Wisconsin Admit Letter Question

[pierrebrodieu]

Hello, I am a fellow lurker. I feel very silly asking this question, but I'm genuinely confused! Today I received a letter from Wisconsin saying I've been admitted. The first paragraph says, "the Department of Sociology and the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology" have recommended me for admission to the "combined graduate program".

Here's where I feel very silly- did I somehow accidentally apply to some strange subprogram in the Wisc soc program and not realize it, or is this just what they call the program now and I totally missed the memo?

I would really hate for my first interaction with the department to be asking this question. I'd appreciate anyone's input, especially if you are a fellow admit.
 

[sociologyinthepast]

From the UW admissions FAQ:

 

 

 

"You must list one OR the other department and not both because of the structure of the graduate admissions database. Sociology offers the Ph.D. degree, with the master's in Sociology received along the way. We expect applicants to make their application to Sociology. The only reason for applying to Community and Environmental Sociology to have your master's degree in the name of Community and Environmental Sociology, after which your degree program is changed to Sociology for continuing in the Ph.D. program. The academic work is the same."

 

 

So, it sounds like they are one and the same program - you have, in fact, applied to become a sociologist, as you hopefully expected.

[pierrebrodieu]

Phew! I feel relieved.

[Darth.Vegan]

Haha, this was an amusing exchange. And yes the prior information is correct, both programs are one and the same at the graduate level. 

[MooMulan]

Another question... is Madison paying for the visit, does anyone know?

[lalalalalalalalalal]

I do not think I will be able to visit the UW-Madison campus on March 8th. Does that matter?

Edited February 14, 2013 by lalalalalalalalalal

[Darth.Vegan]

I do not think I will be able to visit the UW-Madison campus on March 8th. Does that matter?

 

 

It doesn't matter for your acceptance, but you may want to try and visit in order to make a more informed decision. Can you make it another day? See if they would be willing to set something up for you. 

[lalalalalalalalalal]

To my potential fellows: Are you guys going to show up on the Visit Day?

[lalalalalalalalalal]

Another question... is Madison paying for the visit, does anyone know?

They said limited funds are available... But they are willing to cover part of my visit. Why don't you ask them about it?

[macrotomicro]

Is anyone else here nervous about funding?  I didn't receive a fellowship in addition to the guaranteed 5 years, but the number I saw in the acceptance letter seemed a bit low. (It's possible I'm spoiled as the offer from  Northwestern was very, very generous.)  Wisconsin is my choice over NU, but the funding might sway me the other direction.  Thoughts?  

 

PS. Looking forward to meeting you all in a few weeks! 

[Palito]

I'm concerned as well. I have expressed that concern to the DGS. I think specific figures will not really emerge until the program has an idea of how many people they accept the offer. The one piece of advice I have received is to connect with specific professors at Visit Day and see if they might have work for you on their research projects. This is a way of bumping up the stipend.

 

Another thing is that the program really pushes students to apply for outside funding in the first year. If you have a strong research proposal going in and think you are relatively strong at this task, you might think of that as a good opportunity to secure funding for the second year at a program you prefer. That's risky though. 

 

Lastly, don't forget to compare the cost of living where programs are located. I've heard that Madison is a moderately priced city. Rent prices there are definitely lower than the city I currently live in. I imagine that Evanston is fairly pricey. 

 

You've got great options!

 

See you at Visit Day!