MA in Hispanic Linguistics

[cadwallader]

Hi guys!!

 

I am a graduate student from Spain and I applied for the MA in Spanish/Hispanic Linguistics at the universities of Ohio State, Arizona and Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (recommended by a professor). I have already been admitted to Illinois and Ohio State, fully funded in both programs thanks to a teaching assistantship. I am still waiting for Arizona's answer, but I believe and hope I will at least be admitted on the same terms.

 

Now I beg you for some help. My question is ¿What is the best option from the academic point of view (I am mainly interested in phonetics and phonology)? ¿Is Arizona's Department of Spanish at the same level as Illinois and Ohio State? I know there are really good linguists there (Simonet, Colina, Olarrea, Carvalho) but Illinois and Ohio State have amazing professors too...

 

¿And what about the cities (Columbus, Urbana-Champaign, Tucson)? I have read many good things about Tucson, ¿is it a good place? I've also heard that Columbus has an amazing campus but it is not so good off-campus and Champaign is really small, isn't it. ¿Which do you think is the best place to spend two years of my life doing my MA? As I am from Spain I cannot visit any institution so chosing is a difficult task...

 

Opinions please!!!

 

Thank you very much for your help

[this_is_a_wug]

I can't help you from an academic perspective (I studied French in college), but you should definitely search the City Guide forum and you will find tons of information about all of the cities you asked about. If you decide to post there, It might also be helpful to ask more specific questions rather than whether or not they are "good" places to live.  For example, I am from Arizona and could tell you a little bit about Tucson, but not whether it is a "good" place to live. It's all about whether it would fit you in terms of your lifestyle (e.g. public transportation, things to do, etc.) 

[cadwallader]

Good advice, thank you!

 

Ok, I want to know a little bit about Tucson: firstly, do you like the campus? Are there many uni-organized events?

Then, how is the cultural offer in Tucson (cinema, theater, museums)? And the sporting scene (I've heard a lot about hiking)?

Is Tucson bike-friendly? Or will I need a car to go anywhere?

[this_is_a_wug]

I will preface my answer with this: I never lived in Tucson. I'm from Phoenix and went to Tucson twice when I was younger (i.e. middle school). I liked the little bit of time that I spent in Tucson, but I never visited the campus and most of what I know is based off what my friends from high school who went to U of A said. 

 

What I can tell you is this: The public transportation system is marginally better than the one in Phoenix (and the Phoenix one isn't that good.) My friends who went to U of A all said they got around fine around the university without a car, but that was for undergraduate. I would almost certainly say that as a graduate student, you will probably want to get a car if you want to do any of the cool cultural stuff like going to the movies, shopping, museums, etc. outside of the area around the university. There's a ton of stuff to do if you get a car, not so much if you don't. There might not be as much stuff to do like like say, NYC, but there's definitely enough to tide you over for two years.

 

Yes, there's a TON of hiking, but because it's Tucson, it's unbearably hot in the summer, so no going outside then except in the very wee hours of the morning. My bet is that you can go biking too because hiking and mountain biking pretty much go together and there are TONS of mountains. However, I probably wouldn't rely on biking everywhere; Tucson, like Phoenix, is pretty spread out. 

 

Also, in case it's not obvious, if you decide to go to Arizona, make sure that wherever you live, you have AC. It's not a luxury; it's a necessity. In the summer, it gets over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Tucson (about 45+ degrees Celsius); during those days, it's best to stay inside.