Query Regarding South Asian History Graduate Programs

[Homo Sapien]

Hello Guys, Planning to apply for PhD program in South Asian History, but still confused which Universities have the best Programs and faculty for the field. Opinions and Suggestions are welcome.

[MettaSutta]

Let me know if you have questions about Columbia's program!  

[Ex Grad student]

There are a lot of programs from tier 1 to tier 2. Anthropology also has a lot of scope in South Asia

Edited September 20, 2020 by snehajhajnu

[Irvine student]

I would like to share here a warning for prospective PhD in South Asia students. I had joined PhD in University of California Irvine in Vinayak Chaturvedi’s supervision. I tried to inquire about his past records but no one was honest with me, which is why I am writing on this platform. He has not graduated a single student in his entire career of 20+ years. He is extremely abusive towards his grad students, and my experience was extremely negative. I and most of his other students had to leave the PhD program after years of torture and ill treatment. In general, the department is extremely toxic and they like to make students apologize to faculty again and again, something I had never experienced in India. The faculty stand together and gang up against powerless graduate student and single them out. Additionally, I would also like to inform grad students that UCI History Department does a year end review of 1st year PhD students, where they weed students out. There is blatant racism and sexism, as confided by a professor of the Department to me. I can vouch for that based on my own experience. I would never recommend UCI History Department to any grad student ever because of the general toxicity and racism rampant there. 

[Irvine student]

Another interesting thing that UCI History dept does is write evaluations of all the courses that you take. The professors write the evaluations and they go as low as writing on this particular day this student did not answer their cohort in debate. They write blatant lies about you in the evaluation. Like one faculty wrote my assignments were always smaller than the number of pages required, which was never the case. The faculty have no shame in writing lies about students in the evaluation and then they use it to throw you out of the Department at the end of the year. There are several other things that I can go on and on about. In general, no don’t go to UCI History Dept ever.

[Sigaba]

@Irvine student, how have you addressed your concerns with your department directly?

[Irvine student]

@Sigaba I did try to bring these concerns to the department, and even outside, however to no avail. It only made my situation more precarious. Now I am no longer in the Department. However, when I look back the time I spent at UCI History Dept, I wish the same for none. And worst of all, other graduate students also had similar experiences, which made me believe this Dept is a place that needs to be exposed.

I had an admission offer from another department and only if I knew the experiences of other senior graduate students in the Dept, I would have made a more informed choice and gone there. Which is why I am writing my experiences here, so any graduate student in South Asian History doesn’t make the ill- informed choice of going there. Making a Career in gradaute school is already too hard, and prospective graduate students should  have all the support and information from the experiences of their seniors in making the best choice available.