ThisGuyRiteHere Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 How is funding determined for a PhD program?
cooperstreet Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Merit How is funding determined for a PhD program? Merit. Many programs will only admit people if they can fund them.
Penelope Higgins Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 My apologies if this information is all obvious, but I'm putting it on "paper" in case it is of use to someone. These comments are based on my experience as a student at a program often tossed around on here, and a faculty member both at a well-funded, competitive program to which many on here apply, and at a less prominent, more poorly funded department. Top programs commit themselves to fund everyone they admit. With very few exceptions at these programs, funding is equal for all admitted students. This funding consists of a mix of assistantship (you TA or RA a certain number of hours per week) and fellowship (you have no responsibilities beyond pursuing your own research), and comes on top of tuition remission and usually healthcare etc. Funding is normally guaranteed for a certain number of years (usually four or five) and additional funding options for things like fieldwork and summer research vary on a school-by-school basis. Lower-ranked programs tend to offer less funding. This means more teaching or RA work and less fellowship, and that packages vary from one admitted student to the next. Some fairly well ranked schools (a search on this forum should tell you which ones) are notorious for not offering funding to very many students, and for making students compete for funding with one another each year. Even worse, some schools simply have very little funding, and hope students will attend anyway. You should not enroll in a PhD program without funding, nor should you enroll before you are crystal clear on exactly how many years of funding you are guaranteed, and what your responsibilities will be as you earn that funding. Nearly all funding is merit based. Some schools have funding for students who fit particular categories - Harvard, in particular, is famous for its list of scholarships for graduate study for people who meet all sorts of arcane criteria. At most schools, especially lower-ranked ones, some funding is allocated at the university level on a merit basis. This usually involves comparing raw data like GRE scores and GPA to arbitrate among candidates from a range of departments. But most funding even in these cases is allocated at the departmental level. gradcafe26 1
Tupamaros Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Got rejected...smh Huh, from where? Very early?
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Huh, from where? Very early? I was talking to the faculty, they said that I could maybe get a consolation master's and waive in to the PhD...I will more than likely decline. It was for an early admission thing for minorities or something. Im pissed though
aulait Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 This is most likely just me being stupid, but did anyone else get confused by official vs. unofficial transcript rules? A couple of places said official paper transcripts were to be sent only upon admission, the key word being 'paper' I guess. How bad do you think it is if I've uploaded unofficial transcripts?
zzzzzz Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) well i submitted unofficial ones to all of my schools (they specfied that web portal transcripts were fine). if you're worried, it can't hurt to follow up with schools? Edited December 20, 2012 by zzzzzz
runner12 Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I think any uploaded transcript is considered unofficial (for instance, a scan of an official transcript is "unofficial" because it isn't the original). So if a school required you to upload a transcript, you shouldn't worry about whether you uploaded an official or unofficial copy... they'll treat any uploaded transcript as "unofficial" and wait to confirm it with the "official" mailed-in paper copy that you'll send if you're admitted. kaykaykay and practical cat 2
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Well, Schools are back today..it went by kind of fast if you ask me
Tupamaros Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Well, Schools are back today..it went by kind of fast if you ask me Not too bad, won't be long now Hopefully this forum/thread picks up a bit, moral support ftw!
balledematch Posted January 3, 2013 Posted January 3, 2013 Not too bad, won't be long now Hopefully this forum/thread picks up a bit, moral support ftw!I hope it picks up too! Solidarity and moral support!
Tupamaros Posted January 3, 2013 Posted January 3, 2013 I hope it picks up too! Solidarity and moral support! Think I'll be hearing throughout the month of Feb for all, will fly by Threads from previous years have entertained me in the mean time.
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 3, 2013 Posted January 3, 2013 Think I'll be hearing throughout the month of Feb for all, will fly by Threads from previous years have entertained me in the mean time.I second this
balledematch Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Think I'll be hearing throughout the month of Feb for all, will fly by Threads from previous years have entertained me in the mean time.Third-ed (Is this a verb?)...I've read a lot of previous threads, and I'm pretty sure it's making me more anxious...especially considering this is my second cycle.
runner12 Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Some of my applications had asked me to list any profs that I've had contact with at the department. I was told by my recommenders that I shouldn't contact profs at other schools about my application/interest in their program, and I didn't. There also seems to be conflicting opinions in previous threads here on the "value" of contacting profs. My question is -- for the applications that asked me to list profs at their department I've contacted or consulted with, how will the adcom use the answer? If I left my answer for that blank, since I didn't contact any profs, will that have put me at a disadvantage (i.e. in showing interest) for those programs? (I'm thinking specifically about the Columbia and Stanford applications.)
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Third-ed (Is this a verb?)...I've read a lot of previous threads, and I'm pretty sure it's making me more anxious...especially considering this is my second cycle.Dont sweat it, you got it...im willing to bet on it. Thats how confident I am
PhDhopeful2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 wake me up in Feb, please! Not sure I can take 4+ more weeks of waiting!!
Tupamaros Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Some of my applications had asked me to list any profs that I've had contact with at the department. I was told by my recommenders that I shouldn't contact profs at other schools about my application/interest in their program, and I didn't. There also seems to be conflicting opinions in previous threads here on the "value" of contacting profs. My question is -- for the applications that asked me to list profs at their department I've contacted or consulted with, how will the adcom use the answer? If I left my answer for that blank, since I didn't contact any profs, will that have put me at a disadvantage (i.e. in showing interest) for those programs? (I'm thinking specifically about the Columbia and Stanford applications.) I was the same, didn't contact anyone and left it blank!
Tupamaros Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Third-ed (Is this a verb?)...I've read a lot of previous threads, and I'm pretty sure it's making me more anxious...especially considering this is my second cycle. Think I recognise your username
balledematch Posted January 5, 2013 Posted January 5, 2013 Think I recognise your username Haha well my internet presence last cycle was quite depressing, unfortunately. Hoping to spread a little cheer and laughter (+ good results!) this time around. Also, I can't believe it's already January....unfortunately now I just jinxed it and these next 4 weeks or so will drag on foreeeeveer.
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 5, 2013 Posted January 5, 2013 Im filling the time being with applying to jobs...If I can snag a good one, I may not even worry about my applications anymore Ok, Im lying I would still want to know
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 5, 2013 Posted January 5, 2013 I wish political science did interviews, looking at the results, seems to be a lot of movement for other disciplines
balledematch Posted January 5, 2013 Posted January 5, 2013 I wish political science did interviews, looking at the results, seems to be a lot of movement for other disciplines i totally agree. #1 it would alleviate a lot of this agonizing waiting, because by now we would have most likely heard something about scheduling an interview with schools for which we were "in the running." #2 It would make the process less black box, and potentially eliminate some of the ambiguity involved with reducing ~200-500 (or what seems like infinite) applications to a smaller pool of likely candidates. However, as someone in the past on here said "interesting people don't make interesting academics." Also, I believe poli sci gets comparatively more applications than most other social science disciplines, so it would require a lot of work on the part of faculty. Finally, it seems like the only programs in poli sci that have done interviews in the past have been smaller programs with fewer applications (vandy, emory, etc.....but I think Yale is the outlier here since I believe they did some sort of skype interview last year. Not that I'd know from personal experience....sigh). Anyway, enough rambling. Happy Saturday!
Tupamaros Posted January 5, 2013 Posted January 5, 2013 Interviews, another potential source of nerve-wrecking! Just let me in, please
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