculty that I have talked to emphasized the importance of having research experience that relates more specifically to what I want to pursue at the doctoral level. (as an aside, my own research has been in consumer decision making and stereotyping/prejudice reduction) And since a few people have mentioned that NYU admits just about everyone, I was wondering what the average admittance rate for a masters program in psychology was. I know that most competitive PhD programs range from 5 - 10% but I've had a harder time finding information about masters.
  9. Although it is still early, it is looking as though I am not going to be accepted into any PhD programs. I want to stay optimistic but I'm also one who feels the need to be rational and if I'm not admitted I want to have a valid plan-B in place. As of right now, the plan is to re-apply. I'm looking to try more Masters programs (and only re-apply to three or four of the PhD level programs that I really love). However, I am completely overwhelmed by this and currently have no idea where to start. I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for in a good Masters program if my goal is to move on to a PhD after. So my questions are as follows: 1. Is anyone able to throw out a few good programs as a starting point? Obviously I'm not asking anyone to do my job for me... but I'm feeling a bit crazy to start over all over again and I think having a few things to start me off might help me get myself back together. 2. I am looking for programs that would give me more research experience and the chance to get published. Obviously this means I'll be looking at what research the professors at each school are doing, trying to figure out if it matches my own interests... however, how important is this for the purpose of the applications? Is it important to include a POI that I'd want to work with? And how important is it, for Masters level, that I share the research interests of any of the professors? By that I mean, is it important that research interests line up for a "good fit" or would a more general shared interest still be workable? 3. Finally, where is the best place to get started looking? So far my searches have pulled up plenty of clinical/counseling Masters programs but I'm having more trouble finding anything for general/social/experimental psychology programs. This is probably the most frustrating part of the entire experience! -.-
  10. This also varies state to state, but my international friends who study here are allowed to use their international license for six months before they are required to apply for and obtain a U.S. issued license.
  11. I am currently an American student interested in studying in Europe for my Masters and ultimately my PhD. I am looking for a program in Community Psychology or (Applied) Social psychology, however my interests are in homelessness and immigration (adaptation to a new host culture, ect.) so any program that would have me working and researching in these fields would be wonderful. (And I should note that Community Psychology is considered an interdisciplinary subject itself anyway) Ultimately, I want to work in applied settings and would be more than happy to work outside the United States (although I wouldn't be devastated if I did end up working in the States) Currently, I am having difficulty finding resources about programs outside of the United States and Canada. Programs do need to be in English. I have conversational French, but nowhere near good enough to take Gradate level courses in. Further, what do programs in Europe tend to look for in an applicant? I know many do not require the GRE, but what is the general attitude toward work and research experience? I know in the U.S. research experience tends to be weighed heavily as a factor for admission, so I just wanted to know if it was viewed the same abroad.
  12. I actually have a few questions, but first I want to establish my background: I am currently an undergraduate who will graduate with my BA in Psychology and International Studies in one and a half years (December of 2012). I am considering taking a year off between my graduation and applying for a PhD program in Community psychology or Applied Social psychology in order to get more experience. Currently I have: 3.5 GPA overall 3.6 GPA Psychology 3.6 GPA International Studies (3.0 GPA French minor, if that means anything) My only research experience is the research project I will lead this upcoming fall (as part of the graduation requirements of my University) I am hoping to get an internship for the Spring semester. My community interests involve homelessness and immigration (adjustment to host countries, ect.) So my questions: 1.) Should I focus my time getting more research experience or should I invest more time working in more of an applied setting? My ultimate career goal is directed toward more applied work, but I know that even that has a large research component within Community Psychology. 2.) I am considering getting my Masters and PhD in Europe. I understand that for clinical work I would need to get my PhD in the country I wish to work, however would getting my PhD outside of the USA hurt any chance for employment that I would have within the field of Community Psychology?
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