MA Required?

[hopefulJD]

Does anyone know if an MA is required for admission into Harvard's joint PhD program in History and Middle Eastern studies? I saw in the results board that one applicant was denied into the PhD program but offered an acceptance into the MA because they didn't have the MA. Just wondering if this is an unstated prerequisite since I don't see anything pertaining to this on their website. I know a lot of programs explicitly say that an MA is not required for admission, but not sure in this case. Are there other Near Eastern studies programs that an MA is required before admission or programs where it significantly boosts your chance at admission? I don't have an MA, so I'm curious if I have to go down that route before even thinking about PhD programs in Near Eastern studies.

[pudewen]

Does anyone know if an MA is required for admission into Harvard's joint PhD program in History and Middle Eastern studies? I saw in the results board that one applicant was denied into the PhD program but offered an acceptance into the MA because they didn't have the MA. Just wondering if this is an unstated prerequisite since I don't see anything pertaining to this on their website. I know a lot of programs explicitly say that an MA is not required for admission, but not sure in this case. Are there other Near Eastern studies programs that an MA is required before admission or programs where it significantly boosts your chance at admission? I don't have an MA, so I'm curious if I have to go down that route before even thinking about PhD programs in Near Eastern studies.

I can't speak to that program specifically, but I was accepted to Harvard's History and East Asian Languages PhD program with no MA, which would lead me to expect that the same is possible for the History and Middle Eastern studies program.

Edit: Looking at the program's website, it seems that students in it are administered within the History department, which definitely does not require an MA as a prerequisite for admission.

Edited July 11, 2011 by pudewen

[hopefulJD]

Hello, thanks for the reply!

If I were to go down the MA route, could I apply to PhD programs during my second year in the MA program? I'm really turned off by the idea of waiting until after I got my MA to apply since that would mean I would have to sit out a whole year just to apply.

[samarkand]

hopefulJD,

You can apply to PhD programs in your last academic year, for entrance the following academic year. This is the usual route taken by MA students interested in continuing onto the PhD.

[hopefulJD]

Hey samarkand,

Thank you for your input in this thread and in the other one about me. When I asked this question, I think I had one-year MA's in mind. In that case, you would have to apply during the fall to meet PhD deadlines; however, you wouldn't have gotten to know faculty at your graduate school all that much and you wouldn't really have compiled a nice record of research to use as a writing sample. I'm wondering if students in one year MA programs wait until they're complete with their master's to apply to PhD programs? Hmm...

[samarkand]

I don't think we can generalize in answer to your question. It's up to you to determine whether or not you're ready to move onto the doctoral track. Knowing that research experience and language accumulation are essential, you should be continuously preparing yourself for the obstacles that can potentially obstruct your path to the PhD. You're not expected to be fully, completely, and overwhelmingly sure of your interests as a doctoral student, nor are you expected to enter in knowing the title of your dissertation. But you are expected to have a general idea of the time period, subject, and subfield you are most interested in pursuing. Keep in mind that there's always leeway to switch over into another field. Remember, it's all a process. Be a go-getter as a Masters student - set up appointments with your professors before the semester commences, work tirelessly to produce great research papers, do well in your classes - by doing all this, you'll set yourself up quite well to not only get accepted into a fantastic doctoral program, but also to succeed in one.

[hopefulJD]

I do have a general idea of the time period and subject I want to focus on. I am fluent in Arabic and Persian and would like to work on my Turkish as my area of interest lies mostly within the Arabs under the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th, early 20th centuries.

Based on my research online, the University of Chicago, Harvard, the University of Arizona, the University of Utah, the University of Washington, and the University of Michigan have notable faculty members for Turkish/Ottoman studies. Do you know of any I've overlooked? All of these departments offer a PhD in addition to an MA so there may be schools that only offer a terminal Master's degree I may have not looked at.

[samarkand]

I would say definitely University of Chicago - with Franklin Lewis being there, it's an excellent place to do Ottoman studies. I would also say the University of California (Berkeley and otherwise). Beshara Doumani is at Berkeley, and I hear Davis has a nascent program in Turkish Studies. One of my friends is starting there, but in History. Another has worked with Professor Doumani for quite some time, on the history of Ottoman legalism. He's seemed to fare quite well. If you'd like, message me your email and I'll get you into contact with them.

[saffron]

Samarkand & hopefulJD, I just came across this thread and I am wondering which of the programs you listed are more focused on Republican Turkey rather than the Ottoman Empire?