NELC PhD Applications 2020

[Almaqah Thwn]

Alright, let's get this bad boy started. There's been a growing trend, year by year, of increasingly less posts for the NELC departments, which is kind of crappy because this is one of the few places early on where you can actually chat with people in your field that have your same interest, even if you feel like you're competing with each other sometimes. That being said, I'm in a department already and know how crappy the application process can be, so I'd just like to throw some bits of information and encouragement out there:

1. Your statement of purpose is important, but you're not chained to it. I remember spending so much time, cramming every bit of information I could into the statement, and then the professors just remembered nothing about it when I got here. Get someone qualified to look over it, but don't fret too much.

2. If you're in Bible, don't overlook Baylor or UT Austin. Baylor is considered a second-tier school by many, but the department knows you'll be fighting an uphill battle to get a job and their Bible department is exceptional in its preparation of students for jobs afterwards. That being said, they have an about 50% placement upon graduation, which is pretty good (and actually rivals some top tier institutions). As for UT Austin, it's at a crossroads: Hackett and Huehnergard, the former Harvard professors have retired, so they're going to get less students applying. However, they still have swag in the field, because everyone still considers them in light of Hackett and Huehnergard, even if they're retired. That being said, I've heard their stipend can be a little low, but chances are, they might not fill all their slots and you might be able to try negotiating for a better stipend.

3. Don't disqualify yourself before applying. I've met some decent students that could have gotten into higher-tier institutions, but simply didn't apply. Just apply to one at least. Sometimes, you'll be surprised where you get in, or at least wait/short-listed.

4. Also, I know how awful it is, but don't be afraid to take a year to enhance your application or do your own personal studies. Also, don't be afraid to do a masters, if you can find a funded one. Albeit, you may need to do it in a related field, like Jewish Studies or Archaeology. A year can make a ton of difference in your preparedness for a PhD.

5. Yes, the German language requirement is scary, but in reality, most students have to take some German when they arrive at their PhD program anyhow. Depending on the program, too, language exams can get backlogged until before comprehensive exams. So even though it says "Some knowledge of French and German," don't beat yourself up if your German isn't as strong as you wished, very few applicant's German is. Also, finish your dang German exam by the end of the second year of coursework.

6. French is easy. But also, be very conscious about your research field as it may push you to learn other languages you were not initially expecting. If you get too involved in archaeology, you might need to take some Arabic and/or Russian eventually, maybe after dissertation work. Unless your focus is Arabic languages. Then you'll probably take Arabic. Or, if your focus is Russian languages, but then why are you on this post?

7. Never move into an apartment before seeing the place. Bedbugs, crime, and crazy landlords may abound!

8. Yes, it does get easier to email professors.

9. Don't fret if a type or two makes it into your application material, the professors are going to give them a surface examination anyway. You don't want to have dozens, but they know you're human.

10. After you get into a program, you will never come back to this forum, never. Also, I am a darn liar that has too much time on a Sunday afternoon.

So, just a few pieces of unsolicited advice. Hope the application process is going well, there's about a month left!

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Almaqah Thwn

[NyarkoSan]

Applying for the first time straight from undergrad... Honestly beyond stressed and I really don't think I can offer anything substantive to other applicants beyond the ability to commiserate.

First apps are due December first for me, I'd like to thank OP for their advice and support. I really feel massively outmoded by everyone with a MA, so what I'm hoping for at best is that I get offered a place in an MA with some level of funding. 

I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it to decision season haha, I'm just freaking out that it feels like my future is on the line here...

[NyarkoSan]

Does anyone have advice for the NELC Program at UChicago? It's my top choice mostly because of Fred Donner, but what's been concerning me is that Donner's name hold a lot of weight in the field and I feel like I'd be low on the list of people applying specifically to work with him. My writing sample is specifically geared to fall in line with his approach to historiography, but honestly at this point it all kinda feels like patronizing... 

[DhuRaydan]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:36 PM, NyarkoSan said:

Does anyone have advice for the NELC Program at UChicago? It's my top choice mostly because of Fred Donner, but what's been concerning me is that Donner's name hold a lot of weight in the field and I feel like I'd be low on the list of people applying specifically to work with him. My writing sample is specifically geared to fall in line with his approach to historiography, but honestly at this point it all kinda feels like patronizing... 

Donner is retiring after this year or the next. 

[DhuRaydan]

I applied to UChicago NELC and Divinity, OSU NELC, Brandeis NEJS, UMD Hist., CUA Semitics, Yale Religion (EMWAR), Princeton NES, NYU ISAW, and Oxford MST Islamic Studies and History. My interests are Qur'anic Studies and the emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity. 

Heard back first from OSU and got accepted! Still waiting on information about funding. 

[NyarkoSan]

49 minutes ago, DhuRaydan said:

Donner is retiring after this year or the next. 

Well, sure feels like I just burnt a hundred bucks lol. 

[NyarkoSan]

43 minutes ago, DhuRaydan said:

I applied to UChicago NELC and Divinity, OSU NELC, Brandeis NEJS, UMD Hist., CUA Semitics, Yale Religion (EMWAR), Princeton NES, NYU ISAW, and Oxford MST Islamic Studies and History. My interests are Qur'anic Studies and the emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity. 

Heard back first from OSU and got accepted! Still waiting on information about funding. 

Congratulations on the admit! 

[DhuRaydan]

8 hours ago, NyarkoSan said:

Well, sure feels like I just burnt a hundred bucks lol. 

All is not lost. It depends on whether you know what you want to work on for the dissertation. I applied to UChicago to work with Donner also. When I learned before applying that he would be retiring soon from multiple sources, I still applied because they're one of the few institutions in the country where I could take all of the courses I needed to equip me to work on the project I wanted to work on. Based on that I reframed my SOP towards working with other professors inside and outside the department who could at least advise on parts of a dissertation I would want to work on. There's a trend now among universities moving away from a single advisor who is your be all end all. An alternative would be to assemble a group of complimentary advisers who can get you to where you want to go. 

Edited January 25, 2020 by DhuRaydan

[DhuRaydan]

8 hours ago, NyarkoSan said:

Congratulations on the admit! 

Thanks I'm very excited! It's great that the first response was a positive one and its one of my top picks too! 

 

[NyarkoSan]

3 hours ago, DhuRaydan said:

All is not lost. It depends on whether you know what you want to work on for the dissertation. I applied to UChicago to work with Donner also. When I learned before applying that he would be retiring soon from multiple sources, I still applied because they're one of the few institutions in the country where I could take all of the courses I needed to equip me to work on the project I wanted to work on. Based on that I reframed my SOP towards working with other professors inside and outside the department who could at least advise on parts of a dissertation I would want to work on. There's a trend now among universities moving away from a single advisor who is your be all end all. An alternative would be to assemble a group of complimentary advisers who can get you to where you want to go. 

Ah, that's good to hear. The unfortunate news is that I ended up assembling my SoP and writing sample around Donner's tradtion-critical approach so we shall see what happens. Maybe I'll get deferred to the MA or something...

[sirens + warnings]

Hello, fellow NELC Applicants--

How is February treating you? 

[NyarkoSan]

1 hour ago, sirens + warnings said:

Hello, fellow NELC Applicants--

How is February treating you? 

Nothing back from anywhere I applied yet- I saw that someone was invited to campus at UMich and was wondering if anyone was claiming that/what the context of it was.

Edited February 2, 2020 by NyarkoSan

[sirens + warnings]

@NyarkoSan I'm the UMich invite - they're flying out a few candidates for campus interviews with the committee. But I haven't heard a peep from any of the other NELC programs I applied to and the silence is killing me. I hate not knowing where I'm going to be in a few months. 

[NyarkoSan]

On 2/2/2020 at 5:26 PM, sirens + warnings said:

@NyarkoSan I'm the UMich invite - they're flying out a few candidates for campus interviews with the committee. But I haven't heard a peep from any of the other NELC programs I applied to and the silence is killing me. I hate not knowing where I'm going to be in a few months. 

Congratulations on the interview! I guess that maybe disqualifies me from the UMich program then. I feel ya on the silence, I have only heard back from one Religion program so far.

[sirens + warnings]

17 hours ago, NyarkoSan said:

Congratulations on the interview! I guess that maybe disqualifies me from the UMich program then. I feel ya on the silence, I have only heard back from one Religion program so far.

Thank you very much

 It seems like the NELC/Religion programs are taking their time... it's as though the more niche the Humanities program, the later their response time. Hold out hope--there's no telling what will happen in the coming weeks.

[NyarkoSan]

Just got rejected from Cornell... 

Ugh really starting to think that I don't stand a chance with my garbage GPA and no MA. 

[sirens + warnings]

6 hours ago, NyarkoSan said:

Just got rejected from Cornell... 

Ugh really starting to think that I don't stand a chance with my garbage GPA and no MA. 

I'm sorry to hear it. 

If it helps, I just got rejected from both Chicago's NELC and Comparative Literature departments. At the same time. 

[NyarkoSan]

22 minutes ago, sirens + warnings said:

I'm sorry to hear it. 

If it helps, I just got rejected from both Chicago's NELC and Comparative Literature departments. At the same time. 

Oof, I'm sorry to hear that too. Did they offer you a shot at the MA for either? I got a rejection from there too just a few minutes ago, but they said they're considering me for an MA.

[sirens + warnings]

26 minutes ago, NyarkoSan said:

Oof, I'm sorry to hear that too. Did they offer you a shot at the MA for either? I got a rejection from there too just a few minutes ago, but they said they're considering me for an MA.

Yes, they're considering me for the MA in MES, but I will decline. Are you considering it?

[NyarkoSan]

3 hours ago, sirens + warnings said:

Yes, they're considering me for the MA in MES, but I will decline. Are you considering it?

It will definitely be a last resort, but if I get rejected from everywhere else and they give me some level of funding I'll consider it.

[turkishcoffee99]

14 hours ago, NyarkoSan said:

Oof, I'm sorry to hear that too. Did they offer you a shot at the MA for either? I got a rejection from there too just a few minutes ago, but they said they're considering me for an MA.

I'm in the same boat.... what's the rate of admission and what are the chances of funding?

[NyarkoSan]

3 hours ago, turkishcoffee99 said:

I'm in the same boat.... what's the rate of admission and what are the chances of funding?

No clue on both, my apologies.

[9baller]

I got accepted to CUA's Semitics PhD, but I won't know about funding until later this month. This was the only program I applied to, so getting in was a huge relief.

[sirens + warnings]

7 hours ago, 9baller said:

I got accepted to CUA's Semitics PhD, but I won't know about funding until later this month. This was the only program I applied to, so getting in was a huge relief.

Congratulations! ?

[NyarkoSan]

Anyone hear from NYU yet?