Am I Too Focused?

[Fasnacht]

Okay. I’m finally posting. After two years spent lurking. Or so. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever find a way to make up a good list of schools to consider. I just feel like I’ve finally found where I fit as far as my interests are concerned, and now I’m more confused than ever. I am at the point where I’m becoming frustrated with my inability to think beyond some of this. So, at the font of wisdom that is the gradcafe, I ask your advice. (Yes, I’m one of those people ) Details:

1. I’m interested in Women’s History, especially the history of homemaking and the home economics movement, and domestic culture on a larger scale.
   
2. I tend to study the United States between the late 19th and 20th centuries.
   
3. I have several schools in mind, but I honestly don’t know how to begin. I’ve spent hours and hours on websites, and I end up feeling more overwhelmed than ever.
   
4. I am also interested in women writers and their expression of issues like marriage and motherhood, especially from feminist writers. I love literature, and although I have defined my research interests, I still want to be exposed to new ideas.
   
5. However, programs like FCS and related areas don’t interest me as much because I have no interest in things like high school teaching or public policy.
   

Advice on how to widen my approach or my process of finding some direction? What would you do? Any advice for directions I might explore that I haven’t thought of? Should I go for a more interdisciplinary approach?

Thank you for taking the time to read the ramblings of a confused undergraduate.

[StrangeLight]

i think your research interests would fit nicely in any history program that offers some sort of concentration in women's history or gender history. what you should do is look at the history books you've loved and see where those professors teach. then read up on those programs. if they have grad programs that train people in women's history (the only way to know may be to look at the americanist grad students and see how many of them list women's history under their research interests), that's a great place to start. also, make sure that the schools you're looking into also have women's studies or gender studies or queer studies departments or concentrations, because you may wish to take some classes outside of history to complement your history classes.

for americanists, it can be especially overwhelming to find graduate programs because seemingly every PhD program specializes in US history. while you could certainly stick to the "top ranked" programs in US history, i think you'd have better training and more luck with admissions if you zeroed in on schools known for women and/or gender history. sometimes they also happen to be "top ranked" program, sometimes not.

[glitzkrieg]

I agree with everything that StrangeLight said! Fasnacht, those are basically my exact areas of interest, so if you ever want to message me and talk schools, I'd be happy to provide advice.

[iamincontrolhere-haig]

At some point browsing websites yields diminishing returns. Send a few emails out to professors whose work interests you and contact some current graduate students. I've found that these conversations tend to be at least as valuable as reading course descriptions and scholarly biographies on programs' websites--though both are crucial.

From the conversations I've had, I've learned that almost every graduate student changes his or her interests once they arrive in graduate school. Sometimes the shifts are small, sometimes they're titanic. Who knows? You could end up wanting to study the construction of bridges in 12th century China. With that in mind, I would advise that, while you should be selective in where you choose to apply, you should aso cast a wide net. Don't worry too much about finding a POI whose research and teaching interests conform exactly to your own.

[Simple Twist of Fate]

Who knows? You could end up wanting to study the construction of bridges in 12th century China.

Talk about being too focused!

I'd also encourage you to cast a wide net in terms of contacts. I've found at least two faculty members in potential programs for me that have interests coinciding with mine that appear nowhere on their websites. I spent about a whole summer obsessing over faculty website profiles (which, when you come down to it, are really like a one-sided, very pathetic version of a dating website) and you can only benefit so much from that.

I remember the frustration of narrowing down the list of schools. I hated that - especially when I crossed one off in a location I would have enjoyed. My method was to do one school per day, skimming through journal articles, dissertation abstracts, books/book reviews and of course faculty profiles. All of the information available. And taking detailed notes for when I begin to doubt myself later about whether x University might make a good fit after all...

It's tedious, but if you really want to have an advisor who will be able to support your specific interests, then it can't hurt.

Good luck.

[runaway]

Adding on to the good advice that others have already offered-- I'm assuming you're not applying anywhere until this fall at the earliest, so you have some time to explore. Is there an archive in your area related to your field that might be looking for summer interns? I know a couple people who have similar research interests to yours who found grad school direction by spending some time working with academics and figuring out what kind of degree they wanted through that process.

If you're thinking about PhD programs and are considering an MA first, you could also start out applying to MA programs in women's or gender studies. A degree like that could pair well with a PhD in American History, say, and that year or two would expose you to the work of academics who might go on to become POI.

Which reminds me, there's always the tried and true method of pulling out your favorite books, seeing where the authors teach, and (depending on where they are in their career) looking up their students and where they ended up.

[virmundi]

OP: You don't mention having spoken with the professors at your school (I'm guessing that you are still in school since you refer to yourself as an "undergraduate" still!). This is step one. Who do your professors think are the up-and-comers, the heavy-hitters, and the might-have-beens in your sub-field? Their opinions are critical, especially since they'll be writing your letters of recommendation.

[annieca]

I feel for you! It feels like the list of programs goes on forever for History degrees.

I agree with figuring out who your favorite writers are in that subject. However, if you're looking at just MA programs (and to some extent PhDs), I would also consider location.

For example: Two of the best schools in the country in my field are UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. However, I'm doing my undergrad in Wisconsin and I don't want to spend any more time than absolutely necessary in that. I would drive myself crazy having two to six more winters and summers in Wisconsin. So those two schools went off my list, easily.

Another thing I would look at is length of programs and if they're thesis/non-thesis. For some people, the idea of a thesis is terrifying and they would much rather take the test. If that's you (or not you) you can eliminate programs that way.

I think, ultimately it comes down to what is important to you and how you define that.

^^ Hope that helped!

[JosephineB]

I'd also encourage you to cast a wide net in terms of contacts. I've found at least two faculty members in potential programs for me that have interests coinciding with mine that appear nowhere on their websites. I spent about a whole summer obsessing over faculty website profiles (which, when you come down to it, are really like a one-sided, very pathetic version of a dating website) and you can only benefit so much from that.

This is so important! During my application process this fall I was talking with a POI about what my specific interests were within our subfield. I started talking about how I was really interested in studying [specific thing] in tenth century imperial ideology even though it is kind of obscure. S/he practically squealed with excitement, and told me that s/he had written their masters thesis on [specific thing] in twelfth century imperial ideology, and would be beyond thrilled to work with me on it. S/he is going to be my advisor this fall.

If I had gone into the meeting trying to tailor my interests to POI's exact research as listed on the website, or only paid attention to what was on the website, we might not have made the connection.

It is definitely worth getting more information!

[virmundi]

Another thing I would look at is length of programs and if they're thesis/non-thesis. For some people, the idea of a thesis is terrifying and they would much rather take the test. If that's you (or not you) you can eliminate programs that way.

I think, ultimately it comes down to what is important to you and how you define that.

^^ Hope that helped!

If, however, you plan on proceeding to a Ph.D. program from an M.A., it is immeasurably helpful to produce a thesis-length project. This demonstrates to admission committees that you are capable of the kind of work that you'll eventually need for your dissertation. Besides, producing a good thesis might be the first step toward having an article that might be publishable in a good journal -- always a laudable goal, even if it doesn't necessarily pan out.

[kotov]

I agree with finding out where your favorite authors teach and working from there; that's how I ended up here. I don't know your field as well as others might, so I can't tell you what the big places would be for that (In my case, the big schools are Indiana and Pitt), but I'd suggest you go ahead and apply to those as well; it's always good to have a couple of "reaches" in your applications.

I wouldn't worry so much about the way you brand yourself going into grad school, as long as you get in touch with the people in your field and have some direction on where you want to go with your studies (and hopefully a plan on what you'd like to research). Remember though, in this job market, when you come out, you'll want to make sure you have a broad sort of appeal; in that case, it really is a lot about branding and marketing. In my case, that's something I'm having to work on, trying to get a few presentations/publications outside my very specific geographic/temporal focus (I study a period of about 5-10 years and mainly one smaller country).

[Fasnacht]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the advice, everyone! Yes, I have talked to my professors. My advisors have been very supportive about various programs, and I imagine very honest, too about where they feel would be a good fit for me. What I'm doing is making a great big excel sheet of programs with various factors and notes. Seems obsessive, but it is helpful.

As someone said, I'm looking at a mix of programs, MA and Ph.D, simply because I don't want to put my eggs in too few baskets. Also, I'm doing an undergraduate thesis on (certain author's) exploration of women's roles in (certain place) at (certain time), so I do have some diversity in my areas of interest, though it is broadly focused in women's history and culture.

It's helpful to hear things and feel some sense of validation in how I'm going about this. I am so thankful for the support.

ETA: Removed (Possibly) Identifying Details.

Edited March 28, 2012 by Fasnacht

[Fasnacht]

I feel for you! It feels like the list of programs goes on forever for History degrees.

I agree with figuring out who your favorite writers are in that subject. However, if you're looking at just MA programs (and to some extent PhDs), I would also consider location.

For example: Two of the best schools in the country in my field are UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. However, I'm doing my undergrad in Wisconsin and I don't want to spend any more time than absolutely necessary in that. I would drive myself crazy having two to six more winters and summers in Wisconsin. So those two schools went off my list, easily.

How bad, in your estimation is the weather? Without giving too much away, I have very little frame of reference. Friends have told me the winters feel like a frozen tundra. I'm not too sure on forum conventions, so I hope it is okay to go slightly off topic. If not, I will delete with all the hastiness of a new member.

[Sigaba]

Talk about being too focused!

I'd also encourage you to cast a wide net in terms of contacts. I've found at least two faculty members in potential programs for me that have interests coinciding with mine that appear nowhere on their websites. I spent about a whole summer obsessing over faculty website profiles (which, when you come down to it, are really like a one-sided, very pathetic version of a dating website) and you can only benefit so much from that.

I remember the frustration of narrowing down the list of schools. I hated that - especially when I crossed one off in a location I would have enjoyed. My method was to do one school per day, skimming through journal articles, dissertation abstracts, books/book reviews and of course faculty profiles. All of the information available. And taking detailed notes for when I begin to doubt myself later about whether x University might make a good fit after all...

It's tedious, but if you really want to have an advisor who will be able to support your specific interests, then it can't hurt.

Good luck.

Please keep in mind that this type of research can be very useful when you're a graduate student. Knowing who is who, where they are, what they do, and why they do it can be important pieces of information when writing review essays for one's coursework. Also, the research you do now can benefit others down the line. Examples include an undergraduate wanting to talk to you down the line about gradate programs or a professor on a search committee asking you informally about the top scholars in your field.