NELC/Middle Eastern Studies Fall 2015

[Metatronos]

Hello,

 

I've decided to commence this thread a bit early to get as many as possible to exchange ideas and information about the up coming NELC PhD application cycle.

 

Currently, I am at a state school pursuing an M.A. in Classics. I choose this path to acquire the relevant research languages pertinent to my interests: Islamic Philosophy, Nizari Ismailis, and so forth. I have procured a 4.0 GPA at my program. I obtained my B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies at a private school. This program incorporated a study abroad portion that allowed me to travel to Jordan. My undergraduate GPA is a 3.82.

 

Languages: Arabic, Latin, Greek, and French

 

Awards/Honor Societies: 4 year Academic Merit Scholarship, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key International Honor Society, Graduate Teaching Assistantship, and Graduate Part-Time Instructor position.

 

Perspective Programs:

Yale

Chicago

SOAS University of London

Oxford University

Indiana-Bloomington

UT-Austin

Princeton

Havard

Michigan

 

Who else will be applying in the upcoming cycle?

Edited June 10, 2014 by Metatronos

[Tha-Boy]

Thanks for starting this thread Metatronos! You have a promising resume!  I will not be applying for Fall 2015, but for Fall 2016. I have a question for the knowledgeable NELC network: Where would be a good place to go for PhD studies (or who is good to learn under) in ANE comparative religion as it relates to ancient Israelite Religion?

[Aliriza]

Hi everyone I'm also planning to apply for Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science programs. Currently Studying in a distinguished Turkish universty in the field.

Current UG Year: Senior

Majors: Political Science and History( Double major)

GPA: 3.4

work experience: 2 yeras as interpreter for a human rights organization

Languages: Azerbaijani,Farsi,Turkish,English and intermediate knowledge of Arabic and also Ottoman Turkish and Cyrilic Azerbaijani

TA: Persian1 and 2 next year

Interest areas : Comparative politics , ethnic conflicts, modern Iran and Turkey...

 

I dont know how are my chances but will go so far for :

Columbia

NYU

UT-Austin

Leiden (Netherlands)

Lund (Sweden)

....

 

 

[Metatronos]

Aliriza,

 

I believe your language skills will give you the added boost that you need. There is much to be stated about one's language abilities. I wish you the best in your endeavor.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Metatronos

[Aliriza]

Thanks a lot Metatronos wish you the best

[Gutian]

Thanks for starting this thread Metatronos! You have a promising resume!  I will not be applying for Fall 2015, but for Fall 2016. I have a question for the knowledgeable NELC network: Where would be a good place to go for PhD studies (or who is good to learn under) in ANE comparative religion as it relates to ancient Israelite Religion?

NYU (Daniel Fleming and Mark Smith), Brandeis (Tzvi Abusch and David Wright), and Johns Hopkins (Ted Lewis and Kyle McCarter) would all be great choices, I think.

 

There's also Berkeley, Chicago (Dennis Pardee), Harvard (though their department seems to be in flux), Penn State, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Emory, maybe Michigan... 

[Jebreel]

Hello!  Not sure if anyone is still lurking around this thread, but I've finalized my list of schools and would love to exchange info, encouragement, nerves, etc. for anyone applying this cycle -- either for the M.A. or Ph.D.!  I graduated with a degree in History from a small liberal arts college in 2013 and have been teaching at a preparatory school since then while continuing with my study of Arabic through intensive immersion programs and evening classes at a well-respected Middle Eastern affairs think tank and language institute.  On that note, actually, is anyone aware of how admissions committees regard language study at non-university institutions that balance policy discussions, scholarship, cultural outreach, and language training?  We work with standard university texts and classes are taught by university professors, so I imagine they're sufficient.  

 

Anyway, broadly speaking, I'm hoping to do research on how minorities experienced the onset of modernity in the Middle East, but this could be approached from a number of different angles (education and discourses of knowledge, urban development, integration into/alienation from state apparatuses, etc.).  I have to narrow my focus!  But, given the precarious state of minorities in the region today, I think it's an important topic, especially since we tend to assume that the crisis today is the inevitable conclusion of a straightforward/declensionist historical trajectory. 

 

I'm applying to: 

NYU (M.A.)

UT-Austin (M.A.)

Michigan (M.A.)

Princeton (M.A./Ph.D.)

Oxford (M.Phil.)

Harvard (M.A.)

Georgetown (M.A.)

SOAS (M.A.)

Chicago (M.A./Ph.D.)

 

Cheers!

 

Jebreel

[tomasdavis]

Jebreel, my understanding is that the admit decision is based on your self-reported beginner/intermediate/advanced level of arabic, then once in the program you take a test and the school decides whether you require arabic classes.

[swimchris111]

I am applying to Master's programs at:

 

Harvard

Columbia

NYU

Hopkins

SOAS

GW

Chicago

Maybe AUC

 

Low GPA, solid GRE scores, great letters of recommendations (harvard professors), hopefully a great SOP.  Its really hard to gauge how selective these programs are specifically as well as more broadly.  I specifically didnt apply to schools that seemed to place more emphasis on GPA like the state schools (particularly UT) and Georgetown.

[-vive2ladifference]

How are applications going for everyone? Deadline's looming soon..

[Jebreel]

Going well!  Submitted about half of the applications and now beginning to work on the Statement of Purpose for the FLAS applications... 

[doobiebrothers]

just a bit of food for thought: the paid MA programs have about a 50% acceptance rate (even at Harvard) so most, if not all of you , with your very impressive preparation, will be fine.

[-vive2ladifference]

just a bit of food for thought: the paid MA programs have about a 50% acceptance rate (even at Harvard) so most, if not all of you , with your very impressive preparation, will be fine.

 

Really? Do you have stats for that?

[doobiebrothers]

just anecdotal from working on 2 adcoms, and from my best friend who is currently working on an adcom of a middle eastern studies MA program. check out my other posts about if you have further questions, or pm me.

Edited December 29, 2014 by doobiebrothers

[doobiebrothers]

Is anyone here coming to the Emory ICIVS interview weekend?

[Guest]

I'm not going for a Middle Eastern Masters degree, but for a graduate certificate in Middle East Studies/Politics/Affairs instead

 

Graduate School: MA International Security; graduate certificate in Middle East Studies/Politics; language certificate in Arabic

Major: International Relations; Minor: Spanish

Awards: President’s List (Fall 2011; Fall 2013; Fall 2014); Dean’s List (Fall 2012; Spring 2014); Ory G Poret Endowed Political Science Scholarship ; Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Recognition ; Phi Beta Delta International Scholars Recognition ; Random minority based awards at my university for having good grades

 

GPA: 3.7ish

Languages: Spanish (fluent); Arabic (Modern Standard-intermediate writing&reading; basic speaking)

Areas of Research/Research Projects:

• Middle Eastern Politics (Hypothesizing outcomes of Syrian Civil War; complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; arguing about Middle East's actual definition as a region)
• Foreign Policy (Analyzing the Cuban Missile Crisis)
• International Security (Analyzing the Mexican-American War/Manifest Destiny Theory)
• International Relations (Analyzing the recent Venezuelan protests against the Maduro regime)

Extracurricular: Muslim Student Association; International Studies Club; Spanish Honor Society; Middle Eastern based organizations

GRE: 4.0 on the writing with the other scores being horrendous. Still applying though.

Letter of Reccs: Not from a 'notorious' school. But all are from professors who know of my capabilities outside of class.

 

Other: I rarely debate about this subject, but there are not a lot of females nor people within my racial background who study my intended fields. Recently, many schools have been known for wanting to diversify themselves in terms of nationality or race. So, I have that aspect to consider as well.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Guest

[Jebreel]

Any word on admissions notifications, perhaps from those who've been in touch with the departments?  I only applied to M.A. programs in Middle Eastern Studies and therefore expect the date to be a bit later than that for the doctoral programs (which are notifying now), but I figured it'd be worth a shot asking around here.  I'm not truly expecting anything until the first week of March, but I can't help but thinking about it all the same...

 

Jebreel 

[ReginaPhalange]

Hi guys!

I saw on the results page that someone applying for a PhD in Hebrew Bible had an interview this week at University of Chicago. How did it go?

I have only applied for NELC (PhD) in Chicago, and I am becoming very nervous about the results.. has anyone heard when they most likely will send out the results at UofC? Last year some people heard beginning of February, but some as late as March..

Cheers!

[doobiebrothers]

I only applied to UPenn Nelc, and I have some activity on my academia.edu from them. I think this means apps are under consideration 

[Aubstopper]

Hi guys!

I saw on the results page that someone applying for a PhD in Hebrew Bible had an interview this week at University of Chicago. How did it go?

I have only applied for NELC (PhD) in Chicago, and I am becoming very nervous about the results.. has anyone heard when they most likely will send out the results at UofC? Last year some people heard beginning of February, but some as late as March..

Cheers!

 

I have friends in the program (and two of my LORs are associated faculty). What I heard was that decisions have been made but not yet released (I don't know when they'll be released). They don't interview either. 

 

[Metatronos]

Thus far, I have been rejected by Yale, which I thought would occur.  However, I must say that I am not upset about it at all, since there is a major scandal in that NELC department: http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/02/06/scandal-still-strains-egyptology/

 

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/03/26/nelc-department-in-dire-straits/

 

I wish I had known about this earlier. If so, I would not have even applied to the program. However, I have been contacted by Indiana University-Bloomington NELC, pertaining to a fellowship nomination. Considering the area of interests that I have, this program will be the best fit for me. I wish you all the best in this application cycle. The competition is pretty stiff this year and funding is limited. 

 

Cheers!

Edited February 13, 2015 by Metatronos

[Aubstopper]

From what I understand from professors/former students, Yale is seriously considering dropping the entire NELC program altogether. I see you've posted an article saying as much. 

There was more drama, apparently, even beyond what the article indicated. There is a prof I'm friends with who attended Yale for NELC and he had such bad experiences when he was there that he was advocating that the program should be suspended. Yikes. There was this huge argument among Yale professors and current/former students on this prof's fb status re: whether the department should stay open or not. Excluding the actual topic at hand, it's kind of funny to see academics argue on social media.  

So, really. Take it as a blessing. 
 

[Metatronos]

From what I understand from professors/former students, Yale is seriously considering dropping the entire NELC program altogether. I see you've posted an article saying as much. 

There was more drama, apparently, even beyond what the article indicated. There is a prof I'm friends with who attended Yale for NELC and he had such bad experiences when he was there that he was advocating that the program should be suspended. Yikes. There was this huge argument among Yale professors and current/former students on this prof's fb status re: whether the department should stay open or not. Excluding the actual topic at hand, it's kind of funny to see academics argue on social media.  

So, really. Take it as a blessing. 

 

 

That is pretty crazy and sad altogether, for Dr. Dimitri Gutas is someone I hope fairs well a mist this turmoil within his department.  His work on Avicenna is exceptional.  The field of Islamic philosophy is a very small group, so I hope we don't loose one of the best, due to some scandal brought about by others. Hopefully, he will migrate away from the program and find a new home.  However, I am sure retirement is the option he is weighing at this point. 

 

As far as myself, I am quite thankful that I am not going to Yale.  This would have been a nightmare. 

[Aubstopper]

That is pretty crazy and sad altogether, for Dr. Dimitri Gutas is someone I hope fairs well a mist this turmoil within his department.  His work on Avicenna is exceptional.  The field of Islamic philosophy is a very small group, so I hope we don't loose one of the best, due to some scandal brought about by others. Hopefully, he will migrate away from the program and find a new home.  However, I am sure retirement is the option he is weighing at this point. 

 

As far as myself, I am quite thankful that I am not going to Yale.  This would have been a nightmare. 

 

Ya, I bet. Even their website stated that they would not be accepting students for islamic studies this time around (http://nelc.yale.edu/graduate-program). It really is sad given that they're apparently the oldest nelc program in the country. 

I've applied through their religious studies department (they've all been very kind and helpful) and they've properly convinced me to attend if I were to be accepted. Seems there are several faculty members working on political messianism.  

[Metatronos]

Ya, I bet. Even their website stated that they would not be accepting students for islamic studies this time around (http://nelc.yale.edu/graduate-program). It really is sad given that they're apparently the oldest nelc program in the country. 

I've applied through their religious studies department (they've all been very kind and helpful) and they've properly convinced me to attend if I were to be accepted. Seems there are several faculty members working on political messianism.  

 

I actually saw those notices appear about 2 weeks after applied.  I contacted the department about it, but I was never able to get in touch with anyone for clarification on the matter. 

Edited February 16, 2015 by Metatronos