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2022 Application Thread


dr. t

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1 hour ago, TheGradCocaCola said:

When you say that "the key is to distill your skillset and then craft an argument that it applies", that means it is necessary to show to a potential employer that your specific habilities, experience and training make you specially well-suited for the job?

It means you need to think about what the PhD actually taught you to do, and how that experience can apply beyond the narrow scope in which you've deployed it.

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3 minutes ago, 2545 said:

Really embarrassing but I read the email wrong, so I thought I got into Michigan but it was for another department. Haven't heard from UMich history yet!

Anxieties are running high and it could have happened to any of us! Congratulations, though! Which program did you get through? 

Also congratulations to the Wisconsin admits! 

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Well, congrats on wherever you were admitted! and hopefully many of us hear good news from Michigan!

23 minutes ago, 2545 said:

Really embarrassing but I read the email wrong, so I thought I got into Michigan but it was for another department. Haven't heard from UMich history yet!

 

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On 2/4/2022 at 10:05 AM, Trail_Blazer said:

I am also curious about the prospect of getting interdisciplinary degrees, but in my case, history of science & medicine. There are quite a few institutions like MIT HASTS, Harvard HoS, Yale HSHM, U of T IHPST, and so on; I have applied to some of them this cycle. How do you think of getting a PhD in such programs instead of, say, "History proper"? 

All of those programs (or virtually all of them) require you to have an external field in broader history. Virtually everybody with a PhD from any of those programs teaches (e.g.) early modern Europe, with history of science on the side. There are very, very few dedicated history of science jobs.

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5 minutes ago, flowersandcoffee said:

Just got waitlisted at Harvard. Second year in a row. Not sure what to make of this, as I never got off the waitlist last year. 

Being on the waitlist is better than being rejected! It at least means you're still in the running for a spot! I'd reach out to your PoI and ask about how the list looks and where you are on it. Hopefully you have better luck this year getting off it if Harvard is your number one pick!

 

Also, congrats to all the Wisconsin admits! 

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3 minutes ago, Mad Scientist Malfrost said:

Being on the waitlist is better than being rejected! It at least means you're still in the running for a spot! I'd reach out to your PoI and ask about how the list looks and where you are on it. Hopefully you have better luck this year getting off it if Harvard is your number one pick!

 

Also, congrats to all the Wisconsin admits! 

Thank you for the positivity Mad Scientist! 

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On 2/5/2022 at 3:09 PM, dr. telkanuru said:

The poster there is a bit of an idiot and not the best historian I've come across. They (and other "experts") posted enough wrong information that I got frustrated and then banned from that sub for calling them out on it... almost a decade ago now? There's a lot of hyperbole, and they don't consider that, if you apply to the right program, you can spend 5-7 years doing what you love with comp'd trips to Europe, as I did, which isn't a bad thing. 

But there is a kernel of truth there: there are no academic jobs, there will not be academic jobs, you will not get an academic job, and you are not special. The quality of your dissertation, number of publications, or prestige of your institution will not change that. 

If you want to do a history PhD, that's fine, but you should be aware of the costs and benefits of making said decision. I wrote a much longer Reddit post a number of years ago that outlined what potential students should take into consideration. 

If you want a PhD to become a faculty member at a 4-year institution, forget it.

I can go on and on about the whole "alt-ac" thing, which I largely consider a comforting fairy tale that university admins and faculty tell themselves to justify accepting graduate students.

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11 minutes ago, psstein said:

If you want to do a history PhD, that's fine, but you should be aware of the costs and benefits of making said decision. I wrote a much longer Reddit post a number of years ago that outlined what potential students should take into consideration. 

If you want a PhD to become a faculty member at a 4-year institution, forget it.

I can go on and on about the whole "alt-ac" thing, which I largely consider a comforting fairy tale that university admins and faculty tell themselves to justify accepting graduate students.

Hi. Could you share the link to the Reddit post?

Thank You

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Okay, so I understand the realities associated with obtaining a history PhD and how it's grueling work for the duration of the program, and then basically impossible to obtain a tenure-track position once you're out. But I do wonder why we constantly talk about how getting a PhD in history is a "bad idea" and the "wrong choice." I can't speak on behalf of other people, but I feel as though we get enough of that from our family and friends.

I just don't understand why forums about getting a PhD in history need to be similarly discouraging. We are all here because we applied to PhD programs and hope to get in. We have already made the decision that it is right for us. Why do we need to be bombarded by kind internet strangers that are concerned for our well-being and decision-making abilities? We are all adults. We have read the statistics and are very much aware of what awaits us. Why can't this be a place where we celebrate each other for wanting to pursue something that we are truly, deeply passionate about?

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While I did receive a rejection from Wisconsin-Madison... that can't bring me down because I got into the University of Oregon!!!!! I got the official letter today, and honestly, I am beyond excited.

Edited by charmsprof
removing identifying features lol
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4 minutes ago, charmsprof said:

While I did receive a rejection from Wisconsin-Madison... that can't bring me down because ya girl got into the University of Oregon!!!!! I got the official letter today, and honestly, I am beyond excited.

Congrats on the acceptance! I’m sure you’ll be amazing at Oregon if that’s where you decide to go in the end.

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