ciistai

Happy December everyone, and good luck with the final application push!!

Sorry for the double post - in need of some advice! I emailed two POIs a couple of weeks back. It's obviously a busy time of year. I've not heard back from either yet though and I'm starting to get a little worried about what the silence means. Am I worrying for no reason? The deadline for one of these programs is next week and I would have liked to have some sort of mutual interaction with a faculty member that might even yield some extra inspiration for my statement of purpose (which is basically finished anyway) but I don't know if I should actually take this as a bad sign... now I'm wondering whether I should apply at all! I've met the other person before and I know they're frightfully busy basically all the time, so I'm really not worried about that one - the app's not due til later anyway...

Welcome! We have some similar interests, judging from your username!

I have to agree - and you will have language requirements in your doctoral program anyway! A rephrase might be useful - maybe something along the lines of you hope to teach languages in the future as well? It shows a commitment to teaching and to the ancient langs without sounding like an exaggeration - and unfortunately telkanuru is right that most people on admissions committees will doubt that your Latin is still (or was) good enough to make this claim. You could maybe state you want to get back into Latin - and it might be a good idea to be refreshing your skills in the meantime and to let them know that you're doing this, to explain/ downplay the pause. I've not taken Latin since December 2012, nor Greek since April 2013 (I was doing an MPhil in Classical Arch that had no language reqs), and I'm ramping up my language practice on my own (will be reading sections of Livy, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Diodorus Siculus) because I know this gap looks terrible!! Rephrasing it at least frames it as a goal of your doctoral program without jumping ahead to when you've finished the PhD.

I'm kind of in the awkward situation of not having properly started on my statements for the applications because I've just finished a big funding application (SSHRC) that's due on Thursday - so I have a statement/ research proposal for that from which I will have to start Frankensteining together my statements for six different programs. I agree with Pius Aeneas though - you need to accept you will never find it perfect!! (We are our own worst critics!) I've found the link redleaves posted above to be quite helpful and insightful with how to go about writing these things, so you should certainly have a read through that if you haven't already.

I actually just found out on Thursday evening that I've been offered a new job - really good, pays well, and I definitely need it... but our peak period is early January, so suddenly I'm not going to AIA! </3 I likewise need to save my sick days for potential interviews and the possibility of a supervisory role for some fieldwork next June - my two weeks of vacation won't cover it. I've not looked at any Greek in aeons - so I really need a brush-up, more so than with my Latin! My friend and I will be working through some Josephus to start off but we'll hopefully move onto something else after that. I've set myself the task this weekend of at least drafting an email to my POI at Brown, having just finished reading the book that I believe had its origins in his PhD thesis. I have no idea what to say - I was going to ask if he will be at AIA but now that I won't be, it seems useless to ask!

Looks like we will have some apps in common then! I've heard fieldwork isn't the be all and end all, and I suppose my application will have other strong points (e.g. language prep), so I'm trying to stay optimistic! I'm going to be doing more work with Greek once the apps are in (can't have the distraction before then!). Anyone planning on heading to San Fran for AIA in January to do the Big Application Year Networking Weekend?

Hi Pius Aeneas! I was thinking about starting this thread but I'm glad someone else got around to it! I'll also be applying to doctoral programs focusing on Classical Archaeology, having just completed an MPhil. So far it looks like my definite apps will be Brown, UPenn, and Stanford - potentially also IPCAA at UMich. I'm still exploring my options, but so far Brown is my top choice. I worry a bit that I don't have enough field experience, though!

Hi Melian, Thank you for your response! I am pretty stressed about this, but I'm trying to be reasonable about things. I suppose I just feel like I am very inadequately prepared for an American PhD program! I am hoping to spend my year off back in my hometown of Toronto, and hopefully working full-time. I actually didn't think about trying to find a reading group, but now that I think of it, I'm sure some of my old friends from my alma mater would love something like that. I am not a giant fan of Greek but it would definitely be less of a drag if I could get someone else involved. Your department's policy on modern languages sounds excellent. I am definitely afraid of having to translate some irrelevant text! I was in a German for Classicists course here at Oxford last year, but it was mostly aimed at ancient historians and philologists; the vocabulary was entirely useless to me. I'm glad to hear some departments are a bit more understanding about our wish to actually learn what's useful to us! Thank you as well for the suggestion about dictionary + flash cards. I have the big Oxford German dictionary back home, so I think that will work nicely! A break is certainly in order once I'm done with this!! I hand in my thesis June 5th and have a viva June 25th; soon after that I will make sure to take a mini-vacation! Thank you so much once again; I was pretty nervous about all this so it's really good to get another perspective

Hi all! So, some background on me. I'm currently a Master's student in the UK, and classical archaeology Master's students here really have no language requirements or classes. I am taking a year off once I'm done this MPhil and will be applying to PhD programs later this year, and I want to improve my languages. I was a pretty good student as an undergraduate, and did the equivalent of 4.5 years of Latin, 3 of Greek. My Latin seems to be pretty good even still, but my Greek is, as always, incredibly weak. I'm wondering what might be the best approach to improving at the languages during my time off. Can anyone recommend anything specific? Should I tackle PhD lists where they are provided on program websites? Or should I just pick a random array of things to work through? Or a textbook?? I'm also hoping to improve my German - I took 2 years as an undergraduate so I have a pretty good grammar base but I have no idea what a PhD German exam would look like and I obviously don't need practice in conversational German (knowing how to order dinner isn't going to help me very much!). Does anyone have any suggestions for how to go about this too? Should I just pick a random archaeological text in German and work my way through it to get a grasp on vocab or should I go about this in a more systematic way? Finally - in addition to the German, I have pretty good Italian (being Italian-Canadian myself) and have zero concerns about passing an Italian exam, but I also have some French behind me (... being Canadian). The French is a bit rusty and I'm much better at reading French literature, newspapers, etc., than reading academic texts, although I get by really well regardless and I can't say it's a struggle, more that it's just slow. Is there any merit in spending time during my year off - which, as I've said, I will already be devoting to Latin, Greek, German, and applications - on French as well? Are they going to quiz me at interviews on just how good my French is if I mention it on a letter/ CV? Any advice would be appreciated; I'm getting very nervous about language reqs/ exams!

Hello, classical archaeologist here! You'll definitely need a bit of both Latin and Greek for the top programs, and having some modern languages under your belt would also be an advantage. Wouldn't worry as much about your German and much so about Latin and Greek - I agree with Petros that it's not so much about the credit totals but the competence you can demonstrate by having done some upper level courses. Personal statements are a great opportunity to explain why you might not have lower-level credits for Latin, but if you can do well with advanced courses then they might be satisfied. For most major programs, though, you will also need some Greek - probably 2 years at minimum. You should try to improve your German too but I think that's far easier to do outside of courses, whereas with the ancient languages it's a bit trickier. I should also note that language requirements for classical archaeologists in the UK are MUCH lower than in North America. I'm currently at Oxford doing my MPhil and none of us have had language reqs - I've taken classes here and there to improve German and Italian but I've had no language exams (unlike the ancient historians), and I don't think the DPhils have rigorous language reqs the way PhD students in N America do. I believe the rest of the UK is probably much the same. I'm not saying to apply to DPhil/PhD in the UK and you'll be a shoo-in, because language experience can be a huge asset - my supervisor (who was DGS when I was admitted) told me that my language experience is what made my application stand out - but it's not a solid requirement. Edit: I've basically repeated almost everything that Melian said But I suppose reinforcing the point is always good.

There's a wanker on every forum I guess.

Some input - a lot of people are warning their friends and colleagues off this site because they've found it a little stressful. I think I refreshed the results page and the forums (and my inbox!) every five minutes during my first application season a couple of years ago. It speaks volumes that I am still here checking the forum and the results daily even though I don't apply for PhD til later this year. Just a thought. I know everyone that whom personally knew applying for Fall 2013 admission who used this site really had a love-hate relationship with Grad Café and they may have passed that opinion on to friends/ colleagues. Also, I think we luck out in Classics that everyone on the board is usually nice, but I know that a friend who was applying for her DPhil in art history had horrible experiences in the art history page with a few really snobby, condescending people who essentially chased a bunch of others off the thread/ turned them off of this site altogether.

*barges in excitedly* I'm late to the party and actually this isn't my application season (I was on the boards more frequently in 2012-2013 when I was applying for a Master's, and I won't be applying for PhD til later this year) but HELLO fellow pre-Romanist! I just had to say hi, there are too few of us! I'm focused mostly on Lucania and Apulia, but I also have interests in central Italy (Latium, Umbria, Samnium). Good luck with the applications! Good luck to everyone else as well - some of the details associated with results posted have blown my mind. That UPenn acceptance with the amazing GRE scores... you deserve it!!!

I am PMing you - keep an eye out.

I will PM you about this

Definitely a cultural difference - when I arrived in the UK my supervisor was quite adamant that I not refer to her as Dr. [Last Name] - generally even the undergrads are on a first name basis with their instructors here! Still bothers me, as a North American!

Hi all - a lurker from last year's application season deciding to pipe up for a minute - for those waiting to hear from UT Austin, do keep an eye on your application status and on the results board... last year when I was applying, acceptances and rejections were being posted all over the board, but I heard not a peep from them... turns out they had put me on a wait list but didn't bother tell me! By the last day of March they still hadn't updated me. I didn't end up going anyway (obviously) as I got funding elsewhere, but for those of you who are unsure about them, I'd recommend emailing sooner rather than later if you're feeling anxious and want to check up on things. Although I'd agree that it's still very early! But, as a very anxious person myself, I thought it might be good to point this out to those who've brought it up.

Quiet thread! I've got a place at Oxford though! MPhil Classical Archaeology, St Cross College, fully funded via an Ertegun Graduate Scholarship.

Hi Iulia! I have heard they do this sometimes! Sadly I don't think I will be offered a place at IPCAA regardless - the three offers have been made and I don't believe any of the three (who all deserve it very much!) will turn it down. I will definitely reapply in the USA once I am ready to apply to doctoral programs again!

It's the Ertegun Graduate Scholarship. And thank you!

Well, I received news yesterday that I've been awarded a full scholarship (tuition, college fees, living expenses) for Oxford... so, it's not official yet because I haven't signed anything, but the decision is pretty much made - I'll be off to start my MPhil in Classical Archaeology there in the Fall.

Congrats on your decision, hanbran! I know a couple of people who went to recruitment weekend at Brown, although I believe they are both archaeologists; perhaps you'll meet one or both of them in the fall!

All of my acceptances are listed in my signature so there's little use in typing them, but right now I'm holding onto small hope that I might still get into IPCAA off the shortlist. Otherwise it's between Oxford and Alberta for a Master's - this really depends on the funding situation... as far as Oxford goes I've been shortlisted for a full scholarship but if that doesn't work out and I don't get into IPCAA, I'm off to Edmonton.

That's what I was told, about it being about personalities at this point. This worries me! Maybe I'm not a bad student but I could be a boring person! Hahaha