Cockneysparrow

Hi, I think there is a thread where people discuss their stats but I can`t find it right now. My stats: GPA: 4.1 on a 5.0 scale (from a lesser known European university, MA / MEd in English language and literature and German language and literature), 4.9 on a 5.0 scale (from a better known European university, Theoretical Linguistics Programme, no degree obtained) GRE was not required for the programmes I applied to IELTS scores: Speaking 9/9, Writing 7/9, Listening 8/9, Reading 8.5/9, Overall band score: 8/9 3 MA Theses: phonology, sociolinguistics, pedagogy-psychology 2 writing samples: two of my MA theses (on phonology and sociolinguistics, 60 pages and 80 pages long, respectively) A few conference talks, co-organisation of an international conference, no publications (just a book review published in a journal) A semester spent abroad, ERASMUS scholarship for doing research Work experience: primary school teaching practice, ESL teaching in a language school, ESP teaching for a company, private tutoring, TA-ing at university Voluntary service in Germany Applied to: MIT, UCLA, Edinburgh Accepted: MIT, Edinburgh Rejected: UCLA

I can only echo what others have said above. I don't think there are any easy PhD programmes in linguistics (or in any other field) - even less selective programmes are rather demanding. It's really weird that you are saying you are "supposed to" do a PhD as if you were forced to do so. I'm not judging you, just want to see the motives behind your desire to pursue a PhD in a field you are not particularly passionate about. It would probably make it easier for us to help you.

I just PMed you. My background is not entirely dissimilar to yours.

It depends on whether they are asking for a SOP or a RP. If a SOP is required (which is much more common in the case of US universities), you are expected to give information on your background, i.e. how you got into linguistics, what interests you the most, what you specialise or specialised in, what research or teaching you have done over the years. So, anything relevant can be included, but things which are fairly tangential if not completely irrelevant to your professional background / goals (such as hobbies, sports, club memberships etc.) should be left out. Therein lies the difference between a graduate and an undergraduate SOP. In the second part of your SOP, you can elaborate on your plans for graduate study and your research goals much more in depth. The target length should be about two pages. In the case of a proper RP (some graduate programmes - especially in the UK and continental Europe - do ask for this) your research topic and goals should be made much more explicit. It's hard to tell how in-depth it should be. It has be a lot more detailed if you are applying to a PhD programme than if you wish to do an MA. Of course, there is no magic formula for the RP but basically it should include the following things: a title (it can be a working title, may be changed later I reckon) some background to your proposed research (the focus of your research, similar work done in the field, your major influences) the focus of your planned research - the data and the phenomena that will be investigated questions, hypotheses, the relevance of the topic and the questions asked methodology - the framework and research methods you intend to use bibliography / references - previous work you cited in your RP You usually don't need to strictly adhere to the plan you described in your RP - it's just there for the adcom to see that you are (or at least will be) able to formulate interesting and meaningful questions and have some (but not necessarily much) background in your desired field. However, I don't think you'll be required to write such a detailed RP unless you are applying to a three-year research degree course type PhD programme. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I got quite mixed reactions after I had announced that I wanted to apply to a PhD programme abroad. I had to laugh at some of the questions / comments. I didn't list my parents' comments because they were very supportive. So were my supervisors. Before: 1. "Are you applying to US universities because you are not smart enough to do it your own country?" (from a friend) 2. "Do you honestly believe that you'll have a chance THERE? You at least should speak English. Once you visit the US and talk to real people, you'll realise that the English you speak is not "real" English." (from some know-it-all distant relatives) 3. "You'll get in anywhere because you're smart and you enjoy studying." (from grandparents) 4. "I respect you for having a keen interest in something, but you should start thinking about doing something useful and make a contribution to society." (from a friend) 5. Aaah...you're applying to some no-name universities because it's too difficult for you to keep up with the competition at your current uni. (from an acquaintance - for the record, the "no-name" universities are some top-ranked universities) After: 5. "What are you going to do with a PhD in linguistics? Are you going to teach English?" (from lots of people) 6. "These young people today...they keep studying until the age of 30 and let their parents support them." (from my mother's colleagues - They can't be bothered by the fact that I've been supporting myself for a long time.) 7. "You'd better stay at home with your parents and get married in your village and earn little money than go abroad and make more money." (from my grandma) 8. "Are you sure you wanna go there? You'll be looked down on by other people there." (from some acquaintances) 9. "How could you convince ***insert top-ranked US university*** to accept YOU? (I get asked this a lot)

@antecedant, I've just PM-ed you.

Congrats! That's a really great programme, especially for phonologists. Good luck with your funding - I hope you'll win (at least) one of the awards.

Congrats to your admission and decision. I'm going to MIT (linguistics PhD). It was an easy decision for me. I applied to three unis only (two in the US and one in the UK), got two admission offers and one rejection. My other admission offer didn't include financial support in itself - I'd have to wait for the scholarship results until the end of April, after the deadline for accepting or declining offers at MIT. I'm glad I didn't have to think too much about it and MIT was my top choice anyway. So, I feel lucky.

Thanks!

Hi, I've been lurking around here for a while but finally I decided to register. Congrats to everyone on the acceptances! @funology and @radiowires: It seems we are going to be classmates at MIT (or whatever people in the same cohort are called ). Did you go to Open House? Unfortunately, I couldn't go. What was it like (if you were there)? @funology: You're a phonologist I guess? Just based on your name... @radiowires: What is your specialisation?