French PhD 2021

[DeNovo]

Salut! I know it's pretty early, but I thought I would get the thread started for the next application cycle.

I haven't narrowed down my list of schools, but I study eighteenth-century literature, culture, and political thought with emphasis on trade and commerce.  

Excited to see who else is applying and what you want to research!  ?

[frenchphd]

Just be warned that this will be an absolutely terrible year for admission to PhD programs in French. Columbia has already announced it is not accepting applications for Fall 2021. Yale and Princeton will only accept a handful. Good luck. It would be best to wait a year; most students that start PhD programs in French during Fall 2021 will be "underplaced."

[DeNovo]

@frenchphd Yeah... I'm expecting rough seas ahead, but still here to see what happens (for now). I believe UChicago is also not accepting applicants for Fall 2021. I'm applying to a few UK programs as well, though of course funding is always a snag. 

To all - those applying for masters or both masters and PhD programs should also feel free to post! I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to change the name of the thread (so far haven't figured it out), so if anyone knows, please tell me  

[lilting]

On 9/7/2020 at 1:07 PM, frenchphd said:

Yale and Princeton will only accept a handful.

Is it officially confirmed that the cohort will be smaller?

[frenchphd]

Yes. Feel free to email the DGS at either school if you want to hear it from them.

[DeNovo]

For those already attending who might be lurking on forum, is it common in the US to contact a potential dissertation supervisor before applying? I'm more familiar with the UK system where you dive straight into the dissertation, so having a supervisor on board is essentially a prerequisite. 

[frenchphd2021]

Applications this year are going to be horrendous.  I'm considering waiting until next year, and just applying to one year masters programs in the UK.    

[FrenchDino]

I would recommend waiting a year or two, if you can. If you can't, go for it and give it your best shot but a lot of the good programs are accepting a handful or just one person so just be aware. I know how stressful the application process it and it only gets tougher with the interview - please be kind to yourself.

Besides that, also think about whether you would be happy to do online studying should COVID-19 get worse. That's something important to consider. Some of my friends have deferred and chosen to work instead because they would rather boost up their savings and not study "online". 

For the US, you have to undertake an MA, then PhD on the 5 year track. You start with courses. You don't get to the dissertation right away. Therefore, it's good to have a supervisor in mind but don't be surprised if you change over the year. I'm from Australia and we go straight to the dissertation as well so I understand! 

[frenchphd]

Just a reminder as you finish your applications: you should not think about getting a PhD in French as a means to an end, i.e. becoming a full-time professor in a university. That is an alternative path; the vast majority of French PhDs today do not find tenure-track jobs. However, if your goal is to read nice books, travel to France and elsewhere, read and write and just live while you can, then go for it—especially if you are in your mid-twenties. It can be fun. But absolutely do not expect to be a professor; otherwise, you might be in for a shock, whether you go to a top school or not.

Edited December 19, 2020 by frenchphd

[DeNovo]

Anyone else out there braving the admissions cycle this year? 

[kso1634]

On 12/20/2020 at 11:14 AM, DeNovo said:

Anyone else out there braving the admissions cycle this year? 

I'm applying to the French Linguistics program at Indiana-Bloomington but that's it for my French programs. Everything else is Second Language Acquisition stuff that will let me focus it on French.

[Castor]

On 12/20/2020 at 6:14 PM, DeNovo said:

Anyone else out there braving the admissions cycle this year? 

I'm applying to a few French lit programs. I understand that Yale and Princeton may be accepting smaller cohorts, but what about other schools like Duke or Berkeley? After reading this thread, I'm wondering if it was a bad idea to apply at all...

[hjz]

On 12/20/2020 at 6:14 PM, DeNovo said:

Anyone else out there braving the admissions cycle this year? 

Hi there, my interests lie at the intersection of 19th-century French lit, art and cultural history. I'm applying to some French programs as well as a few art history ones.

6 hours ago, Castor said:

I'm applying to a few French lit programs. I understand that Yale and Princeton may be accepting smaller cohorts, but what about other schools like Duke or Berkeley? After reading this thread, I'm wondering if it was a bad idea to apply at all...

No idea about the others, but the French cohort at Yale is almost always small. For 2020 Fall, there were only three (and all internationals, if I'm not mistaken). So I don't really know what to expect for "a smaller cohort"... maybe one or two?

[2021]

Hi,

Yes, I applied to Duke and UVA.

[gouttedesoleil]

Hi everyone,

Glad to have additional context for this admission cycle. Fingers crossed for myself and all of you!

I applied to Duke, Princeton, UCLA, and Yale for French Studies. I also applied to two African-American Studies programs - my work focuses on race in the US and France and the connections between the two countries - at Cal Berkeley and Northwestern.

[Castor]

Did anyone else apply to Cornell or NYU?

[sadboi]

Hiya not a French specialist but just dropping updates on Harvard RLL. Just received an interview invite.. hopefully those of you who applied for French will hear back soon. 

[hjz]

21 hours ago, Castor said:

Did anyone else apply to Cornell or NYU?

I applied to NYU too. No news yet.

[Castor]

On 1/18/2021 at 2:49 PM, 2021 said:

Hi,

Yes, I applied to Duke and UVA.

I was invited to the open-house at UVA--maybe I will see you there! It seems like a great program, but I wish there were more recent stats about their placement record on the dept.'s site. Have you heard anything from Duke? I'm worried that they have already contacted their top candidates ?

[2021]

Yes, I was invited too! I agree, Duke has more recent stats about their placement record, but according to my professors UVA is pretty good, especially if your specialization is francophone literature. I haven't heard from Duke either! I look forward to meeting you in February. 

[2021]

15 hours ago, Castor said:

I was invited to the open-house at UVA--maybe I will see you there! It seems like a great program, but I wish there were more recent stats about their placement record on the dept.'s site. Have you heard anything from Duke? I'm worried that they have already contacted their top candidates ?

Salut Castor! I have heard from Duke and their open-house is exactly on the same days as the ones for UVA.

Edited January 27, 2021 by 2021

[Castor]

7 hours ago, 2021 said:

Salut Castor! I have heard from Duke and their open-house is exactly on the same days as the ones for UVA.

? Are you going to attend both? Who are you hoping to work with at Duke/UVA? 

[gouttedesoleil]

I heard from Duke as well! Maybe I'll have the chance to meet some of you during Duke's open house!

[2021]

7 hours ago, Castor said:

? Are you going to attend both? Who are you hoping to work with at Duke/UVA? 

I am not sure which one to attend. At Duke I was hoping to work with Laurent Dubois and at UVA with Dr. Hall. How about you?

[2021]

5 hours ago, gouttedesoleil said:

I heard from Duke as well! Maybe I'll have the chance to meet some of you during Duke's open house!

Congratulations! Is Duke your first choice?

Edited January 27, 2021 by 2021