NYU Draper MA

[socioanthro]

Hi all,

I just received an email (after being rejected from NYU's Ph.D. program in Anthropology) saying, "Based on an evaluation by the Dean’s Office of your recent application

to the Graduate School of Arts and Science, you have been selected as a possible candidate for admission to the John W. Draper Interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Humanities and Social Thought".

Did anyone else receive this email?

Does anyone know anything about the program from the inside?

How is the mentoring? The level of coursework?

Are there increased chances for getting into a Ph.D. program later on?

Any thoughts, wisdom, etc. very, very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[rogue]

I got this too, and it sort of (perhaps irrationally) pissed me off. Like, I'm not good enough for your Ph.D. program, but good enough to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a useless interdisciplinary master's? Eff that. What would you even do with that degree, other than try -- who knows how successfully? -- to use it as a springboard to a Ph.D.? (Sorry. I'm grouchy today and this email hit my inbox at exactly the wrong time.)

[Lise]

I also got this email! I was kinda surprised about it but I'm not going to send in an application. I've been rejected at all of my 6 universities at which I applied for a PhD in CompLit but I recently got accepted to a really nice (interdisciplinary) 1-y graduate program at Smith with funding. I just don't see the point of paying for a MA-degree which doesn't increase your PhD chances dramatically... Isn't this Draper program the NYU cashcow? Also, you would know really late if you're accepted or not, I wouldn't be able to bear so much insecurity. I think it's very strange that the deadline is July 1...

You may wanna check the topics here on the University of Chicago's MAPH because I think that it's almost the same as the NYU program?

[All About The Bones]

I got this also, mostly I am amused by it. I love the idea that you can put everything you need to tell them about your educational background and hopes and why you would be good for the program in a 350-500 word statement, and yet they say its crazy competitive and the statement is really important?! Hummm. Maybe if you write it in Haiku you get in? It really seems like they are sending it when you may have lost hope and be a bit desperate but it really doesnt seem great, as Lise says, seems like a way to make money.

Maybe its best to just wait and look into all the options for next year and not spend loads of money. Just my opinion, there is better out there it seems.

[verda]

Got the same email today. It quite surprises me how it seems to be formulated as an acceptance letter, but really is not if you read on... Am not going to apply for it as I already have a very nice place for a masters :-)

Edited April 28, 2010 by verda

[titaniasummer]

I was amused to receive this mail today. Especially since one of their promised outcomes is getting into a PhD program in universities like Minnesota with a multi-year fellowship offer. Interestingly, I AM ALREADY going to Minnesota this Fall for for a PhD with a multi-year fellowship.

While NYU is a great school, I've always believed that some really fantastic schools have these cashcow masters programs to attract lots of hopeful students who just want the name of a particular university on their records and/or feel thrilled to live in a city like New York. I'd have been happy to consider a PhD offer from NYU had I made the cut but the thought of paying for a masters is appalling to me. I earned my first masters from a modest urban university in India while I was working in journalism and the total amount of money I could afford to spend on my undergraduate and graduate education was Rs. 13000 ($260) thanks to my extremely lower-middle-class background. I am already studying in London for a second masters on an international scholarship and thats on the file that the Dean's office so carefully evaluated and sent this mail to me after reading. I wrote back to them very politely saying that if I thought an unfunded third masters would significantly improve the quality of my doctoral work, I'd have been honoured to be considered for their program.

I would strongly suggest you guys give this a miss. If you have $32,000 dollars you are really dying to spend, why don't you just buy yourself a refurbished Porsche and scope around for a PhD program next year instead

[GoodGuy]

I too got this email, last year, after getting rejected from a PhD program at NYU.

I thought it was funny. And a little rude.

Was very happy to send back an email letting them know the PhD programs I HAD gotten into, and thanking them kindly.

From all I've heard? Don't do it.

[lily_]

I received this e-mail as well.

From what I have heard of the Draper Program, is that it's a poorly defined interdisciplinary degree that preys on students who aspire to get into NYU's PhD program in any of the social sciences in order to fund PhD student's stipends. I know a girl who did this program and came out of it with over $200,000 in debt for a 2 year degree (that's including the tuition and cost of living in NYC). Very few graduates of the Draper Program go onto be accepted into the Anthropology department at least. University of Chicago has a similar program (MAPSS) but it's only a 1 year degree, which makes the cost of tuition slightly less outrageous.

I honestly feel like if you are stuck trying to get into a PhD program and feel like a master's is the way to go, find one specific to your field, NOT interdisciplinary. You are more likely to have classes waived when and if you get into a PhD program, and for anthropology you won't have to continue your education and have access to jobs that pay more if you decide not to go for the PhD, while in the job market a lot of those interdisciplinary degrees are useless as they are kind of ambiguously defined. If you look around for in-state schools, the amount of debt you'll get from a 2 year degree is a lot more manageable. I really don't understand how NYU can get away with charging so much for a 2 year degree, when the school I attended out of state for four years for my undergraduate degree cost me less.

If you are in NYC, check out the CUNY system. They have decent anthropologists there, and many people who complete a master's with them have gone onto top schools in anthropology (Yale, Michigan, Berkeley). It's affordable, with the potential for financial aid and work study assistance. You won't end up owing the government a house to get a master's.

[piggy]

Got the same e-mail, too. Since there is no applicatio fee, I just sent it. If I accepted with some kind of funding, I may consider, but you can always reject the offer, too. Better than nothing.