Hey, all. I wanted to get some help on research?

[Just Jeff]

I graduated from Rutgers in 2012 with a 3.75 GPA, Magna Cum Laude in my field, English and Philosophy Studies.

 

I went to NYU for my Master's in Humanities and Social Thought, and I will be graduating in May 2014 with a 3.991 GPA.

 

Sadly, I don't have research experience. I did get into a PhD program, but it wasn't funded--and it's not exactly one of the best schools as people in the chatroom have told me.

 

So, I'm going to try reapplying next year, but I think I need to spruce up my application a bit more. Now that I'm out of school, how can I get research experience? Publishing? What constitutes a strong applicant?

[bsharpe269]

Is your goal to become a researcher or to teach or work in industry?

 

I am trying to get a bit more information since a phd program is a research degree so im wondering why you are interested in a research degree if you havent tried it out to make sure you like it. If you think that you may want to do research as a career then I definitely recommend getting involved in research now. You can talk to faculty at your school about working with them. I will also be applying to phd programs with a masters degree and most of the phd programs that I have looked at mention that they expect that people with a masters will have publications. For example, I do around 30 hours of reserach a week plus classes. I will probably have 1-2 publications out of this reserach plus I have a conference paper from undergrad. To get the research that is expected for a phd program I think that you will probalby have to do a year or two and try to get a publication or at least some presentations before reapplying. good luck!

[Just Jeff]

Is your goal to become a researcher or to teach or work in industry?

 

I am trying to get a bit more information since a phd program is a research degree so im wondering why you are interested in a research degree if you havent tried it out to make sure you like it. If you think that you may want to do research as a career then I definitely recommend getting involved in research now. You can talk to faculty at your school about working with them. I will also be applying to phd programs with a masters degree and most of the phd programs that I have looked at mention that they expect that people with a masters will have publications. For example, I do around 30 hours of reserach a week plus classes. I will probably have 1-2 publications out of this reserach plus I have a conference paper from undergrad. To get the research that is expected for a phd program I think that you will probalby have to do a year or two and try to get a publication or at least some presentations before reapplying. good luck!

 

Thanks for your reply. I want to be a professor, but I just worry because they say the top-notch candidate has some sort of research experience.

[bsharpe269]

Thanks for your reply. I want to be a professor, but I just worry because they say the top-notch candidate has some sort of research experi

 

The main job of professors is to do research so you definitely need a lot of research experience to get into good phd programs. If you can get a couple years of research and a publication or two then you would have a very strong application.

[Crucial BBQ]

Thanks for your reply. I want to be a professor, but I just worry because they say the top-notch candidate has some sort of research experience.

Well, you will/would have gain[ed] that research experience through your Ph.D. program.  If you already did not decline the offer, perhaps you can ask to be deferred for one year.  If not, it might be in your interests to suck it up it for a year and apply as a transfer next year. 

[Crucial BBQ]

As for how to now gain that research experience if you truly are out of school....you can try volunteering.  You can also do your own literatrure-based research and write/publish at least one journal paper and/or book.  Outside of that, you'd have to do it through employment. 

[Just Jeff]

Excellent. Thank you all so much. Definitely something I'll look into.

[hj2012]

Err, I'm going to jump in and say that formal "research experience" is not all that crucial for PhD admissions in the humanities. Neither are publications, although they help!

 

If you want to spruce up your CV, you can try applying to some local conferences in your field. However, for admission to a PhD program in English or Philosophy, what really matters is: (1) writing sample, (2) SoP and (3) letters of recommendation.

 

In my IRL network, I would say that none of my friends/former classmates who got into top humanities PhD programs had publications or RA experience (though several presented at grad student or local conferences). What you want (and what you need) is to really dig into that writing sample and polish it, and get someone with a critical eye to rip apart your SoP.

 

What are your research interests? The fields of Philosophy and English are interrelated, but different enough that I can't imagine too many projects that could fit comfortably into both. That could have been another problem for you: perhaps the "fit" just wasn't there.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[Just Jeff]

Err, I'm going to jump in and say that formal "research experience" is not all that crucial for PhD admissions in the humanities. Neither are publications, although they help!

 

If you want to spruce up your CV, you can try applying to some local conferences in your field. However, for admission to a PhD program in English or Philosophy, what really matters is: (1) writing sample, (2) SoP and (3) letters of recommendation.

 

In my IRL network, I would say that none of my friends/former classmates who got into top humanities PhD programs had publications or RA experience (though several presented at grad student or local conferences). What you want (and what you need) is to really dig into that writing sample and polish it, and get someone with a critical eye to rip apart your SoP.

 

What are your research interests? The fields of Philosophy and English are interrelated, but different enough that I can't imagine too many projects that could fit comfortably into both. That could have been another problem for you: perhaps the "fit" just wasn't there.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

Thanks so much. This makes me feel a lot better.