frenchmedievalist

Romanista - I wasn't aware that the Fulbright offered scholarships to US students unless they wanted to teach English for a year or do research in a non-English speaking country. I'll definitely check this out! Thanks!

Hello, everyone! I'm aware that I'm finding this post long after it has been answered, but hopefully one of you can help me. I'm in the process of looking at grad schools in the UK because they are much cheaper than the US. I'd like to get a MA in Medieval Studies, but there aren't many scholarships for people like me, unless I take the research route. I can't decide which route to take, taught or research. I do want to get a PhD eventually, but not directly after a masters. So I have two questions: 1) Am I gambling too much by taking a taught route (which I can afford without loans) without getting a scholarship in hopes of pursuing a PhD in the long run? There just aren't any. At least none that I found that I am eligible for. 2) If I do take the research route, will I actually interact with other students in the department? My favorite part about undergrad was the fact that we participated in discussions in every single class. I loved that. I don't mind lectures at all, in fact I love learning new things. I also love doing my own research. I would just like to be able to work with other students and sort of help each other in our research. So, are there forums or discussions for us to participate? If any of you can help, that'd be great!

Thanks Marlowe and Zeugma for your help! This may sound weird, but I'm attempting to avoid the Ivies just because I know the competition will be fierce. It's not that I don't have the best grades, but I just have this feeling that it'll be out of my league in various ways. Also, I know that my GRE score won't be anything more than decent (I haven't taken it yet, but I'm terrible at standardized tests). I don't think I've looked at U of W-M and Indiana, but Illinois-Urbana Champaign and Saint-Louis are on my list. CSA and Fordham look awesome, but I don't know how I'd do in the NYC atmosphere (I'm from a medium-sized town in Louisiana). Basically, if I get into Toronto, I'm going there. And for the future, I'll probably focus on medieval French lit and history, but I could also try to teach French, history, or anthropology at the high school level if I can't find anything at the college level - my dream job. I'm well aware that the options are slim, but I'm just hoping that somehow the economy will bounce back a little bit by the time I finish my master's.

Hi everyone! I'm also interested in a MA medieval studies, but the schools on my list so far are Toronto, Fordham, CUA, and Saint Louis. Does anyone know about their acceptance rates? I looked into other schools such as Columbia and Notre Dame, but the competition and tuition scared me away. I am most interest in studying French lit - that's why I looked at Toronto as my first choice. If anyone knows a lot about these programs and could give me some advice, that'd be greatly appreciated! Good luck with the application pools, everyone!

Hi! Hopefully some of you are still checking this. I will be applying for grad school for the Fall of 2013 for a MA in medieval studies. I'm very interested in applying to UofT, but after reading this, I'm questioning my decision. I've tried multiple searches on TGC on funding at schools for MAs in medieval studies but have found nothing. On the UofT website, it mentions TA's and other scholarships, but I don't know how that works - do I apply for those scholarships (etc.) when filling out my application? I'll be happy to get in anywhere since I am not within the top 10% of my class and only have French under my belt, but I can't afford to go to grad school without any funding. Taking out 30 grand for loans would absolutely kill me. Does anyone have advice? Does anyone recommend other schools in or out of the US? Please and thank you!

Hey! I'm not applying until the fall of 2012, but I'm glad that there are others with similar interests! I'm very interested in medieval French literature (Chrétien de Troyes and Arthuriana, specifically), but I will probably focus on the historical side of the Middle Ages once I start grad school. I have a long list of schools so far, but I haven't had to chance to do serious research and pick certain schools yet. If anyone knows of any programs in France (I'm searching schools in Europe as well as the US), that'd be very helpful! So far, I think my only choice if I want to go to France after college will be to apply for a Fulbright (where chances will be *very* slim). Regardless, doing anything involving medieval studies will be amazing!

Thanks for your help! I plan on taking the GRE this summer, hopefully a little earlier if possible. I already know French, but I'm going to attempt and either take a Latin course on campus or try to teach myself Latin. I've also been told to kind of "follow" the authors of articles and books to see if they still teach at a university as well. Some of the professors that I've found still teach at universities, but the universities are kind of out of my league and price range. Now I'm just researching schools first and then looking at the professors and their cv's if they're available. At this point, the most difficult part is finding a program that will focus in French medieval studies. I definitely don't mind studying in a program that concentrates on medieval Europe, but I'd prefer to put my French minor to good use. I still have time to do research, but I need to make sure that I have a list of schools by this upcoming fall, for sure. Thanks again for your help!

Hello! I'm a junior this year at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, but I figured that I should get a head-start on the research process for graduate schools. I wasn't sure how to start a new forum or post (I'm not very tech-savvy haha), but I saw how all of you were giving good advice about grad schools. Since I'm new to the game, I was hoping to get some advice on how to do more than just preliminary research on google. I'm interested in French medieval studies (literature, history, and especially the culture). I'd like to find a 1- or 2-yr program in France, but I haven't had any luck. So far, my list of possible schools consists of Northwestern Univ, Univ of VA, and the Catholic Univ of America. As of now, my overall GPA is 3.5, and I have not presented any papers at conferences as my other friends have who are graduating this year. However, I am writing a thesis on medieval French lit for our honors program and will present in the spring of next year. So, I have two questions: 1. How can I find programs that fit what I'm looking for (besides using google)? 2. Do you think my chances of getting accepted are fair? I've heard from other Millsapsians that there are many others out there like me who are even more competitive to get into programs, so it worries me that my GPA and experience with conferences aren't good enough. Please tell me what you think and give some advice! I'd definitely appreciate it