My application season 2019 starts here

[Formershocker1919]

Hi everyone, newish to the forums and a repeat for this whole process. I tried my hand at it last year, applied to 4 programs and got into one but was not offered adequate funding (I'm, a foreign student which is its own other thing). This year I think I have a better grasp of where I need to improve and with some family support I should be able to spread a wider net this time. Metrics-wise, I'm definitely standard for what I see around here, 165v,145q,4.5a in the GRE, have an MA from a tier 2 nationally recognized institution (Go Shocks!), 3.9 GPA, some regional and national conference presentations. 

My interest is mainly in Post-colonial literature, but most of my academic work (due to the faculty and courses available at my school) is rooted in late modernism (my ws is actually on Flann O'Brien). So, my interest is kind of split in that way which has made crafting my SOP a bit harder this time around. This has tied to my interest in my country's modernist tradition (one of these writers, Pablo Palacio, is surprisingly similar to his Irish contemporaries of the 10's-20's) which I am working on translating on my own. 

This kind of intro is to ask some feedback on some choices of programs I'm looking at, any feedback or comments on faculty whose work might intersect would be greatly appreciated. 

Pittsburgh, Uconn, Umass, Syracuse, Case Western, Vanderbilt, SMU, Brown, Duke, Duquesne, Lehigh, Columbia, Loyola at Chicago, Harvard, Penn, Brandeis, Minnesota, Ohio, Miami University at Ohio, Tennessee, CMU

Also, any extra suggestion to look at would be super appreciated,

 

Jose

 

 

 

 

 

[anxiousphd]

Hi Jose, 

At Duquesne, I think you might enjoy working with Emad Mirmotahari, Greg Barnhisel, and Linda Kinnahan. Emad is a Postcolonial scholar, and the latter two profs are modernists. 

It sounds like you’re a very competitive applicant. 

Funding is guaranteed for 4 years for all PhD students, and virtually guaranteed for a 5th year (the first 4 years are a teaching fellowship, while the 5th year could be a different sort of fellowship). Some students secure funding through the department or university for their 6th year, although it is rarely necessary for a student to spend more than 5 years on their PhD here.  

Please feel free to message me for more info about Duquesne! 

-Courtney