PhD Columbia MESAAS

[Alexine]

Hello chaps,

As a British graduate, I am not too famililar with the US grad school applications. So I have many burning questions.

Is anyone on here applying for a PhD at the MESAAS department at Columbia? I was initially all set to apply for fall 2011, but have decided to wait another 12 months to do some more research.

Those accepted onto the PhD program: were you accepted by one particular professor who agrees to supervise your PhD, or does the faculty take you on and you later determine who is to be your advisor?

Is MESAAS a relatively small and unheard of department in the US, or is it hugely popular? I did some searching around on google and came across many youtube videos of MESAAS professors, so I would imagine the level of competition to gain admission on the PhD program is immense!

Lastly, I am looking at specialising in Islamic law and not so much the political or linguistic side of the Middle East studies. I wonder whether MESAAS is the correct department for me. There is only one professor in the department who specialises in Islamic law, so I am essentially applying to a faculty in which only one person could possibly supervise my studies, whereas SOAS in London has an entire department which is dedicated to Islamic law. Thoughts?

Many thanks,

A

[Alyanumbers]

Hey!

I'm not American, but I'm applying to MESAAS for fall 2011, for a PhD in Literature in conjunction with ICLS.

My understanding is that you don't choose an adviser until later in the program (after you finish the coursework). However, if there's only one potential adviser for you in the department, you might want to rethink applying there. As for how popular and/or competitive it is, I found these statistics (under the department's previous name).

Hello chaps,

As a British graduate, I am not too famililar with the US grad school applications. So I have many burning questions.

Is anyone on here applying for a PhD at the MESAAS department at Columbia? I was initially all set to apply for fall 2011, but have decided to wait another 12 months to do some more research.

Those accepted onto the PhD program: were you accepted by one particular professor who agrees to supervise your PhD, or does the faculty take you on and you later determine who is to be your advisor?

Is MESAAS a relatively small and unheard of department in the US, or is it hugely popular? I did some searching around on google and came across many youtube videos of MESAAS professors, so I would imagine the level of competition to gain admission on the PhD program is immense!

Lastly, I am looking at specialising in Islamic law and not so much the political or linguistic side of the Middle East studies. I wonder whether MESAAS is the correct department for me. There is only one professor in the department who specialises in Islamic law, so I am essentially applying to a faculty in which only one person could possibly supervise my studies, whereas SOAS in London has an entire department which is dedicated to Islamic law. Thoughts?

Many thanks,

A

[Bukharan]

Hi!

I applied for the Columbia MESAAS for Fall 2011.

I am currently in Britain. Feel free to text me to chat.

As you pointed out correctly, it really is a great department, one of the best in America and admissions is tough. I have a friend who is currently doing Masters there. MESAAS is very much into theory - perhaps, to a greater extent than other schools. But have a look at their website. From my experience, it is one of the most informative departmental websites that I came across.

[Alexine]

Thanks for the responses.

I'm a little worried my specialisation is too legal for MESAAS. My undergraduate and masters degree is in law, but both involved modules in Islamic law.

Wael Hallaq is the leading authority on Islamic law and I have admired his work for some time now. I was planning on applying to McGill when he was there before he came to MESAAS last year.

According to MESAAS website, Hallaq's specialisation is in Islamic law and Islamic intellectual history; the intellectual history of Orientalism; the development of Islamic traditions of logic, legal theory, and substantive law. This is exactly what I would like to specialise in. The only other person who specialises in similar fields is Brinkley Messick (specialisation: the anthropology of law, legal history, written culture, and the circulation and interpretation of Islamic law).

What level of language competence is required for the PhD program? I am planning on taking some Arabic classes in Damascus, but I hope to pick up the language more during the actual PhD program rather than before I arrive.

Alyanumbers, thanks for the info. The statistics suggest that approximately 20 people are taken on to the Phd program each year, that is larger than average isn't it?

Bukharan, nice to see a British student applying to MESAAS. From the list of current PhD students, I was worried that all of the students were US educated and all had lived/spent time in the Middle East. I have neither lived in the Middle East nor have I studied in the US.

Best of luck to both of you!

[Bukharan]

I am not sure how many students they admit every year but one must remember that it is not just the Middle East they are doing - also South Asia and Africa. How many 'Islamic Law' students they admit I don't know.

Perhaps, you should contact Professor Hallaq. If I am not mistaken, he is actually the graduate advisor this year. He may tell you more about the programme, admissions, the correlation of your and his academic interests.

I am afraid I am one of those typical 'MES' students who did Middle Eastern Studies for several years and lived and studied in the Middle East. By the way, if you are thinking of Damascus, I would highly recommend it for Arabic. Syria is absolutely gorgeous! Arabic Language Institute at the Univ. of Damascus is excellent.

I shouldn't worry prematurely about the lack of language. Contact the faculty - ask them questions, what is best for you and not, whether they are interested in your proposed research? Have you considered other schools? Oxford?