jasper.milvain

Start with this, but cut the section on "active research problems" and replace it with specifics. Ditch the phrasing "I feel myself especially motivated". The adcom doesn't care about how you feel, they care about research and your ability to do it. You can also phrase it more assertively... less like it's a future intention and more like it's a done deal. "I intend to focus in (my areas) in order to contribute (meaningful research) to the ongoing scholarly discussion about (sexy topic) held between (sexy researchers)." or "My proposed research seeks to answer (tight, relevant set of questions) about (my area) in order to (move scholarship forward in a specific way/save the world/fix a problem)." Once you have proved to them that you understand the field and have a coherent project, you can get into personal info like this. Again, though, take the emphasis off of your emotions. Instead of excitement, talk about the skills that you gained or the contribution you made. Replace "Each one of them has convinced me that I want" with "Each one of them has convinced me of the importance of (X research) especially in regards to (Y problem)". Again, drop the commentary on your fulfillment. Focus on what you were able to contribute, or the skills gained. Getting skills and expertise from a Ph.D. goes without saying. It's true of every program. Instead, focus on why XYZ specifically is a great fit for you. If there's another place to list employment experience, I would cut this entirely. Otherwise, simply state the kind of class taught in the section on your previous experience-- "These projects and field studies made me an effective teacher of (X). I have run X many seminars/lectures/labs at the 100/200/300 level at Y University." There will certainly be a box to check on the application form saying that you need aid. You don't need to waste valuable SOP space on it. Cut, cut cut. You only have a small amount of space to sell yourself as a competent, informed, professional researcher. Anything that does not directly attest to your academic knowledge and skills is a waste of space. The adcom are looking for researchers, not roommates or blind dates. Again, goes without saying. Cut. This is ok, but again, replace comments about your interest with more concrete language about research. "I want to do my PhD at XYZ U because the researchers/labs/libraries/resources in incredibly specific sub-area will allow me to complete the kick-ass research project outlined above." Your interest in your subject absolutely goes without saying. The adcoms already know that their schools are distinguished. Don't waste space telling them something they already know. Instead, talk about how specific elements of that prestige will directly help you as a researcher. As they say in creative writing, "Show, don't tell." If you've done your job of outlining a compelling project and linking it to your experience and skills, you don't need to tell them that you're a good candidate. Prove it, don't assert it. "I am confident" and "I believe" make your qualifications sound subjective. Present yourself as someone whose value to the department is self-evident. This is what your transcript is for. Don't duplicate any information. Again, you have a super limited space. I hope that was helpful. I guess it can pretty much be boiled down into: 1. Focus on research. 2. Use concrete language instead of reporting your emotions. 3. Be as specific as humanly possible. 4. Use the space wisely. 5. Focus on research. 6. Focus on research.

Are the 210 hours of TA work over one term? That sounds like a normal workload to me. It translates into about 12 hours a week, which is workable with a regular grad course load. SSHRC has no way of knowing how many hours you work. When you apply for your PhD SSHRC, you will list your TA positions, but not the associated hours. No repercussions for working are likely going to come from SSHRC. Your school is a different matter. There are a few levels there: your supervisor, your grad chair, and the larger grad studies admin office. Since you're doing pure coursework, your supervisor shouldn't be a problem. Your grad chair may have opinions about how much work is acceptable for students, and may disapprove of your workload. Hopefully they will be professional and not let it influence any decisions about you, but you never know. Grad studies has limited influence generally, but again, you may encounter some grumpy people. When I was going to apply for my third consecutive TAship during my MA SSHRC year (for a total of 630 hours of work over the year) I checked with grad studies to make sure that they wouldn't cut off my SSHRC payments for working too much. The woman looked at me like I had just admitted to planning on killing some puppies, and said "We're too busy to match TA assignments against SSHRC payments, but we *do* hope that people stick to the HONOUR SYSTEM". My experience is that working is generally do-able, but it can be draining. I loved TAing so much that I got pretty wrapped up in it and it was a serious distraction from my work at times. My supervisor strongly suggested that I decline the third TAship and spend a term just reading and writing, and I did. It was a great decision. I not only got a ton of research done, but also have retained much more detail from the readings than I did in terms when I was teaching. Not having that extra stressor directly improved my focus and even memory. It's easy to fall in love with the big paychecks that come from combining SSHRC and work (I could buy new clothes! And take occasional cab rides!) but living on less and throwing yourself into research has a lot of benefits.

Serric is dead on. Once the prof replies and confirms that they are taking students and might be interested in you, you can go into more detail.

It's not a problem. In fact, it will likely help you that you have someone on the adcom in your corner. My MA supervisor was the grad chair of the program and my main letter writer. She happily wrote letters for all of my apps, including the one for the program she chairs. It was a little awekward negotiating funding with her given our relationship, but it wasn't bad at all. When I decided to go elsewhere, she was wonderfully supportive. Remember, chairs aren't the only people on committees. There are 3 or 4 profs doing the selections, and many others consulted on individual apps. If they were all disqualified from acting as references for students, it would be insanely restrictive.

They just went to a new look, and it's buggy. You have to refresh the page every time you go there.

There's a great thread about how to set up a new apartment going on over at the Chronicle of Higher Education forums: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/t ... 069.0.html

Ah! Sorry! My humour chip must be turned off. Or I've been spending so much time on the internet that I don't see typos.

I don't know American schools. Feel free to compensate for my ignorance!

I got registration info from one of the schools I declined... Sometimes there are just blips in the system. Might be worth following up on, though!

That's really weird! We dealt with TD in Edmonton, as well as a TD-affiliated mobile mortgage broker. I wonder if they took my offer letter and just ignored it... but no, when the woman was punching in numbers to make sure the debt ratios worked, she definitely included my income. I was also baffled by the difference in the documents asked for by the TD person we talked to a few months ago by just walking into the bank, and the mortgage broker we ended up working with. The first one needed confirmation that my husband's transfer was going through, so we put off house hunting for over a month waiting for that to get formalized, and then the second person didn't ask for that confirmation at all. Guess this might be a more idiosyncratic process than I thought. *shrug* Congrats on getting the house!

Maybe finding out when the next round of bargaining is should become part of checking out schools. Much as I'm sad to be leaving my awesome union at my MA school, I'm secretly thrilled to be avoiding a likely strike by moving to a non-unionized PhD institution. Actually, the non-union school also funds most/all of its MA students, and pays the PhDs at a much higher rate than my union school. Not all unions are helpful (see York), and not all non-unionized places are festering swamps of exploitation. Best to speak to students on the ground, I think. /Canadian labour hijack.

That's bizarre, considering we're both in Canada. I may as well be explicit: TD accepted my funding as proof of income. Did you end up getting approved anyway, ogopogo?

Having an in-state degree will not help you at all in a job search, sorry to say. Minnesotan is right that if you really want to work in Florida, you should get your PhD elsewhere since schools rarely hire their own. If you want to live in Florida for your PhD for other reasons, however, that's another story. I'd suggest putting in a few applications in locations where you wouldn't mind living, and a few in far-flung locations with excellent programs. Once you see which admits you get, you can decide how much you're willing to trade location for other factors.

Heh... I was going to say this, but didn't want to sound like a broken record about Canada.

I don't know that including the amount would be tacky. On most of the online grad apps I filled out, they specifically asked for the amount awarded in the scholarships section. If you don't want to state the amount, could you hide it in language like "Four years living and tuition expenses"? Otherwise, describing the award as "highly competitive federal research funding" should sound sufficiently impressive. Good luck with your apps!

When we went in for our mortgage, they took my funding letter as proof of income, no questions asked. I have a husband with steady employment and a good downpayment, though. We were very surprised when they asked for further confirmation of my husband's job (4 years and counting with a multinational company) but didn't ask for any further assurance about my university income. I think that banks generally see higher ed as more stable than it actually is.

I'd go with grey/black pants, a low-key skirt, or nice dark jeans if you want to dress up a little. Adding a pretty cardigan, wrap, or scarf to your usual uniform usually works, too. I think the thing is dressing up without looking like you're putting on a costume. Keep what you feel comfortable in and just tweak it a little bit. Otherwise, you can look like you're trying too hard.

I was more out and about during my undergrad as well, but I was still fairly young and very insecure. I drank too much, smoked too much pot, and had too many one night stands (too many because they were motivated by needing attention/approval, not too many because of any objection to one night stands). I'm still 'traditional student' aged, but my life is much more fun now that I've chilled the hell out a little. Now that I'm not wasting my time on melodrama and unhealthy relationships, I can appreciate good times more. I prefer the double-blind version of the above, wherein one first throws a stack of papers with letter grades written on them to get a truly randomized distribution.

I certainly didn't mean to suggest that a thread on interdisciplinary programs should be limited to examples from English. I was just suggesting a possible reason for the difference between your view and Minnesotan's. Since you asked for examples of MAs that are funded, I offered some from my experience.

There's a lot to be said for taking some time completely off school to clear your head.

Everyone I know (including myself) TAed or RAed their way through their MA degrees, with the exception of a few with creative jobs they didn't want to give up, massive external funding, or no bills to pay cause they still lived with mom. The fact that English has much higher enrollment in intro classes than anthropology does may explain why you're not seeing as many funded MA programs, happygolucky.

Yes, that's very true. It can certainly breed negativity. The bad student sentences threads on the Chronicle forums are a hoot, though.

I just finished reading Forster's The Longest Journey and I'm not sure what to think of him. On the one hand, he picks up on a lot of strands that I'm interested in (materiality and how it interacts with politics, representations of authorship and how it interacts with labour, bad marriage stories, etc). On the other, it seems oddly rushed and juvenile. People have their deaths announced out of the blue in one sentence, and are forgotten in the next. The whole plot is filled with romantic parallels that are supposed to be laden with deep meaning, but just seem kind of heavy handed. I found myself wishing it was twice as long just so that he could take the time to talk through things more. I think that I'll have to move to Passage to India next... I fully support your avoidance of Finnegan's Wake and The Waves. But then again, my proposed dissertation is something along the lines of Eat Me, Modernists: Why Virginia Woolf was wrong and exactly how much more complex and compelling than her the late Victorians were.

Student essays can be a scream if you approach them with the right appreciation for absurdity. Swapping especially bad sentences with other TAs can also be a hoot.

This might be good advice for computing science, but it would be social suicide in the humanities. I guarantee that if you did this, nobody who heard about it would want to work with you. A polite e-mail well in advance or meeting during office hours would be a good first step to requesting the privilege of auditing. Many humanities courses are discussion based and have 10-12 students in them, so the professor will be very careful about who to let audit, if anyone. In the 10 grad seminars that I have taken or audited, only current grad students who had already earned enough credits were allowed to audit the course. The only people allowed to take the course besides current students in the department were students in other departments or at sister institutions, and they all had to formally request to be included. The suggestion to take or audit graduate courses gets thrown around a lot, but it can be much more difficult to do than it seems. Many programs zealously guard their classrooms to make sure that their limited resources are only going to the people who they have vetted, admitted, and invested time and resources in. Man, I'm being a Debbie Downer on this thread!