Fall 2012 Season

[hanbran]

Thanks for the advice, guys. The institution to which I have already been admitted might be willing to offer me a terminal MA, considering its sudden and unexpected financial difficulties and bleak prospects for growth. If they reject this proposal, is it too late to apply to post bac programs?

[Veilside1]

Maybe... I'd email Julie Nishimura-Jensen ASAP to see if they're still accepting students.

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/postbac/classics/application

[ajeclizm]

Is it ever possible to transfer out of a PhD program (that has offered you a fellowship) after a year or two if it turns out you don't like the program? Will it damage your career?

[Veilside1]

A former professor of mine was initially doing her PhD at Harvard, then ended up, after two years there, applying to other programs. So she now has an MA in Classics from Harvard and her PhD from Duke. Her reasons were medically related, however, so I'm not sure how this all would work if one simply was unhappy somewhere. I'd suggest not beginning your PhD this year if you're already questioning whether you'd want to stay somewhere, and re-apply next year for those programs which you really want.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Veilside1

[ajeclizm]

A former professor of mine was initially doing her PhD at Harvard, then ended up, after two years there, applying to other programs. So she now has an MA in Classics from Harvard and her PhD from Duke. Her reasons were medically related, however, so I'm not sure how this all would work if one simply was unhappy somewhere. I'd suggest not beginning your PhD this year if you're already questioning whether you'd want to stay somewhere, and re-apply next year for those programs which you really want.

Thanks, Veilside. I think I agree with you, and another forum thread gave similar advice. It would just be nice to get a head start on some coursework...

[hanbran]

Perhaps if you were to have an excellent academic reason, it would be feasible.

[cicero63]

I'm still looking out for JHU's rejection letter. I am also looking for advice .

I am history major (minors in German and philosophy) at a small university which lacks a Classics department. As a result, I was able to take only two years of Latin (which, luckily, were composed of upper-division classes, since I had a great high school Latin teacher) and one year of graduate, albeit intro, level Greek as an undergraduate. This, I believe, was a significant detriment to my applications to ancient history programs, despite my writing sample, which demonstrated my ability to work with both languages at an advanced level.

I now have seven rejections (assuming that JHU will eventually send my letter/email) and an offer of admission to what is, essentially, a dying Classics program. I visited and loved it. The students are intelligent and friendly and the professors are accomplished and charming. I was informed, however, that I would likely be the last student admitted to their graduate program, in the absence of an economic miracle. Two of the programs eight tenured faculty members are being forced to retire within two years. Funding was originally highly probable, but I received an email several days ago informing me that funding was now quite uncertain.

My question then, is this: given my painfully-obvious lack of "formal" training in Latin and Greek, would it be a wise decision to obtain an MA in Classics (my BA will be in History) and then re-apply to Ancient History PhD programs? How common is it to receive a master's and a PhD from different institutions?

Nota bene: Money will not be a deciding factor, although it is perhaps worth considering.

Can I ask which university and dying classics program you are referring to?

[hanbran]

It is neither prominent nor prestigious, but I would prefer that it remain nameless, until I receive a definitive answer concerning funding. It's deterioration was extremely sudden, and its website does not yet reflect the discontinuation of its graduate program, so I've decided to remain cautious, just in case. I do know that everyone who applied to the program received a letter detailing this information, so everyone who could be affected knows this.

[Pius Aeneas]

Pius,

I'm at Arizona now, and can ensure you that each and every year all, yes all, Classics MA students get in to top programs. Out of this year's graduating class we have students going to: Stanford, UNC-Chapel Hill (2, maybe 3 of us), Rutgers, Viginia (with the Thomas Jefferson Fellowship-$30,000/year on top of stipend), UC-Irvine (rejected offers from Cincinnati and Wisconsin-Madison), and at least three of us turned down offers from Michigan. The previous year students went to Yale, Brown, Stanford, and Michigan.

As far as helping your odds to get in to Arizona's PhD, definitely. To have faculty at any institution that you're applying to already know you, and perhaps be writing on your behalf is a major advantage. The Classics MA here at Arizona is a fantastic program, and I'm glad that I chose it over the other 3 MA options that I had.

Hope this helps.

This is all very helpful info, Veilside. Of all the programs I applied to, UArizona really does seem to be the best fit, and it's good to know that the department has an excellent track record for sending students to top PhD programs.

[cafe americano]

Well, I've decided to accept at UVa!!! (PhD Classics) I'm super excited about joining their department; I think it's a really good match for me. That said, a spot at CU Boulder should open up, and a spot on the waitlist at Berkeley. I hope that's good news for someone!

[hanbran]

Maybe... I'd email Julie Nishimura-Jensen ASAP to see if they're still accepting students.

http://www.sas.upenn...ics/application

I just emailed her. If she allows me to submit an application, do you have any more advice concerning my SoP/essay?

[Veilside1]

Hanbran,

I'll send you a message in a bit.

[soleil]

Well, I've decided to accept at UVa!!! (PhD Classics) I'm super excited about joining their department; I think it's a really good match for me. That said, a spot at CU Boulder should open up, and a spot on the waitlist at Berkeley. I hope that's good news for someone!

That's great! I think we've met there? The faculty and students were all absolutely amazing and I'm sure you'll have great time studying there

[ajeclizm]

Just letting everyone know I declined my offer at Bryn Mawr (and the fellowship) so hopefully someone will get good news soon!

[rkg2012]

I have declined offers at BU (Archaeology) and Arizona (Anthropology) and I'm trying to figure out how to officially decline my offers at Bryn Mawr (Classical/Near Easter Archaeology) and at UCLA (Archaeology IDP). I hope they go to someone here!

[Frostfire]

So, now that the major "deadline" has passed ... has anybody heard ANYTHING from Hopkins this year? At all?

I'm deeply annoyed to still be waiting on my last two rejections. Cause you'd think if it was a wait list sort of deal, they'd have said something. I have to say, this whole process has been rather disappointing. And not just for the obvious reasons. I am deeply unimpressed by the way some programs handle their applications. I find it terribly unprofessional that some programs simply do not reply to emails, even if it's just to say that they don't have an answer yet. Going through this again next year is going to be a very different process, with a much more jaded outlook on it all. And it's not because of the rejections. The ones that came in fairly quickly don't bother me much. The ones that answered emails honestly (or at all, quite frankly) with the "they've contacted the people they're interested in" soft let down don't bother me much. But the negligent non-answers and the no-response emails smack of a carelessness and a complete lack of seriousness that doesn't really fit with my impression of PhD programs.

I can't decide if that says more about their expectations or mine.

[Pius Aeneas]

I went ahead and accepted UArizona's offer a few days ago. Now that this part of the process is over, I guess I need to start worrying about moving and all the headaches that come with it...

[hanbran]

So, now that the major "deadline" has passed ... has anybody heard ANYTHING from Hopkins this year? At all?

I finally got my rejection letter a few days ago. It was super short (three sentences) but it was written and signed by the department head, so at least it wasn't a form letter from the graduate school.

[Veilside1]

I was waitlisted at Michigan (IPGRH), and was in contact with a POI there, and still havent heard anything definitive. Pretty lame in my opinion. And in bad taste.