20th Century US

[KScrooge]

Hey all,

I'll be graduating this May 2011 with my MA in history from Rutgers-Newark. I've begun looking into PhD programs in both American Studies and History. When I initially applied in the fall of 2008 to PhD programs I was completely unprepared for the emotional distress of it all, from GREs to deadlines, to rejections that all seemed to include some line about the state of the current economy. Luckily I was accepted to an MA program at Rutgers and even received a research assistantship.

In the past few months I've changed my mind about continuing onto the PhD. Part of me always said I could do it later in life, but I realize now is the best time with my recent coursework and the opportunity to provide great letters of rec., etc. That being said, I'm trying to get together a list of schools to begin looking into. I'm interesting in 20th c. American History, with particular interest in the Cold War, popular culture, memory, sexuality and gender anxieties. I want to apply to both Am Studies and history programs, keeping all options open. Does anyone have any program suggestions? I'd really be interested in any information provided.

[Riotbeard]

American Studies:

I would look at UT Austin

Maryland (Very strong on pop culture)

Indiana combined PhD in history and American Studies

Can't say on the history side as I am not a contemporary historian, but these are the places I tended not to apply to when applying to Amer studies because they were so focused on 20th century. Good luck, I am sure everybody tells you that you picked the most swollen branch of history (truth be told every branch is swollen and tough to get a job in, so scru it. Good luck.)

[JustChill]

Depending on your level of interest in the Cold War, I'd recommend you take a look at Indiana and WashU, and especially UNC-Chapel Hill.

[KScrooge]

Thanks for the suggestions. You are absolutely right Riotbeard, everything is swollen. Also, does anybody have any thoughts on UConn?? I rarely see them mentioned but I know they have a history phd program, and they include some public history coursework, which is appealing to me.

[ChibaCityBlues]

Thanks for the suggestions. You are absolutely right Riotbeard, everything is swollen. Also, does anybody have any thoughts on UConn?? I rarely see them mentioned but I know they have a history phd program, and they include some public history coursework, which is appealing to me.

UConn's real strength is in early American history. They only really have two to four 20th century US people at Storrs, depending on how you count the sub-fields.

Regardless, as you consider applying to PhD programs, you shouldn't be asking what program you should attend, but rather who you want to work with. If you don't already have a list of 20th century US historians that you want to work with, then I'd suggest you aren't approaching the application process properly. A successful application isn't merely going to demonstrate that you're interested in a particular sub-field of history, but rather is going to demonstrate how your research is going to contribute to your sub-field. To that effect, your application needs to tickle the feathers of specific historians who will presumably act as your adviser. Don't apply to go to University X. Apply to work with Professor Y.

Edited June 28, 2010 by ChibaCityBlues

[KScrooge]

UConn's real strength is in early American history. They only really have two to four 20th century US people at Storrs, depending on how you count the sub-fields.

Regardless, as you consider applying to PhD programs, you shouldn't be asking what program you should attend, but rather who you want to work with. If you don't already have a list of 20th century US historians that you want to work with, then I'd suggest you aren't approaching the application process properly. A successful application isn't merely going to demonstrate that you're interested in a particular sub-field of history, but rather is going to demonstrate how your research is going to contribute to you're sub-field. To that effect, your application needs to tickle the feathers of specific historians who will presumably act as your adviser. Don't apply to go to University X. Apply to work with Professor Y.

I understand that aspect completely, and trust me I am looking at the people not the place. Micki McElya is at UConn, hence my interest, but I was unfamiliar with the remainder of the department. I was looking at Temple because of Petra Goedde and Whitney Strub, but Strub left for Rutgers. I'm also interested in the work of Natasha Zaretsky at Southern Illinois - Carbondale, which is a much smaller, less well-known program but I am a big fan of hers thus making it worth the effort.

This is not the first time I'm applying to grad school, so I am aware that it's about the people you work with and how you piece together your application package. Part of the reason I went to Rutgers-Newark for the MA is it offered me the opportunity to work under some great people with similar interests.

[amercanist]

I understand that aspect completely, and trust me I am looking at the people not the place. Micki McElya is at UConn, hence my interest, but I was unfamiliar with the remainder of the department. I was looking at Temple because of Petra Goedde and Whitney Strub, but Strub left for Rutgers. I'm also interested in the work of Natasha Zaretsky at Southern Illinois - Carbondale, which is a much smaller, less well-known program but I am a big fan of hers thus making it worth the effort.

This is not the first time I'm applying to grad school, so I am aware that it's about the people you work with and how you piece together your application package. Part of the reason I went to Rutgers-Newark for the MA is it offered me the opportunity to work under some great people with similar interests.

I completely agree with Chiba. You must first find out who you are interested in working with (and whether they want to work with you/new grad students -- are they going on sabbatical in Fall 2011? Are they assoc vs. assist. vs. full prof? If they're full profs, will they have time to work with a new grad student, are they retiring soon? IF they're assit profs, do they have the cache/networking ties to help get you a job when you graduate?) then look at dept as a whole. I found that emailing grad students in the dept was helpful in assessing the kind of program they have. Grad students are more likely to dish the dirt on the politics behind the scenes which it is important to know before you end up somewhere where everyone fights over funding, your dream advisor/mentor is really an a*****e or whatever. Email the profs to - if they sound interested in what your research, then you have some sense of how they might be as a potential advisor.

Good luck - now is an excellent time to do that kind of research because once fall rolls around you'll be up to your elbows in apps, drafts of personal statement/sop, revising your writing sample, hounding your recommenders for their letters, etc.

[TMP]

Freaky. This is freaky. You just missed one of our old posters by a year. She had very similar interests as you do and got her MLS from Rutgers (and took a lot of history classes there). She did apply to Rutgers for the PhD but I can't remember if she was actually accepted there. She's now at Minnesota and is loving it. She also applied to Delaware, UVa, Temple, and a few other places that I can't think of right now. Hopefully she'll come around these boards and send you some advice.

[RockEater]

As someone who has research interests in the same field, I can tell you this: go with Chiba's advice and look for the professor, not the school. That being said, I'll normally always pitch for the University of Wisconsin; Jeremi Suri is one of the names in the Cold War field that you should be familiar with. But I know that he'll be on sabbatical this coming fall (he's got another book coming out), and they took a pretty good number of applicants last year in the 20th C. American/Cold War/International field, so UW may not be a good choice for this year.

Take a gander at Brandeis, Yale (if you like), WashU, and pretty much any other school that seems to gain consensus on this thread.

Good luck!