Choosing programs

[ranpi]

Hey,

I am an international student from India planning to apply for a PhD in Anthropology (Socio-Cultural).I know this is early cause most of you are waiting for results but I didn't manage funding for the one school I applied to this session (NSSR), and am therefore back to looking for programs. I would preferably like to attend a program that has a strong south asian bent, since my area of work concerns India. I am also interested in the production of urban space and the role played by various (visual) media technologies in such a production.

My background is a little all over the place, I did my graduation in English Literature and shifted to an interdisciplinary degree (Arts and Aesthetics, which was a combination of Cinema, Visual and Performance studies) during my Master's, so I am a little worried about what measures I might need to 'fix' this glitch. Any ideas?

[CarlieE]

You could try googling "Best South Asian Departments in US Universities" - I did something along those lines to get me started. And then I looked up the authors of articles and books which I really felt meshed with my research. You sound like you have a good idea of your topic - who have you read that has inspired you or that you feel can provide good guidance for your dissertation? Also try looking up online to see which schools offer Indian languages - not many do, and so if you find a uni that offers them there's a good chance it has a strong South Asian department.

If you are not looking for a regional focus, then you can try the same kind of search but in environmental anth... I would begin with googling the names of professors/authors you have read that you connected with intellectually. Perhaps think back on why and who inspired you to look at anthropology in general.

Also, try emailing those professors now so that you can build a rapport or get a better idea of whether of not they'd be interested in having you as a grad student.

[nyc2482]

It's worth looking into Johns Hopkins. They have a lot of students working in South Asia, and your interest in media (and interdisciplinary background) might work there.

[ranpi]

Hey AnthroDork, thanks for the tip, actually that is exactly how i am looking around right now. the thing is, and this is what is confusing me, i am not sure how i shud zero in on a program, i mean some of them have courses i am likely to enjoy and benefit from, some appear to be provide the sort of interdisciplinary academic atmosphere i am keen on, but mostly no one in the departments i have looked at yet are people i see myself working with, as in their research interests don't exactly match mine, some of them work on aspects i am interested in but not on (crucial) others. I know i cannot expect an exact match but what do i look for in a potential supervisor? this isn't important for programs which dont ask me to contact people and have at least two people in mind i can work with in the dept. but most do!

More importantly later during my applications I will have to convince the selection committee and possibly scholarship sponsors why whatever school i choose for myself is right for me. If i choose a school based on its general course outlines alone and not specific people how will i be able to justify why i wanted to do my PhD there in the first place?

[CarlieE]

ranpi - I don't think you should zero in on A program, but zero in on several. In the competitive grad market I think you (and everyone) will need to apply to several programs. I applied to 5, got rejected at 4 but got into my top pick. Some other people on this forum can attest that they've applied to 10-15 programs.

The fit isn't going to be perfect as you said, but if it's close then also try seeing what the other faculty at that department do since they might also inform your research, if peripherally. The best fit I think will be when the faculty fits the best, and then the courses will - logically - tend to follow the fit too.