Did anyone doing Middle East History get into a Phd program?

[cooperstreet]

I got all rejections

[Nytusse]

I got all rejections

I'm pretty sure Harvard didn't take any, and I know that a lot of the top programs really tightened admissions the most for fields outside American and European.

[cooperstreet]

I'm pretty sure Harvard didn't take any, and I know that a lot of the top programs really tightened admissions the most for fields outside American and European.

Yeah, Stanford took 2 (tops). UCSB didn't take any. Sucks!

[TMP]

My classmate from UG only got into UCLA. Got rejected from Michigan, Harvard, and Princeton. Still waiting on Penn and NYU.... and i thought Middle East history was supposed to be a "hot" field?

[StrangeLight]

My classmate from UG only got into UCLA. Got rejected from Michigan, Harvard, and Princeton. Still waiting on Penn and NYU.... and i thought Middle East history was supposed to be a "hot" field?

for hiring. not enough professors to take on advisees at the grad level. don't worry, tickle, you'll feel the squeeze when you hit the job market.

sorry to hear that coop.

[cooperstreet]

My classmate from UG only got into UCLA. Got rejected from Michigan, Harvard, and Princeton. Still waiting on Penn and NYU.... and i thought Middle East history was supposed to be a "hot" field?

Tickle, Do you know what period they will study and what their language training is?

[Sovetskaya]

Tickle, Do you know what period they will study and what their language training is?

I was admitted to 3 schools (one a Masters, though).... Area Studies just DID NOT have any spots! But we WILL get jobs at the end of this.

I am fluent in 1 Middle East Language, and I have about 2.5 years of Arabic. I heard from one particularly big name at Columbia that they really want people who have lived/worked/studied in the ME (in addition to all the other stuff).

[cgking]

I just went to Columbia's admitted students program, and there weren't any Middle Eastern History students. I'm also in a field that was very underrepresented in History departments this year (Ancient history-- I'm the only incoming student this year, and there weren't any last year). Lonely now, but hopefully it'll pay off with a less stressful job hunt!

[cooperstreet]

I was admitted to 3 schools (one a Masters, though).... Area Studies just DID NOT have any spots! But we WILL get jobs at the end of this.

I am fluent in 1 Middle East Language, and I have about 2.5 years of Arabic. I heard from one particularly big name at Columbia that they really want people who have lived/worked/studied in the ME (in addition to all the other stuff).

Yeah I only have about 1.5 years of Arabic, which I suspect was my downfall--I'm published in a top journal, and had great numbers.

[historydork]

I got into Ohio. Technically for Middle East though my focus is Central Asia/India.

[Mehist10]

I think the cohorts for ME are all pretty small this year. I know of 2 admits at NYU. A prof at UT Austin told me they weren't taking anyone this year. Stanford did take 2, but usually they only admit 1 so this is actually a big year from them.

I feel really lucky to have two funded options to choose from. I applied to 9 programs, so that definitely helped my odds.

[nicacar]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering what specific field within ME History you are in. I am applying again next year. I am interested in education and nationalism in Syria. What about the rest of you?

[Mehist10]

I am most interested in Lebanon & the OPT, but I marketed myself as a "Greater Syria" person to keep options open. Still, I was told flat-out by a potential advisor that I should write about Egypt because it's the biggest/most important country in the Arab world. Not sure whether having a less common focus (i.e. the Gulf, Syria) makes us unique or makes us irrelevent.

[nicacar]

Mehist10, That's interesting. I thought most people were studying Syria (or Greater Syria). Also, sorry for my ignorance, but what is OPT? What time period are you interested? Where did you apply? I applied to UCLA, Arizona, Utah. I did not get into UCLA - which is where I really wanted to go. I will go to AZ for an MA and then reapply in two years.

[nicacar]

Nevermind, I figured out OPT - hahaha - maybe I didn't know because it's my least favorite topic in modern Middle East history ...

[nescafe]

I am in a Middle East PhD Program, but had to start as an MA candidate and apply from within later.

A big part of this problem is language training- not merely that admissions committees are looking for people strongly qualified in M.E. languages (I wasn't at the time, an issue I've been dealing with ever since actually), but more importantly- that many History Depts (mine included) are ill equipped to handle language training for their own students (e.g. you cannot enroll in language classes at your home university, they don't have advanced training, there isn't any funding for languages, or coursework is such that language training takes a backseat for most students....)

If there was one thing I would change about how I handled getting into a grad program, it would be to take a year off (after the BA) to study in the Middle East. I will give a shout-out to Damascus University for intensive Arabic classes on the cheap. Their requirements are minimal re: paperwork, and Syria is where its at. (it appears as though I am in good company here as a student of Greater Syrian History...) As it is, I am spending time after going A.B.D. to catch up on language training, which is fine, but not ideal.

It is a little troubling to hear that M.E. history folks aren't making it in. I can say, however much this depresses me, that my school is part of this trend (despite our Middle Eastern Historian pushing hard for new students).

Edited March 17, 2010 by nescafe

[nicacar]

Hopefully, this year will be different for all of us. Where is everyone applying to this year?

[wannabee]

I hope you are right about language training and also that admissions will loosen a little next year. I am now doing advanced study in Arabic at the CASA program in Cairo (at AUC) and even turned down some money for the master's since I felt the language was so important.

I am weighing whether to go the history department road, the middle eastern studies road, or possibly poli sci or IR. Nothing like being undecided! I am interested in the modern political experience of the Middle East and especially how social realities impact this experience--questions of national identity, the long term impact of colonialism, etc. I am trying to dig up faculty members and discover what they are doing research in.

On this basis, I am considering the following programs, but the list could change:

Columbia, Arizona, Princeton, doctorates in Middle Eastern/Near Eastern Studies

Chicago, doctorate in Poli Sci(with Wedeen)

Stanford, doctorate in History (with Beinin)

Georgetown - MA Arabic Studies

UT Austin - MA Middle Eastern Studies

Edited September 24, 2010 by cami215