Nerd_For_Life

If you apply to a University and are accepted, you can always decline the offer (for whatever reason - better offer somewhere else, different career/job path, personal, etc.). Offers are generally to start in the upcoming academic year and if you wanted to defer (start the following year) that is done on a case by case basis. If you are accepted and decline the offer, I see no reason why you couldn't apply again the following year. I doubt the previous year's application would be held against you. However, if you are accepted and you accept that offer and then decline it at a later date, that may be held against you if you apply the following year (again, depends on the school, the reason you give (if you give one) for declining after accepting, etc.).

Depending on how you're interpreting/understanding the word 'morality' it might be worth looking at the research on the anthropology of ethics and authors who have written on the anthropology of humanitarianism and/or human rights. You could check out the work by Ticktin, Fassin, Goodale, Sally Engle Merry, and Redfield, among others, and scope out their bibliographies and people they co-publish with, then find out where those anthropologists work. That might give you an idea of what programs might anthro programs would be able to provide you with good support and supervision during your phd.

^^^ YorkU is a Social Anthropology only program, so no archaeology needed

Depends on what kind of job you are looking for and what skills you have, both from your MA and from other work/life experience. More info on that front would help. PhD are a LOT of long, hard work and I would recommend only committing to one if you are sure that you want one and if it is necessary for you to achieve your goals (career-wise/life/etc.)

I went into my MA without a background in anthro (and I survived!). I'm now doing my PhD in anthro. I'd recommend contacting the GPD and finding out who is doing the theory course, then asking if you can get a copy of the syllabus in advance and/or last year's syllabus, then start doing some reading! YorkU's anthro program is known as being quite theoretically rigorous so I'd focus on theory before other materials. Also, if you can get a list of books, try reading critiques and reviews of each book as that can help prepare you for some of the common discussions that are going on in anthropology regarding a certain text/theory/etc. I'd also be prepared for a very heavy workload (one of the general differences between BA and MA).

I'd love to see a similar thread started here and hope this one picks up

I agree that it is not uncommon to develop feelings for those you admire, I certainly have in the past. One thing I have found that helped, something that came about quite unexpectedly, was when the professor I so admired was knocked off the pedestal I have placed them on. I realized that the person I was crushing on was not the actual professor but the idea I had of them and it took them demonstrating some of their less than desirable qualities/abilities (?) for me to realize that (in this case it was repeatedly (unintentionally) giving me rather bad advice in an academic situation). While I still have feelings of great admiration for this person, it helped take the edge and urgency out of the crush-factor and has allowed me to develop a better personal and professional relationship with them. That crush 'put aside,' so to speak, there is now a committee member of mine that smells oh-so-fine But after the previous experience I find managing and untangling my feelings substantially easier.

Depending on my workload I average 3 articles per day during a light week (reading 7 days a week; ~400-500 pages) and closer to 800-1000 pages a week on a heavier week (when I'm slogging through articles and books (~250 pgs per book). I am out of coursework working on my comprehensive exams so I have to read much more closely than I did during my coursework (when I was reading a higher volume of pages and retaining substantially less).

That sounds about on track with what I was pulling last year, though I did burn out a couple of times and when a deadline was fast approaching sleepless nights would like greet me. This year I things are a little more balanced for me. I'm normally on campus Mon-Fri 930am-8pm and that is when I get the bulk of my work done. I'm not in course work so this is solely focusing on TAing and my comps. While I do reading when I'm at home and deadlines still bring an increase in hours logged, I'm working to maintain a pretty good separation of school/work and home, which is doing wonders for my mental health. That said, even when I'm not sitting down and doing focused work, I think about my research at all hours o.O It's always on my mind and some of my best through 'breakthroughs' happen when I'm not sitting down at my desk (shower-train lightbulb moment anyone?). So in that sense it's a bit hard to calculate. Oh, I should also mention that at the pace I am and have been going I'm coming out at the top of my cohort and am 'on schedule' in terms of progressing through the program in 4-5 years.

Me. Mine results from a series of events, each compounding the one before. I was undiagnosed for 5 years, when things finally culminated in psychosomatic pain. I saw a counsellor for a brief period of time which got things to a manageable level for a couple years. Then I began grad school. During my MA my mental health took a nose-dive as a result of taking on way to much and not having the necessary skills or support system to manage everything. First year of my PhD at a new university I found out I now have amazing health coverage and, after things again escalating to the level of psychosomatic physical symptoms, I began looking around for an appropriate psychologist. I found one and we have done amazing work together. I went every week for about eight months and now she is on mat leave for a while. Honestly, during that time I have never had a more positive post-secondary experience. It was like night and day. Right now while she is on leave I'm finding myself in a much better position than I was in before I started seeing her. At the same time, while I am managing decently well on my own, I know I still have more work to do so I'm looking forward to starting my appointments back up in the Spring. In answer to your question, what helped me most was having someone to talk to who could relate to the grad school experience and hone in on both what I needed long term and what I needed that week. Also, she assigned me homework and told me to treat it like a medical prescription: to take time out for myself for at least one hour every day, to schedule it, and to stick to it. During that time I was to do my absolute best not to feel guilty for not working on school work and to do something that I enjoyed (be it reading fiction, watching TV, hanging out with my cats, etc.). I recognize that having amazing medical coverage is a HUGE privilege and that many grad students do not have that luxury (I certainly didn't for a long time), but if the university you are attending offers free or subsidized professional care (really crucial that the person is trained and experienced in helping with PTSD), or if you have health coverage, it can make an amazing difference.

I took on a part-time job to make ends meet and lived by a very, very strict budget. I was in a condensed one year MA program so it was really intense and it definitely would have been preferable if I hadn't worked, but I chose to grind through (mental health consequences be damned!). I think it's important to know your limits, what conditions you thrive under, and what conditions are going to get you into a place where you're unable to work well. I know that getting a part-time job during your studies is not unheard of where I am, but that's also in a very expensive city. That said, if you're not going to be able to complete your work because of it, maybe waiting is what's best for you? Apply for other forms of funding inside and outside your department (ask profs if they need an RA, etc.,) and look for external scholarships that you can still apply to whose deadlines have not already passed for the year.

Hurray, the first installment was finally deposited in my account (the day after I submitted borrowed monies to ensure I was't charged a late penalty). Now to wait for everything to be sorted out and a a cheque to arrive in the mail

Oh I'm jealous that you received yours already! I suspect that there is a delay at my university in terms of processing the payment, issuing me a cheque for the remainder, and reflecting all of that in my student account. Unfortunately, my tuition deadline is today so I have to borrow money to make sure it is paid on time and I don't incur late fees ><

Mine's being split into three payments as well. I've been updated and told the first one should be deposited into my account early Sept and then I should get a cheque mid to late Sept.

Has anyone received their payment yet or been notified of a timeline for when they might receive it? I know mine is going first into my student account, then my tuition is deducted and I'll get a cheque for the remainder o.O