Spanish/Hispanic Studies Fall 2019 Applications

[Ciboney]

1 hour ago, QuieroCafe said:

Thanks for responding @Ciboney and @Larra88! I emailed the graduate college and he responded within an hour saying that usually programs have several rounds of admissions and that they will probably make a decision within a couple of weeks. I wished I'd emailed the head of the Spanish department now....to email again so soon or to wait... ?

My advice: email the Graduate Coordinator and/or the Graduate Vice Chair (or whatever they call it) directly today. Bureaucrats in the Graduate School normally do not know anything about these matters that are dealt with at the departmental level. That is just the way it is. ?

Edited March 5, 2019 by Ciboney

[QuieroCafe]

@Ciboney

I ended up doing that! Thanks for the advice. I was told I'm  viable candidate for admission but there's not enough TAships available at the moment so I'm on the waiting list. I'm so glad I know! I wish they'd just communicate that instead of leaving it at "awaiting decision" on the portal. Now to see if I actually get off it, which stinks when I also have another okay offer from another school. ?

-Charis

[Larra88]

Well, your situation would stink if you did not have any other option, but you do! So, you should not worry if they do not accept you because you already have a safe school to go : ) 

Pienso que, la mayoría de las veces, si a la altura de marzo las universidades no te han dado una respuesta, es porque estás en la lista de espera. Esa, al menos, ha sido mi experiencia con varias de las universidades a las que apliqué.  

Edited March 6, 2019 by Larra88

[Ciboney]

Quierocafe... I'm glad the advice helped a little bit. And you do have an offer, so it is not too bad. ?

[ForgottenOrange]

Hi! 

I applied for a MA at FAU, FIU, VTECH, ECU and CCSU. I got accepted in FAU and VTECH  (online) so I am waiting to hear back from FIU to make my decision. I live in FL so thats my top choice, but VTECH is making me doubt. 

Good luck to everyone! ?

[Ciboney]

Forgotten: if it helps in your decision, I would avoid any online degree because of very poor employment prospects. They are just not regarded seriously generally. I am just saying... ?

[ForgottenOrange]

Ciboney: Thank you, but that's not the case. There are plenty of well known and highly respected programs that offer an online option for working professionals and it doesnt harm their opportunity of employment. Vtech is one of them, Loyola University Chicago, American University, George Washington and so many others have great programs (not specifically in Spanish) for people working full time and going to school full time. 

[FHG]

I posted it on the results page, but just popping back in to say I've been accepted to Columbia's MA program! It's not really on my radar though due to lack of funding. I hope everyone else is hearing good news and enjoying their visits if they're visiting!

[Ciboney]

4 hours ago, ForgottenOrange said:

Ciboney: Thank you, but that's not the case. There are plenty of well known and highly respected programs that offer an online option for working professionals and it doesnt harm their opportunity of employment. Vtech is one of them, Loyola University Chicago, American University, George Washington and so many others have great programs (not specifically in Spanish) for people working full time and going to school full time. 

I meant strictly in languages. I disagree on the job prospects, based in what I know (that includes, but it is not based solely on it, conversations with several faculty members who have been members of hiring committees in higher education). Yet, in pre-higher ed, the circumstances might be different. About other academic areas, I have no idea about the respect of graduate on-line programs. I can tell you that when I was a member of a couple of hiring committees an online degree did hurt the candidates applying. ?

[Reality808]

I remember myself many years ago in this forum letting people know about my acceptances to top graduates programs and getting ready for graduate school. I am writing this not to discourage people to follow their dreams, but just to let them know what they are getting into before they dip into the waters of academia or doing a Ph.D. After years of hard work and writing your dissertation, you think you'll be rewarded with an academic career and job stability doing what you love. However, I am sad to inform you that nowadays the academic job market is brutal and a lot of people are forced to look for employment outside of academia despite merits, qualifications, etc. Not even a "famous advisor" will make miracles for us. As a person who is on the other side of the river, I urge you all to do a Ph.D. without any type of expectations. The profession is dramatically different from what most professors experienced during their time as students and I can say without hesitation that most graduates now are either grossly under-employed in eternal temporary positions or simply unable to find academic employment. Yes, there is a small number of graduates that do reach the coveted goal of tenure-track positions, but those are a really small minority.

To back up my assertion, I invite you to visit the wiki page of Spanish and Portuguese academic jobs for the last 5 years, and you can read the dire situation and feel the desperation of recent graduates trying to look for jobs. I have even read comments of Ph.D. graduates asking for information about teaching high school due to lack of opportunities. And I didn't need to read this from anywhere to know is true, I saw it in my own brilliant colleagues desperate to defend their thesis and find whatever position they could get. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Needless to say, international students (a large proportion of grad students in Spanish and Portuguese programs) are affected even harder since they rely on an official college job offer to remain in the US after graduation in a moment when those offers are scarcer every year. Even when I don't doubt that people on this page are brilliant minds who deserve success, consider that Ph.D. programs need you right now to teach undergrads, to keep graduate seminars open, to organize conferences, and be research assistants, but once you're in the job market and depleted your years of funding things change drastically. Then you'll be fighting for a tight spot with hundreds of applicants with excellent qualifications as you probably will also have. I am not writing this to be negative or instill fear. I do it because I'd have loved that someone would have told me this when I was first thinking about going to grad school. The academic job market is dire straits, and it is not going to change anytime soon. Go to grad school, enjoy your years to read, teach, and do research, but be mindful that the lofty professor life of your advisor or your department professors is in extinction, and it may not a possibility for you.  Be mindful that you can be a really successful grad student, and still not be able to find a job as a professor after graduation.

Even departments are now giving workshops and help graduate students transitioning to careers out of academia. This is the new fad: alt-ac jobs. This is good, but take in consideration that you took 5 or even more years of your life getting skills to get a better job, not to land in a job you probably could have gotten without a graduate degree. If you don't believe me read this article from the MLA https://profession.mla.org/the-sky-is-falling/ or when you go visit your graduate school of choice ask the professors about the possibility of having a successful career like theirs after graduation. If they are honest and decent people, they won't be able to reassure you. Or they are way too disconnected from reality in their ivory tower to know how most graduates struggle these days to find opportunities in a profession that is in crisis and decline. And another piece of advice, do your homework and contact senior graduate students to know about what kind of graduate program you're getting into. Sometimes you will get positive reassurance, but at other times you will realize that you may be better off in some other program (do research on this before it is too late). I know of many nightmare stories and toxic departments.  However, if you want to go to grad school because you are passionate about literature or because you love to read good books and study in amazing libraries, but have no intentions whatsoever of having a job in academia after graduation then disregard my long tirade. You've been warned. 

Edited March 16, 2019 by Reality808

[Ciboney]

Reality808:  Thank you for bringing this up. It was a balanced and realistic assessment. I had read a couple of articles about it; they said pretty much the same thing. Personally, I am doing this because it is the right moment in my life, but I have no illusion of getting a job that would resemble any of the graduate faculty with whom I will be working/studying. Yet, it is still slightly better than those people who do doctorates in English. 

Edited March 17, 2019 by Ciboney

[Alex B]

Hello, I was also admitted to Spanish MA in UC Boulder. I was rejected from Yale, and no answer from Vanderbilt and Umass. I have great interest in Medieval and Early modern literatures and UC promises a lot on that field: I'm really excited.

For the PhD I'd consider departments with strong Renaissance resources: what offers do you know?

Thanks!

 

[Ciboney]

1 hour ago, Alex B said:

Hello, I was also admitted to Spanish MA in UC Boulder. I was rejected from Yale, and no answer from Vanderbilt and Umass. I have great interest in Medieval and Early modern literatures and UC promises a lot on that field: I'm really excited.

For the PhD I'd consider departments with strong Renaissance resources: what offers do you know?

Thanks!

 

Hi Alex. If you end up deciding to accept Colorado@Boulder's offer, we will be classmates! Although my interest is modern Spanish-American lit, I am quite impressed with the faculty in Spanish in medieval/Renaissance area.

[Ciboney]

Since it is the time when most people planning graduate studies in linguistics or literature will start deciding where to apply, I would recommend or encourage applicants to check on my program and its outstanding faculty (compared to many other programs'): https://www.colorado.edu/spanish/graduate/ma

Good luck on finding a good match.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Ciboney

[senorbrightside]

I'm considering applying to UC Boulder for the Ph.D, but I've heard they are more focused on Latin America, and I'm interested in contemporary Iberian studies. I know they have two separate tracks, but I'm curious to know the opinion of an actual student. 

[Ciboney]

On 10/25/2019 at 9:20 AM, senorbrightside said:

I'm considering applying to UC Boulder for the Ph.D, but I've heard they are more focused on Latin America, and I'm interested in contemporary Iberian studies. I know they have two separate tracks, but I'm curious to know the opinion of an actual student. 

Actually the course offerings are are pretty balanced. But check the official website, including the courses they had for the fall and the ones for spring--and the faculty in your area. Also, communicating directly with the graduate faculty by email is a good idea. I know that right now most of those in the dissertation stage are in European literature. They do expect an MA to apply for the doctorate. That I am sure about. Good luck; it is extremely competitive. 

[ash42]

Hi guys! I’m finishing up my Master’s degree in Spanish now and I’m very interested in UC Boulder. I emailed one of the professors today about the application process but the response was pretty vague. I have a 3.7 GPA, I’ve presented/spoken at a conference and outside of Spanish, I’m a published writer. Besides an outstanding SOP & letters of recommendation, what do you think I should do to stand out? Any and all help would be much appreciated!