lovenhaight

Are you encountering these people in a graduate program or just in your local coffee shop? The assertion that those who are interested in social justice/public sociology are less careful researchers is quite insulting. To ignore "inconvenient facts" is to be a less effective researcher, so I'd like to assert that in my experience, social justice-oriented researchers are no more likely to fail to adhere to standards of quality than traditional researchers. Furthermore, I believe that you're doing nothing more than attempting to flex your intellectual muscles and allow your sanctimony to ooze through the keyboard. You've read some Weber? Good for you. You feel better about yourself by pointing out quotes versus paraphrasing? Good for you. This is a topic that could have incited lively discussion, and instead you chose to use it as a way to question the integrity of people in your own field who have a different research orientation than your own.

Woohoo! Congratulations, Chuck!

That is only if the department allows non-degree students in their graduate classes. Some don't.

Don't freak out yet. There are too many unknown variables at play to feel defeated at this point. If you want to be in Austin, have you looked at Texas State - San Marcos? They have an MA program, the application deadline is March 1st, and they are 40 minutes from Austin. With terminal master's programs, the name recognition isn't as big a deal. Get in, kick ass, and apply to PhD programs when you're done.

The best advice that I've ever gotten from one of my professors was this: "If you're going into a PhD program because you think that the three letters after your name will make you better than anyone else or somehow prove to people in your past that you're good enough, its better to save the money and spend it on therapy." I'm hoping to go into a PhD program because I actually want to study society and not for a big paycheck. That being said, I understand that money is necessary to live in this society. I think that this type of honesty is good for some added perspective, especially for those who might be unsure as to what they're getting into. If reading this leaves you questioning why you're doing this...maybe you should look at other things.

I'm not sure if they do a paid visit weekend like some of the other programs. I do know that we probably shouldn't expect to hear anything until late February/early March. I'm trying to avoid the anxiety as much as possible, but I'll admit that it is beginning to creep up on me.

Oh, and I suppose I could answer your question. There are two POIs at Oregon that I'd really like to work with, Jocelyn Hollander and Ellen Scott. The program seems to be good about incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, and both of my POIs also look at the intersectionality of race, class, and gender. I'm on the southern part of the east coast now, and there aren't too many programs other than the MA program that I'm in that seem to even admit that intersectionality is a valid perspective in this region. I also like that they're a solid program, but aren't at the top of the rankings. (I tend to think that rankings are a bit of bunk anyway) In my experience, those are the programs that take more of an active interest in their students' success.

We'll see how well my focused approach pans out, I suppose. My husband and I wanted to move out to the Pacific Northwest regardless, so I figured that applying anywhere else would be pointless. I suspect that I'm a better fit for Oregon than Washington since I'm more of a qualitative/mixed methods person, but I'm not afraid of quant after two rigorous stats classes at the graduate level, so I figured that I'd go for it. I really like both programs, so I hope that one of them accepts me. Good luck on your Oregon app, it would be great if both of us were in the new cohort!

Since yesterday was the application deadline, I thought I'd see how many forum members applied to Oregon's Sociology program.

Well, my husband and I are ready to explore somewhere besides the South and the Midwest, so that's part of it. Another piece is that our closest friends have just gone back that way, and the four of us want to be in one place, so we'll join them out there. We're actually waiting on my rejections/acceptances before we decide exactly where we'll be going, but it will basically be anywhere from north of San Francisco to Seattle. If I don't get in anywhere, I'll be disappointed, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to find a community college teaching job and maybe do some research to write a book. I might try again next year if I don't get in anywhere, depending on where we are and what I'm doing.

Congratulations on Washington! Do you mind sharing your background/research interests with us? It seems that for the rest of us who applied, we should hope that some rejections start to crop up (hopefully not our own...). That way we can see if we're in the "Not a chance in hell" pile or the "Waiting to see who accepts our offer/still might have a chance" pile.

Congratulations and good luck on your other schools! (Although Berkeley is AMAZING.)

Plan B...well, since I put all my eggs into one basket (technically two, but still), I suppose that I'll be looking for a job that I can enjoy that will allow me to put my experience and education to good use. I'm on the east coast now, but am headed to Northern California/Oregon/Washington regardless of the decisions from the programs I've applied to.

It seems that the thread has moved on from the MA/No MA topic, but I thought I'd add in my two cents in case it helps anyone. First, this comes from my experience as a graduate admissions/student services manager in a social sciences department (but not Sociology) at a top university (HINT: For those who mentioned Pam Stokes, I know her quite well.). It also comes from my experience applying to graduate programs straight out of my undergraduate institution. Not having an MA can make it more difficult to enter a PhD program, simply because you're competing against applicants who already have one and therefore have more experience, both in regards to research and substantive coursework. There seems to be a feeling amongst faculty that those students who have already earned a Master's will enter a PhD program without needing quite as much professional socialization as those entering with a Bachelor's. This is not to say that it can't or doesn't happen for those who are straight out of undergrad, it just means that your application has to outshine those with more experience. This is a big reason that terminal MA programs are getting a higher caliber of student as of late. If you only have a BA/BS/BGS, etc., it wouldn't be a bad idea to apply to the terminal MA programs as a fail-safe so that you can continue your studies and have a better shot at the PhD program you want. I don't mean to sound as if I'm discouraging those without an MA, I just wanted to provide others with the knowledge that I have gained both personally and professionally. I wish that someone had taken me aside and explained these things when I applied to programs initially. It would have saved me a lot of time and anguish.

Invitations to attend will come out in waves from pretty much any school, so even if you don't hear anything in the first bunch, you shouldn't think that all is lost. Those who aren't in the first wave will just have to hope that those people are accepted to and select another school. I tend to assume that I haven't gotten in, that way if an acceptance letter does come its a pleasant surprise. And are there seriously trolls on this site who would post that they'd been accepted? That sucks.

Just want to point out that even if you don't get departmental funding, there may be other graduate assistantships open within the university. Apart from that, there is also financial aid. Departmental funding is lovely if and when it happens, but not getting it isn't the end of the world.

Super - Something else that you should keep in mind is that you're not just competing with people just out of undergrad, you're also competing against people with an MA or MS in hand. I learned that lesson the hard way when I applied straight out of undergrad (although I was a non-traditional student, so I was your age at that point). I ended up going to a terminal MA program that funded me very well because of my academic record, and it has really been the best decision I've ever made. My faculty have done a fantastic job of molding those of us who want to go on and get a PhD elsewhere, and now I know I'm ready to kick some serious behind at the PhD level. Also, as someone who has worked as an administrator in a department at a very prestigious public university, I want to echo the point that others have made about the GRE mostly being used as a threshold as to whose application packet actually makes it to the faculty members. After you make the cutoff it tends not to matter as much as the more substantive pieces of the application. I'd encourage you to search for MA-only programs and apply for the upcoming season just in case you don't get accepted to a PhD program. Another poster suggested UNC-C, which would be an excellent choice, as would the MA program at East Carolina University. Also check UNC-Greensboro. (I'm pretty familiar with the UNC-System schools.) Most of the terminal programs have much later application deadlines, so you haven't missed out on the opportunity to apply. If you go ahead and apply to some of those programs you'll at least have some options if the PhD programs don't immediately pan out, and it sounds like a big part of the motivation for you is that you're not particularly happy with your current career. This would give you an escape route and would also set you up to enter one of the big programs that you've set your sights on...just a bit later than you'd expected. Keep your head up and your hopes high, and always remember there is more than one path to reach your destination.

I've been lurking for a while, so I decided it was time to bite the bullet and freak out with everyone else. V I've applied to University of Washington and University of Oregon and have yet to hear from either, but I'm trying to convince myself that hearing anything before March would be a treat. My info: MA in Sociology from a large southeastern public university, 1310 GRE (V higher than Q). Undergrad in Sociology and American Studies from a large midwestern public university. Interested in gender, intersectionality, violence against women, sex and sexuality, and social movements. I don't mind quant, but I'm more of a qualitative methods person and lean towards mixed methods. Good luck to us all!