reapplying to a Ph.D. program

[Carpentier]

Hi all! 

Last season I tried to enter some U.S. Ph.D. program in History, Anthropology and Art History, and I didn't make it. I will try again this year, but I don't know if it's convenient to reapply to the same programs, or should I forget about them? So long I have written to a couple of POI and they haven't answered, so maybe I am not an option for them. 

Thanks for the help

[TMP]

I've reapplied to PhD programs.  As long as you've improved aspects of your application and demonstrate why they are really great fits for you, I don't see why you can't.

[Warelin]

Contacting POIs is something that is more important in the sciences than in the humanities due to the way funding is handled. Some programs in the humanities also have policies on whether or not they're allowed to reply to your inquiry in order to keep things neutral. Part of this could be the reason that you're not getting a response. Also, professors are incredibly busy people and it's midterm season so a lot of them have their focus on that.

Regarding reapplying, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't re-apply. Each committee is going to have different things they consider important and will weigh things differently. Their interests in the department could also change. They could be looking for something that a previous class lacks and each cohort's pool with be different from the previous year.

I see that you applied to a wide range of programs last year. What specifically are you interested in studying? History, Art History and Anthropology have very different approaches.

[Carpentier]

2 hours ago, Warelin said:

Contacting POIs is something that is more important in the sciences than in the humanities due to the way funding is handled. Some programs in the humanities also have policies on whether or not they're allowed to reply to your inquiry in order to keep things neutral. Part of this could be the reason that you're not getting a response. Also, professors are incredibly busy people and it's midterm season so a lot of them have their focus on that.

Regarding reapplying, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't re-apply. Each committee is going to have different things they consider important and will weigh things differently. Their interests in the department could also change. They could be looking for something that a previous class lacks and each cohort's pool with be different from the previous year.

I see that you applied to a wide range of programs last year. What specifically are you interested in studying? History, Art History and Anthropology have very different approaches.

Thank you for your advice. It encourages me to continue my intended plan. 

I am interested in the formation of anthropological collections and their transition to the art museum during the last years of the XIX century and the XX century. I've got a master in Cultural Anthropology and a Ba. in History and that's why I'm looking in these programs and their flexibility to study this topic.

[psstein]

On 10/16/2018 at 8:38 PM, TMP said:

I've reapplied to PhD programs.  As long as you've improved aspects of your application and demonstrate why they are really great fits for you, I don't see why you can't.

This is exactly what I'm doing this year, so I hope it works out!

[TMP]

On 10/17/2018 at 1:19 AM, Carpentier said:

Thank you for your advice. It encourages me to continue my intended plan. 

I am interested in the formation of anthropological collections and their transition to the art museum during the last years of the XIX century and the XX century. I've got a master in Cultural Anthropology and a Ba. in History and that's why I'm looking in these programs and their flexibility to study this topic.

Hmmm have you reached out to Alice Conklin at Ohio State?  She did a book on the Museum of Man (in Paris) during the Third Republic which she focuses on issues of nationalism, racism, and colonialism.  She's a historian interested in anthropological methods and she might have ideas for which directions you could go with the research questions you have.