What Can I Do To Improve My Application?

[screencheck]

Hello Everybody,

 

I'm planning on applying for a Phd in Anthropology (emphasis on Archaeology) next year. I have lots of Lab experience, some field experience, presented at a few conferences and I am currently working on a publication with my advisor. I feel like I have done just about everything I can do as an undergraduate to make myself look appealing to grad programs. However, I will be taking a year off before going to graduate school and I am concerned about staying productive in my field during that time. Ideally, I would do something leading up to application season that would make me a more desirable candidate.  I have made plans to volunteer at my school's museum to work with their collections, but I'm wondering if there is anything else I could do. I'm particularly worried because my school's collection isn't relevant to my personal research interests. 

 

Any thoughts? 

 

Thanks

[pears]

hey there! i took a year off before applying to M.A. programs in archaeology (funky interests make me the ultimate anthro fence-sitter, but archaeo is the closest subfield), so i think i'm in a good spot to give you my two cents on this.

 

i don't think i ever went more than 3 weeks without doing some kind of work. most of it has been unpaid or on a really small stipend, which has been pretty difficult, but i've made it work; i don't have a car, i don't eat meat, i have money saved up from part-time jobs during school, and i do a lot of focus groups when i can. anyway, i had a few of my POIs say they were impressed with the work experience i had on my resume/cv. there is so much you don't — and can't — learn in an undergrad classroom setting that is seriously important in archaeology. for example, i never really knew what section 106 was until i got my first job after graduating, even though i wanted to go into federal/public archaeology. it was never mentioned in a single class. i had to go out of my way at my job to learn about it, but it was worth the effort, and i got some good field and lab experience along the way.

 

basically, work. as much as you can. don't be picky; it's a really hard year for paid fieldwork. apply for everything, and don't stop applying until you have an offer in hand. try to not go more than, say, a couple of weeks without working (besides holidays, of course). work is great for field and lab experience, but it also teaches you a lot about thinking critically, working cooperatively (from direct co-workers to consulting parties) and independently (read: being a self-starter), being a great communicator, and so on. plus, you can make connections with mentors (possible LoR writers, and general beacons of awesomeness) and friends who you'll probably bump into down the road.

 

also, go to as many training seminars and annual group meetings (e.g., SAAs, AAAs) as you can, even if you're not presenting a talk or poster. as a student, you can usually do so for free, or close to it. apply for scholarships through the group running the event, and you probably won't have to foot much of a bill. it's a nice way to network for jobs, make face time with POIs, and find new topics you're interested in.

 

considering you're an undergrad who's publishing and presenting, i suspect you'll be totally fine. just keep working, and go to cool places with good pay if that's an option!

[screencheck]

Thanks! So should apply for all kinds of things even if they are not directly applicable to my research interest? It's the experience that looks good, not necessarily the content?

[pears]

yup, that's what I did- I kind of narrowed down my interests through each position, too. I have pretty specific interests that are hard to cater to with just internships, but I made a point of learning along the way, e.g., going to a NAGPRA seminar and reading larsen's bioarchaeology book when i was working on a colonial/historic stuff in VA (barely related to my interests). it's hard to be choosy for short term jobs and internships, so you have to work with what you've got and make the most of it for your needs – and your employers' – while you're there. better to be working and learning on a project that's not quite what you're 100% set on researchers than to be doing nothing while twiddling your thumbs waiting to do exactly what you want.

[screencheck]

Ok great. That makes me feel much better.

Thanks!

[mp429]

I'd say work & internship experiences don't have to be directly related to exactly your interests, but shouldn't be so far removed that you're not getting valuable and applicable skills out of them. You will need to explain in your personal statement how each of the experiences affected your research interests. I don't think any of my internship experiences were 100% to what I want to do in my PhD, but I took aspects from them to make it all make sense in my personal statement & to show my journey how these different experiences led me to continually focus my ideas. Good luck! You sound like a strong candidate already, so just keep trekking I know a gap-year sounds horrible but most of my favorite and most important experiences I completed in my gap years

[screencheck]

mp429, thanks a lot. This is all making me feel much better. In your experience, what was the most value thing you did in your year off? Im trying to decide if I should focus on pursuing field opportunities or lab based opportunities.

[mp429]

screencheck - no problem.

 

I'm bio-anthro with a focus in primatology, so different than archaeology, so my experiences will differ from yours. Here's my two cents anyhow, but adapt for your experiences

 

I'm not sure what type of Arch you want to pursue in graduate studies (more field or lab or if in arch sub-field they are both equal). For me, I always wanted to do field work but coming out of under-grad I had no direct field work experience (had done a lot of observational studies in zoos on different kinds of animals, but all in-country). For me, the biggest thing was to determine if I actually enjoyed field work. Turns out I did, and now I have a few field work experiences in tow that helped me focus my interests (saw so many different things in the field than you would in captivity, also spent all day with the animals (vs. a couple hours) and as such starting developing new interests/questions). I know a lot of people who went to the field and hated it, and that ultimately shifted their path. I also think gaining a variety of all different kinds of experiences helped me figure out which I liked and which I hated or liked less (zoos, field, different types of labs, different methodologies, different subjects etc). I think it's helpful to amplify your experiences you think you would utilise in grad school because it will not only give you a stronger application, but also help give yourself more clarity about what you want.

 

When I was in undergrad I thought I wanted to do a PhD right away. I knew my general interests, but that was about it. I took 2 years gap year, 1 year of a Masters in the UK and now I'm in a gap year before I start my PhD. Out of those 4 years between undergrad and this Fall, the most helpful was doing the Masters. I know you don't need one to get into a PhD but I think it does help and it helped me because it gave me a taste of grad school to see if academia/5-8 years of PhD was something I could handle. It also got me more focused in my budding interests I gained through my lab and field work, and really gave me clarity and independent research experience (rather than just assisting others which is what I had been doing). So I'm a huge advocate of doing a Masters before a PhD but it's not the best idea for everyone if you're pretty certain on what you want to do. Different POIs also prefer different levels of experience and age.

 

Anyway, hope that helped! I wouldn't stress too much. Just try to get any kind of experience that you think you need that will help you develop more clarity or give you valuable skills that you either lack or want to supplement. Independent research is often a key - you gain skills, clarity for yourself, and get to show admissions you can do the type of work you will be doing in your PhD (even if the topic is different).

[anthropologygeek]

Mp- some people say you don't need a masters for a phd but there are all alot of schoold that won't accept you without a masters so you cut down some schools without doing a masters

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Thanks so much for all your input everybody, I really appreciate it. 

 

I've done both lab and field work, however I have much more lab experience (archaeological chemistry). Perhaps getting more field experience would benefit me the most, especially because I don't think I want to focus my dissertation research on lab oriented data. 

 

As far as Masters programs go, I think I will focus on applying to Phd programs. Obviously, there are many people that benefit greatly from MAs (and I could very well be one of them) however, the thought of no funding really worries me. 

 

 

 

Mp- some people say you don't need a masters for a phd but there are all alot of schoold that won't accept you without a masters so you cut down some schools without doing a masters

I'm curious as to which schools these are, do you happen to have any specifics?

[anthropologygeek]

Yes I am and for some reason every school I applied to for phd has this requirement

[screencheck]

Well then I suppose that will eliminate a few schools for me.

Thanks for the tip.

[anthropologygeek]

Screen- what sucks is schools like mine claim you don't have to have a masters on their websites but in reality you do. I know lots of programs you don't so maybe ask right off the bat if you do

[screencheck]

Screen- what sucks is schools like mine claim you don't have to have a masters on their websites but in reality you do. I know lots of programs you don't so maybe ask right off the bat if you do

Oh wow, that shady  . thanks for the tip. I will certainly clarify that before applying.

[mp429]

I know at mine, you don't need one, but my specific POI says he prefers his students to have one (though this isn't a be-all, end-all). It's difficult to know and sometimes they will say they don't have a preference when they do (e.g. I did not know my POI's preference until interviews). My point is - don't let it dissuade you. If you're a strong applicant, you're a strong applicant. Good luck!

[screencheck]

Thanks! I suppose I should be more worried about my LORs haha