Columbia Sociomedical Sciences

[hopefulepistudent]

Hi all!

Did anyone else apply to the sociomedical sciences phd program at Columbia? There have been a couple people who posted on the results page but I'm curious to know if anyone else has heard anything from them?

[researcheractivist11]

I applied and I have yet to hear anything. If you hear anything please let me know. All the best to you in this process. Warmly, R

[gunlesswonder]

Hi all!

Did anyone else apply to the sociomedical sciences phd program at Columbia? There have been a couple people who posted on the results page but I'm curious to know if anyone else has heard anything from them?

I've also applied, and heard only when they asked me to resend my writing sample. So curious as to what is going on as it seems that there are already MA acceptances. Did either you apply for the predoc fellowship in gender and sexuality? Wishing all the best!

[researcheractivist11]

No, I did not apply for the gender and sexuality fellowship. How did you hear about the MA acceptances? Wishing you the best as well!

I've also applied, and heard only when they asked me to resend my writing sample. So curious as to what is going on as it seems that there are already MA acceptances. Did either you apply for the predoc fellowship in gender and sexuality? Wishing all the best!

[gunlesswonder]

No, I did not apply for the gender and sexuality fellowship. How did you hear about the MA acceptances? Wishing you the best as well!

There are a couple of admits and rejects for the various MA tracts if you look on the results board under columbia sociomedical. If you don't mind me asking, what is your research area? I'm always curious about other med-anth projects. : )

[new mexico]

i was accepted to the mph in sociomedical sciences -- Social Science Research in Public Health. w/ a scholarship, but it's still expensive.

[hopefulepistudent]

I'm interested in aging in South Asia. What about you?

There are a couple of admits and rejects for the various MA tracts if you look on the results board under columbia sociomedical. If you don't mind me asking, what is your research area? I'm always curious about other med-anth projects. : )

[Waw]

Hey hey,

I've also applied to the Sociomedical Sciences PhD. Had an interview (informal chat? I'm not sure how it was defined, exactly) with them about a week ago. I think part of it was to gauge how likely I am to come even if only offered fairly limited funding.

Still waiting on word back though.

[hopefulepistudent]

oh wow Waw! Do you know if they interviewed everyone that they were interested in or if no interview means a rejection? I haven't heard a thing from them...

Hey hey,

I've also applied to the Sociomedical Sciences PhD. Had an interview (informal chat? I'm not sure how it was defined, exactly) with them about a week ago. I think part of it was to gauge how likely I am to come even if only offered fairly limited funding.

Still waiting on word back though.

[Curlygrrl]

I also applied to the SMS PhD but as an international student I was told my chances are rather limited. Two years ago I went and visited the school to learn about the program and the application process- they never mentioned anything about an interview. So Waw hearing about your interview has me perplexed. As we are vying for in all intents and purposes for one spot (maybe 2) of the sociology or anthropology streams of the SMS doctoral program chances are slim to begin with!

Edited February 20, 2011 by Curlygrrl

[Waw]

Medanth000/Curlygurl -

I'm not sure whether they interviewed everyone that they were interested in, or whether there was something about my application (subject matter? not being American?) that made them want to have a chat.

I was surprised as well, as I didn't think interviews would be part of the process with SMS. Judging by hints dropped dropped the conversation, it seems not to be something they do very often.

So it might mean anything, really. Sorry I'm not much help.

[Curlygrrl]

Medanth000/Curlygurl -

I'm not sure whether they interviewed everyone that they were interested in, or whether there was something about my application (subject matter? not being American?) that made them want to have a chat.

I was surprised as well, as I didn't think interviews would be part of the process with SMS. Judging by hints dropped dropped the conversation, it seems not to be something they do very often.

So it might mean anything, really. Sorry I'm not much help.

It seems to me that it could only be seen as a positive- so for you I hope it's good news.

Did you ask to be put in the Anthro or Soc stream?

I noted Sociology but I would love to work with Prof Carol Vance who is Anthro.

[Waw]

It seems to me that it could only be seen as a positive- so for you I hope it's good news.

Did you ask to be put in the Anthro or Soc stream?

I noted Sociology but I would love to work with Prof Carol Vance who is Anthro.

I opted for the Anth stream though like you, I'm quite keen on working with a few people who aren't in Anth (Or even in SMS, for that matter).

Also - yay Carol Vance!

Edited February 21, 2011 by Waw

[Curlygrrl]

I opted for the Anth stream though like you, I'm quite keen on working with a few people who aren't in Anth (Or even in SMS, for that matter).

Also - yay Carol Vance!

Oh I know she rocks! It would be a dream to work with and or be supervised by her.

Are you an international student too? When I went to visit them they were very clear that they are very limited on how many international students they can take on.

[Waw]

Oh I know she rocks! It would be a dream to work with and or be supervised by her.

Are you an international student too? When I went to visit them they were very clear that they are very limited on how many international students they can take on.

Yeah, I'm international - I'm from Israel, though I did my previous degrees in the UK. The international issue didn't come up when I talked to them, but maybe because I didn't specifically ask about it. Understandable, though - it can be far trickier to secure funding to support a non-American graduate student.

[gunlesswonder]

I'm interested in aging in South Asia. What about you?

I work on stuff related to gender, sexuality and reproductive health in Egypt.

And to some of the people below, Carol Vance does indeed rock. I got to meet her at a conference last year and it would a dream to work with her. Hope that at least one among us gets that chance!

[missca]

Hello everyone!

I also applied to the Columbia SMS PhD program under Sociology along with applying to the pre-doctoral fellowship for gender and sexuality. I am anxiously awaiting for the admissions decisions to be released. This is my top choice for graduate school and it is good to know that there are others sharing the emotional thrill (adrenaline?) waiting to get those emails (or phone calls as I have observed from past admittances).

I noticed that some of you have listed your research interests and it is very exciting to know what my future classmates (crosses fingers) are interested in. I am interested in women's sexuality and bodily perceptions that shape their healthcare needs (politics of reproduction, lesbian/bisexual healthcare, and colored women's experiences in dealing with chronic illnesses related to the endocrine system and plastic surgery) in the U.S. major cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City.

Best of luck to everyone!!!

Hope to hear from all of you soon.

[Curlygrrl]

I am glad I am not the only one going crazy here!

I love hearing about other people's research interests. Wherever we end up we are all colleagues.

Since we are sharing:

I hope to unpack the neoliberal, heteronormative and homonormative nature of queer social policy. How in essence today's queer policies reinforce heternormative models and inequities in queer health (broadly defined). Furthermore, what role can queer rights social movements play in influencing an equity rather than an equality policy focus? By addressing these questions I hope to argue that the equality-based phase of queer political struggles and social movements must end and that the next phase should entail broader demands for the inclusion of queer interests and identities across the spectrum through an equitable focus on social policy.

My fingers are crossed for us all during this anxious and restless next few days or worse weeks!!

[VernalEq]

I also applied to this program and am anxiously waiting........so tough. It was nice meeting the faculty and students at the center. Seems like a great place to be.

[Curlygrrl]

I also applied to this program and am anxiously waiting........so tough. It was nice meeting the faculty and students at the center. Seems like a great place to be.

Did you sit in on any classes when you visited? I sat in through two (a human rights course and a gender and sexuality course) and was so impressed.

Impressed with the faculty, the students and even the administration. While a big university in a big city everyone was very close, helpful and so proud to be part of the program. Only made me want to go there even more!

A rejection from SMS will really hurt!

[missca]

I am glad I am not the only one going crazy here!

I love hearing about other people's research interests. Wherever we end up we are all colleagues.

Since we are sharing:

I hope to unpack the neoliberal, heteronormative and homonormative nature of queer social policy. How in essence today's queer policies reinforce heternormative models and inequities in queer health (broadly defined). Furthermore, what role can queer rights social movements play in influencing an equity rather than an equality policy focus? By addressing these questions I hope to argue that the equality-based phase of queer political struggles and social movements must end and that the next phase should entail broader demands for the inclusion of queer interests and identities across the spectrum through an equitable focus on social policy.

My fingers are crossed for us all during this anxious and restless next few days or worse weeks!!

Columbia SMS would be crazy if they decided not to foster your research interests. I'm so glad someone is interested in looking into queer health. There is not much scholarly literature on it (unless it is related to HIV/AIDS) and we need to expand on how we take care of the LGBT community in terms of health care policy. I hope I will get the chance to read the research that you produce in the future. I am very excited about all this and it will heartbreaking as mentioned in another post if we do not receive that awaited "acceptance."

[Curlygrrl]

Columbia SMS would be crazy if they decided not to foster your research interests. I'm so glad someone is interested in looking into queer health. There is not much scholarly literature on it (unless it is related to HIV/AIDS) and we need to expand on how we take care of the LGBT community in terms of health care policy. I hope I will get the chance to read the research that you produce in the future. I am very excited about all this and it will heartbreaking as mentioned in another post if we do not receive that awaited "acceptance."

Wow, thanks Missca!

Couldn't agree with you more in regards to the primarily HIV/AIDS focus when it comes to queer health. Not that it doesn't have it's place, but there is such a limited view on the queer community currently- and it needs to be changed!

I am very excited at the prospect of doing this kind of research- so I hope I get accepted somewhere that could help foster my current academic and research focus.

[Waw]

I second Missca, curlygrrl - your research direction is really important at the moment (and also sounds really cool!). Here's hoping we all get in somewhere that lets us take our studies to exciting new places.

While we're in the mood for sharing:

My focus is largely on the relationships of age, gender, and health. I'm interested in critiquing the orientation towards youth in the social sciences, particularly gender studies, and suggesting ways of examining age that reflect on it as a mode of social classification that is akin to gender or ethnicity. I'd like to use gender as an example of how self-perceptions as well as societal demands continue to change even into later life, and how the body continues to be a part of the social world throughout all of life. In a sense, both age and gender are performances and part of the performance includes health-related behaviours. I suppose that on a theoretical level, I'd be interested in arguing against the discourse of 'healthy ageing', which suggests that there is one proper way to age, and therefore anyone who refuses to age in that way (or cannot) is deemed a social deviant. The lack of work on age as an analytical category is staggering - so I think any work that takes the subject seriously will be filling a gap.

[Curlygrrl]

I second Missca, curlygrrl - your research direction is really important at the moment (and also sounds really cool!). Here's hoping we all get in somewhere that lets us take our studies to exciting new places.

While we're in the mood for sharing:

My focus is largely on the relationships of age, gender, and health. I'm interested in critiquing the orientation towards youth in the social sciences, particularly gender studies, and suggesting ways of examining age that reflect on it as a mode of social classification that is akin to gender or ethnicity. I'd like to use gender as an example of how self-perceptions as well as societal demands continue to change even into later life, and how the body continues to be a part of the social world throughout all of life. In a sense, both age and gender are performances and part of the performance includes health-related behaviours. I suppose that on a theoretical level, I'd be interested in arguing against the discourse of 'healthy ageing', which suggests that there is one proper way to age, and therefore anyone who refuses to age in that way (or cannot) is deemed a social deviant. The lack of work on age as an analytical category is staggering - so I think any work that takes the subject seriously will be filling a gap.

Wow you're right age is usually not discussed- I never took stock or thought of that before. Even in the focus of intersectionality which as a complex theory is trying to focus on the multitude of categories when discussing what differentiates us and the inequities that are fostered through them.

The only time I have read about age in regards to a factor of inequity has been in relation to the state of the mother while in utero and its impact on later development or in regards to the social determinant of health of early childhood education and development.

BTW, I just love this! Only on a board like this do we think each other research foci are COOL!!! My dear friends whom I adore but have left school long ago, their eyes glaze whenever I share what I got excited about or something I've read or am working on- so its nice to meet people even cyberly that can appreciate where you are and what you hope to do! So thank you!

[VernalEq]

Did you sit in on any classes when you visited? I sat in through two (a human rights course and a gender and sexuality course) and was so impressed.

Impressed with the faculty, the students and even the administration. While a big university in a big city everyone was very close, helpful and so proud to be part of the program. Only made me want to go there even more!

A rejection from SMS will really hurt!

I actually went for interviews with about 5 or 6 of the faculty in the department. I walked around campus a little and talk with a student from my concentration area, but I didn't get to sit in on any classes. I was simply impressed by the faculty's research and relevance to my own. It just seemed right.