GreenePony

When I applied to PhD programs I found Grad Cafe forums extremely helpful. I suspect that many of us do come back because we feel like we want to give back as much as we can to continue passing on what we’ve learned. I know there are many others here, like myself, who used Grad Cafe in the past and are now settled into our PhD programs. So, I just wanted to give a few tips from my own experience in case it’s helpful for others. This isn’t new information, it’s just what I found most helpful, you’ll find much of it repeated elsewhere and some of it might not apply. So, with that caveat… I’ll keep it short and answer questions, and hope this also encourages others who are already in programs to join in and add their thoughts.


Finding a Topic/Theory/Approach/Region

You can’t pick a program or a supervisor, or write a statement until you’ve figured out what you want to do. Not exactly what you will study, but what it means to you TO STUDY. Does it mean doing library research? Does it mean 1 year of fieldwork, 2 years of fieldwork? Do you want 2 years of classes? How do you want to do your comprehensive or qualifying examinations? 1 test that your department produces and gives to you? 4 tests that you design yourself? These details matter. You also need to know what area of the world you want to study and what kind of anthropology you want to do.


Identifying a Program

The programs you apply for might be limited by where you need to live because of family or a spouse, or what country you want to be in, or what the department specializes in, or where you can use a special scholarship. So first pay attention to those limits and find all the programs that fit inside that group of limitations. Next, within those programs you must identify the ones that have at least 3 professors that you REALLY want to work with. You need to be able to draw on more than one person in the department. One of them will be your main contact, your POI or your potential supervisor. But the others are important. You want several people to be excited about your application so that when the department sits down to look at the applications, you have more than one person arguing for yours. I did this by emailing everyone in the department whose work I was interested in. A simple short email that said where I was studying, what my interest was, what I liked about their work that I had looked at, that I was interested in a PhD in their department and then asked if they were accepting new students for supervision.


Finding a Supervisor/POI

Once you’ve emailed everyone of interest you’ll have a great sense of what your options are. Some will write back excited to hear from you telling you all about the program. Some will say: “Apply, I’ll see your application, and don’t email me again.” Some faculty really want to talk to you, some don’t want hear from you at all. Some will tell you to email the graduate student advisor in the department, some will send you to the web site. This will tell you a lot about their personality and about how the department works. You’ll quickly figure out whether you really want to work with this person for 5-8 years. If you develop a good correspondence with someone, keep them updated. Let them know you’re applying, ask if they’d be interested in seeing what you are writing for your statement. Sometimes they’ll offer to edit it, to give you sources to cite. Sometimes they’ll tell you what to say about particular things in order to improve your essay. All of these things happened to me.
 
Don't forget to ask for email addresses of current students they would reccomend you speak with about what it's like to study there. Especially ones they are supervising. Then go over to Academia.edu and look up students yourself and reach out to them so that you talk to other students,  not just the ones that they reccomended. I ruled out schools very quickly when I spoke to many students in a prestigious, highly ranked program and they were all miserable.


Writing a Statement

All of my statements were well received and resulted in offers to several fully funded programs as well as a few prestigious scholarships. I used a simple formula. Sure, you can try to re-invent things and stand out, but my opinion is that people on admissions committees are actually happy to find that you’ve followed a clear outline so they can more easily read through many essays. Here’s what I used. Same for all of them, but tailored to that specific program. I DID NOT simply change the last paragraph, the whole statement was written specifically for each school, based on the long email conversations I had with potential supervisors.

Paragraph 1:
First sentence saying briefly and straight to the point: This is what I plan to study, broadly.
Second sentence clarifying and giving more detail

Paragraph 2:
The following scholars have looked at X, (citation, citation, citation). The following scholars have looked at Y (citation, citation, citation). Studies around the issue of X and Y have tended to look at them like this… (citation, citation, citation).

Paragraph 3:
However, this literature has not yet looked at how XY affects A, B, and C (this is where you insert your topic, from the first sentence, but in the context of existing scholarship, the point is to show how you want to contribute to knowledge).

Paragraph 4:
By looking at XY in terms of A, B, and C, I want to open up new questions about XY such as: New Question 1; New Question 2; New Question 3; etc. By exploring these questions my project will use theory D, theory E, and theory F in new ways to address XY through ABC.

Paragraph 5:
The University of (Insert name here) anthropology program is the ideal place to do this work. The department focuses on X and Y, and these people work on ABC, and their use of theories DEF are interesting because… Professor H’s work on A and X is relevant to my work because… Professor I’s work on B and E and Y is relevant because of the way she… While studying at University of (insert name here) I will draw on expertise in…

I know people who worked for Hershey's who hated chocolate- all chocolate. (for the record, I am *very* picky about my chocolate after working chocolate tastings)
 
Open concept homes. DH loves them. I want center passage, which he hates.

We got a ~10 mo sheltie when I graduated undergrad, despite being a street rescue she was already potty trained by the time we got her from the fosters' and is too smart for her own good so things like crate training and basic leash manners were settled before the move. I'm not convinced the only reason it really works for us right now isn't that DH works from home and can give her the attention she needs. On weeks he's out of town I need a dog walker 1-2 times a day since I can be gone for a work day plus and evening class.
HOWEVER,
A friend got a 8 wo corgi right before she moved and it's been a nightmare for her. She didn't have support in potty training and without the proper timing (remember they can only hold their bladder for as months as they are old- so a 2 month old can hold it two hours) the dog is more or less trained two years later.

I would advise getting a young adult or older so you don't have the 2 hour concern. Also, crate train, it's not cruel at all if it's properly size (not greyhound sized crate for a chi and not chi sized for anything bigger, they only need to be able to stand up and turn around) and it's in general safer for you and them. Remember if you're gone for more than 8 hours you need a dog walker (my dog can hold it for 10 hours but I don't like her to for fear of a UTI or accident.) And the expense - we've talked about it the Lobby thread about pets, I think we spend 1500-2000 a year on our dog, and that's without spoiling her too badly and not counting pet rent or deposit.

How much a dog uses the crate depends on the dog. Mine is currently sprawled out in her living room crate, taking a nap and checking up on me. She's happy hanging out on the couch but she's also very happy in her own space in one of her crates. Crate training is certainly not cruel if the dog has plenty of time with their people and it is properly sized- it can be safer in an emergency (first responders can easily locate her and transport her, she can't hide under a bed), easier for house breaking, and can be a safe place (if a dog gets overwhelmed with visitors, they have their own space.) I believe I have mentioned numerous times that I crate my dog when no one is home, but she also gets plenty of exercise. Not including the short walks around meal times, she's done a half marathon this week, even just walking in the evening.

I suggest doing the quick weight loss program of losing ~200 lbs of boyfriend. Works miracles!

Yah, please ignore any professor who tells you this, and continue on about your life.  In the bad old days professors were primarily men - primarily married men who had wives at home to take care of that pesky housework and child-rearing while they focused on their careers.  Plus, you traditionally went to grad school right after undergrad, so you were < 30 before you finished - and then transitioned directly into a tenure-track job.  So you maybe didn't have to worry about starting a family and saving for retirement until after grad school was done.  (I think they also just have skewed memories.  My advisor once told me that if he could do anything he would do a PhD in another field, and then laughed uproariously when I looked at him like he had grown another head.)
 
That's an unrealistic state of being in 2014+.  People do stuff between undergrad and grad school; gender equality means that people share in building relationships and families together; and people definitely do stuff between grad school and the TT job (if they get one).  If we all put off relationships and families and working on our mental health until after we're in the TT job, we could be in our mid-to-late-30s or early 40s before we start (or, it could be never, since most of us won't get TT jobs).

Having a limited outlook on life is no reason to stereotype. Just because you go to a gym where people tend to subscribe to gender stereotypes, doesn't mean you are incapable of realising that this isn't necessarily the norm. Do you think it's helpful to perpetuate stereotypes or something?
 
Like I said, I am 3x national champion in powerlifting and I am a female. I can squat my boyfriend for reps, and I bench the same as him. I can clean my bodyweight. No need to make assumptions. Lifting is great for your health regardless of gender, and its ability to limit osteoporosis might even be particularly useful to females.

I've never seen a chick do a pull up, proper deadlift, or clean in my life. they always stick around the floor mats or treadmills, and only really wonder towards the free weights with their guy friends or bff. granted, I don't visit the gym all the time, but the pattern is pretty obvious. 
 
by clean I mean power clean. I've seen them do cleaning a lot hehehehe

1. Collections Manager for a medium-sized history museum. To match size and role I need a couple more years experience, but for a smaller museum I should be okay
2. Run a small farm (alpaca and long wool sheep). I'm okay with general farm management (the years of FFA and 4H can actually pay off) but I need more breed-specific experience.
3.  Run a small dressage training facility. As long as I don't have to be the trainer, I'm just fine.
4. Animal Costume Company. I'm embarrassingly well qualified but it's surprising how good they can be with the pony clubbers and 4Hers.

Besides being poorly written, the show uses "geeky" stereotypes to get general audiences laughing AT the characters, not with them. Otherwise they wouldn't need Penny as the "normal" one.

It wouldn't matter if the teachers remember the OP or not. Knowing that they made a difference in a student's life is important and appreciated. Coming from a family of teachers, I've seen how many students they remember and how keeping in touch and running into students later on in life is enjoyed.

Kleene- an option could be to write a note to a teacher you have a closer relationship with and ask them to post the letter in the teacher's lounge so that everyone has an opportunity to read or a similar space if they don't have a lounge in the school. I think it's a thoughtful gesture.

It wouldn't matter if the teachers remember the OP or not. Knowing that they made a difference in a student's life is important and appreciated. Coming from a family of teachers, I've seen how many students they remember and how keeping in touch and running into students later on in life is enjoyed.

Kleene- an option could be to write a note to a teacher you have a closer relationship with and ask them to post the letter in the teacher's lounge so that everyone has an opportunity to read or a similar space if they don't have a lounge in the school. I think it's a thoughtful gesture.

It wouldn't matter if the teachers remember the OP or not. Knowing that they made a difference in a student's life is important and appreciated. Coming from a family of teachers, I've seen how many students they remember and how keeping in touch and running into students later on in life is enjoyed.

Kleene- an option could be to write a note to a teacher you have a closer relationship with and ask them to post the letter in the teacher's lounge so that everyone has an opportunity to read or a similar space if they don't have a lounge in the school. I think it's a thoughtful gesture.

You're not the bad guy for furthering your career, at least in my book. Relationships are about compromise, it's not like it's a permanent move to the far off yonder (necessarily) so there's a chance you could end up closer later on down the road.
I mentioned before, when making life altering decisions I did consult DH on his opinions (he won't drive in snow) but he also wanted to keep in mind the best programs for my success. My first choice program was in the middle of no where, where it snowed a lot, but is one of the best in the country. He was supportive, but not thrilled about that move (I did promise we wouldn't stay there after graduation.)


(I should add that DH gets paid significantly more as a contractor, and gets to work in his PJs so he did sort of come out ahead with this move)

You're not the bad guy for furthering your career, at least in my book. Relationships are about compromise, it's not like it's a permanent move to the far off yonder (necessarily) so there's a chance you could end up closer later on down the road.
I mentioned before, when making life altering decisions I did consult DH on his opinions (he won't drive in snow) but he also wanted to keep in mind the best programs for my success. My first choice program was in the middle of no where, where it snowed a lot, but is one of the best in the country. He was supportive, but not thrilled about that move (I did promise we wouldn't stay there after graduation.)


(I should add that DH gets paid significantly more as a contractor, and gets to work in his PJs so he did sort of come out ahead with this move)

Egg Noodles with salted butter- DH thinks it's weird and I pay for it later (not supposed to have dairy, eggs, or white flour) but for a little while I'm happy.

Best Breed EVER. I'm a third generation sheltie owner, so I'm a little biased. But how can you not like this face?*

*Except when she barks/yodels at the neighbors' kids. Then I could understand.

Best Breed EVER. I'm a third generation sheltie owner, so I'm a little biased. But how can you not like this face?*

*Except when she barks/yodels at the neighbors' kids. Then I could understand.

Best Breed EVER. I'm a third generation sheltie owner, so I'm a little biased. But how can you not like this face?*

*Except when she barks/yodels at the neighbors' kids. Then I could understand.

For those people saying that if a relationship is meant to be then it it will be so screw compromising... thats not how life works.
 
Do you think that if a phd program is meant to be then it will happen so you can stop actively working at it during undergrad? No...
 
Relationships dont just magically work out for no reason. They take work, lots of it, and lots of compromise.
 
Communication and compromise are key. It is not hard to compromise and it does not require sacrificing your dreams. I made a list of the phd programs where I could get the education I need to acheive my goals. My partner crossed off the schools that are in locations that would prevent him from acheiving his own goals. I am applying to rest of the schools... all of the schools/locations would be amazing opportunities for both me AND him.
 
No one's dreams are sacrificed in this situation. Both partners are happy and compromise. This is how relationships work. They don't just magically come together. If you aren't willing to compromise with a partner then you have a really loney road ahead of you...

When you say "work in a museum" what exactly do you want to do? Curate, Education (educational program development), Collections Management, Conservation, Prepator, Exhibit Design/Development, Administration, Development/Fundraising? Most of these have specific education points, especially conservation (you need a good number of science credits and experience to even get into a conservation program and then you need certified.) You rarely see someone in the development or administration silos who have museum backgrounds.
 
Education is a different matter. There are specific Museum Education programs (ie GWU) which are completely separate from the rest of the MSTD program and then there are all around MSTD programs that have an education track which are more integrated. Like m-ttl said, there are different ways of getting into museum education, however, I'm seeing more education job postings that require some museum background. My first director had an art education BA, museum sciences MA, and then education PhD because her first love is education, not administration (you're not going see many administrators with a MSTD degree these days, more business unfortunately.)

I hate to be a negative Nancy but there are *very* few museum jobs (except education, administration, and development) and those with years of experience and training are having trouble even getting entry level jobs (if they even find those, many are requiring at minimum 5 years experience now)

I mean, that WOULD be pretty weird.  Why on earth would people expect spouses to support one another...?
 
In addition, we can add a 3rd "never smoked or done drugs".  Caffeine is about as exciting as it gets for me too.  I am a boring person, and I am okay with this.

We buy all our meat (chicken, beef) from local famers and butchers, where we know the animals are well-treated (we've seen the farms) and aren't bed hormones or antibiotics.  The chicken is flash-frozen, so isn't injected with saline solution.
 
We also buy fruits and vegetables from the local farmer's market whenever possible (so when things are in season) but do end up purchasing from the grocery store for fruits and vegetables when they are out of season here (pretty much all winter).  Frozen vegetables and fruits are perfectly fine, and retain many of the nutrients that are lost when canned.
 
As a dietetic intern, the foods I would encourage people to enjoy include fruits and vegetables, of as many different colours are you can incorporate into a day; lean meats from animals that weren't fed hormones or antibiotics; some source of omega-3 fatty acids in your weekly diet, so wild salmon, ground flax seed, hemp seed.
 
Avoid any grain products that are "white" - so avoid white bread, white pasta, white flour.
 
Enjoy whole grains (not multigrain, which is often white flour with a few grains added in so they can call it multigrain) - so 100% whole grain or whole wheat bread (if you can buy it from a local bakery that doesn't use preservatives, that will be better for you than grocery store bread), whole wheat pasta, quinoa, oatmeal (plain oats, not the processed Quaker junk with added sugar and salt).
 
Avoid foods with too much added sugar - strive for <5g of sugar per serving.  Natural sugars, found in fruits and vegetables are fine.
 
Avoid foods with too much sodium.  You should only be consuming about 1500mg of sodium a day.  Most Canadians (I don't know about Americans) consume twice that amount.  The safe upper limit for sodium is 2300mg a day, and health problems can start to occur when you regularly exceed that level.
 
Enjoy legumes (beans, lentils).  Even canned beans are fine (just rinse them well), but cooking them from dry will be cheaper.
 
Avoid energy drinks.
 
For keeping up energy levels and maintaing stable blood glucose levels and blood insulin levels, combine a carbohydrate-containing food with a protein-containing for at each meal and snack.  So a whole grain cereal (with less than 5g sugar per serving) with skim milk or milk alternative.  An apple or banana with natural peanut butter (with no added sugar).  A sandwich made with 100% whole wheat bread and lean meat and/or cheese.  100% whole wheat pita with hummus.  A smoothie made with fruit, plain yogourt (no added sugar), skim milk, or whey protein (again, check the label for no added sugar).  Natural nut butter and celery.
 
Drink plenty of water.  Enjoy diet soda in moderation (one a day won't harm your health).  If you like fruit juice, cut it with water - so make a mix of half fruit juice, half water.  If you don't like water, you can flavour it with just a bit of fruit juice, or even better, infuse it by sticking a couple of pieces of peeled fruit in the water, and let the water absorb some of the flavours.
 
Use olive oil for cooking when you need oil.  When baking, canola oil can be used, but try using alternatives to oils in baking (such as applesauce, ground flaxseed, mashed beans, etc.)
 
Enjoy coffee and caffeinated tea in moderation.
 
Enjoy alcohol in moderation.  Red wine may have some additional heart health benefits due to the resveratrol present in red wines, but there is a small heart protective effect just from alcohol.  The trade off is an increased risk of some forms of cancer in those with a family history of cancer.  But with no family history of cancer, one glass (6 oz) of red wine a day may be healthy, and have heart protective effects.  Research is still being done on this topic.
 
Avoid deep fried foods.
 
Avoid processed deli meats.  Use roasted meats or leftovers in making sandwiches.
 
Use a meat thermometer to ensure foods are cooked to a safe temperature.

House Hunters and Property Brothers on HGTV (home and garden channel)

We got a ~10 mo sheltie when I graduated undergrad, despite being a street rescue she was already potty trained by the time we got her from the fosters' and is too smart for her own good so things like crate training and basic leash manners were settled before the move. I'm not convinced the only reason it really works for us right now isn't that DH works from home and can give her the attention she needs. On weeks he's out of town I need a dog walker 1-2 times a day since I can be gone for a work day plus and evening class.
HOWEVER,
A friend got a 8 wo corgi right before she moved and it's been a nightmare for her. She didn't have support in potty training and without the proper timing (remember they can only hold their bladder for as months as they are old- so a 2 month old can hold it two hours) the dog is more or less trained two years later.

I would advise getting a young adult or older so you don't have the 2 hour concern. Also, crate train, it's not cruel at all if it's properly size (not greyhound sized crate for a chi and not chi sized for anything bigger, they only need to be able to stand up and turn around) and it's in general safer for you and them. Remember if you're gone for more than 8 hours you need a dog walker (my dog can hold it for 10 hours but I don't like her to for fear of a UTI or accident.) And the expense - we've talked about it the Lobby thread about pets, I think we spend 1500-2000 a year on our dog, and that's without spoiling her too badly and not counting pet rent or deposit.