Aubstopper Posted January 11, 2015 Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) When I was there, we didn't have advising at the undergraduate level (other than the academic counselors assigned to us through the International Institute), unless, I think, you were writing an honors thesis (which I opted not to do, as I was preparing for MA apps). My time there was a bit disjointed, and the majority of my major courses were transferred through my time at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and credits from a community college. I did manage, however, in my final year to take Dr. Myers' "Jews from 1881 to Present" course, which actually was my first introduction to Jewish Intellectual History. When were you there? Who are you wanting to work with at UofC? I took the majority of my courses through the Divinity School, so I'm pretty familiar with most of the faculty (Paul Mendes-Flour was my adviser). Edited January 11, 2015 by Aubstopper
doobiebrothers Posted January 11, 2015 Posted January 11, 2015 wow! We're like the same person! I'm at HUJ right now on a fellowship! Small world, right? I do comparative religion (Islam/Judaism) and I'm hoping to work with James Robinson. He's here in Jerusalem now, and he is teaching me judeo arabic. We already have a good relationship and he told me he wants to work with me, but he's worried I'll be poached by Harvard. (inshallah!) I was there a few years ago--Morony was my advisor, and I never got a chance to take Myers but It's a big regret of mine
Aubstopper Posted January 11, 2015 Posted January 11, 2015 wow! We're like the same person! I'm at HUJ right now on a fellowship! Small world, right? I do comparative religion (Islam/Judaism) and I'm hoping to work with James Robinson. He's here in Jerusalem now, and he is teaching me judeo arabic. We already have a good relationship and he told me he wants to work with me, but he's worried I'll be poached by Harvard. (inshallah!) I was there a few years ago--Morony was my advisor, and I never got a chance to take Myers but It's a big regret of mine Very cool! When I decided to attend HUJ, I did so in the middle of my undergrad career as UCLA didn't have a collaborative program with the university due to a State Department travel warning (it was right after the second Lebanon war and a few years after the bombing of the Frank Sinatra cafeteria near the Rothberg school); I had to "drop out" of UCLA then reapply a year and a half later. I took Morony's course on Early Islam back at my time at UCLA. As for Dr. Myers, I did well in his course and found his theses fascinating, but him and I had a bit of a personality clash. To me, he comes off a bit "above the people." I'm proposing to do a bit of work with Islam for my PhD as well (given my interest in Sabbateanism and my background in the Middle East). I contacted potential 'secondary' advisers though I spent more time taking Persian than Arabic in undergrad/grad school (because it's easier and Al Kitaab makes me want to slit my wrists). In regards to Harvard, I was planning on applying to work under Peter Gordon but out of all the POIs I sent out inquiry emails to, he was the only one who didn't get back to me. I figured it was not worth it and was told by my former professors that Harvard probably wasn't a good fit anyway. Oh well. Sounds like you're in a good place with UofC. James Robinson is a good guy. What specifically are you proposing to research? The only thing I can think of that requires Judeo-Arabic is something to do with Maimonides.
Aubstopper Posted January 12, 2015 Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) That is, most Islamic Studies subfields require beyond advanced level Arabic and I took Persian/Hebrew instead. My Arabic is only at the intermediate level at best. Edited January 12, 2015 by Aubstopper
MsBOOM Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Just want to pop in and say good luck, everyone! I'll be applying next year (unforseen circumstances - the military doesn't give two craps about whether your spouse wants to pursue a PhD or not... and my hubby and I are being PCSed soon - he's career military). Hope everyone gets great news ! doobiebrothers 1
Averroes MD Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 That is, most Islamic Studies subfields require beyond advanced level Arabic and I took Persian/Hebrew instead. My Arabic is only at the intermediate level at best. I see you've applied to Oxford for Oriental Studies. Do you happen to know what their language requirement is? Do you need to know French or German?
Aubstopper Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 I see you've applied to Oxford for Oriental Studies. Do you happen to know what their language requirement is? Do you need to know French or German? It's safe to say, most NELC programs like it if you have your primary language of research (fluent, or close to), a secondary language of research (at least at intermediate), and reading knowledge of French and German (you get 2 years in program to gain proficiency before you matriculate to the PhD portion). Given that Oxford's Humanities DPhil programs require that you already have a Masters degree (which I see you're working on) and that the program is only 3-4 years long, you're expected to already have the resources to be able to do advanced research in your area of study. You don't submit a statement of purpose; you submit to them a research proposal. The specific language requirements depend on the research you propose... While preparing my application, I've found this page especially useful (click on the tab "Selection Criteria"): http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/dphil-oriental-studies I haven't applied YET, but I will once I get this Davis application out of the way (it has like 10 essays wtf). Oxford's Oriental Studies DPhil seems to have a much higher acceptance rate than other programs (something like 20%), but it's important to state that, especially if you are not an EU citizen, it's difficult to secure university funding. If you feel you're not ready to delve entirely into a research program and aren't okay with trying to secure external funding, then US universities are a much better option. I was told this even by my POI, who really does want me to attend, but felt that Oxford's funding situation looked a bit bleak in comparison to the funding situation in the US.
doobiebrothers Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Aubstopper I also applied to a Oxbridge--do you have any sense of how admissions differs between a UK uni and an American university of the same level? Is there somewhere I can read about the admission process (I looked on the Oxford page but I wonder if there is better information floating around the interwebs)
Aubstopper Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Aubstopper I also applied to a Oxbridge--do you have any sense of how admissions differs between a UK uni and an American university of the same level? Is there somewhere I can read about the admission process (I looked on the Oxford page but I wonder if there is better information floating around the interwebs) I spoke to my POI via Skype about it during my inquiry stage. From what I understand, the college system is more for undergrads and at the grad level, your choice of college only is about where you'd like your social life to be (at this stage, it's more about the school accepting you than a college, which you can have them choose for you if you'd like). Other than the college system, it seems to be similar except Oxford accepts more international students and doesn't guarantee aid. As you can see from the Oriental Studies website, 30 spaces/143 applicants (averaged over 3 years) is an almost 21% acceptance rate compared to US prestigious programs which as you know have a 6%-10% acceptance rate. One of my peers from my MES program applied to PhD programs in History all over (something like 20+, which i don't know how people do) and was rejected from everywhere except Oxford, where she was not given aid. Lucky for her, her family is wealthy so it worked out. What aspect of admissions do you mean specifically?
documentary? Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 Hi All! First update: I have heard back from BC and have an interview next week. Any ideas on what I should be prepared for (this is my first interview)? I haven't heard from any other programs; anyone heard from Emory or Duke yet? They seem to usually notify about interviews pretty early in the process.
tsgriffey Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 The only M.A./Ph.D. program I've applied to is Boston University since I just received my B.A. and BU's Religion and Science sub-discipline is especially suited to my interests. Do I stand a chance without a masters degree? I have a strong application otherwise (including a LOR from a prof who was president of American Academy of Religion for a while and just received a Guggenheim Fellowship--she was my honors thesis advisor). BU's admission stats: 6-9 acceptances out of 100 applicants.
TheCappadocian Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 Hi All! First update: I have heard back from BC and have an interview next week. Any ideas on what I should be prepared for (this is my first interview)? I haven't heard from any other programs; anyone heard from Emory or Duke yet? They seem to usually notify about interviews pretty early in the process. Haven't heard from Duke yet! (not that I necessarily would....)
Aubstopper Posted January 18, 2015 Posted January 18, 2015 The only M.A./Ph.D. program I've applied to is Boston University since I just received my B.A. and BU's Religion and Science sub-discipline is especially suited to my interests. Do I stand a chance without a masters degree? I have a strong application otherwise (including a LOR from a prof who was president of American Academy of Religion for a while and just received a Guggenheim Fellowship--she was my honors thesis advisor). BU's admission stats: 6-9 acceptances out of 100 applicants. There are plenty of people who are accepted to PhD programs without already having a Masters degree, and as you can see from this website, there are plenty of people with Masters degrees who don't get into PhD programs. I'm sure having a rec from a professor with a prestigious background helps, but it's more about what you can contribute to the university in terms of original research and your potential to succeed as a graduate student/beyond. Don't focus on the stats or the numbers, because they can be daunting, I know; just focus on creating the best application you can.
doobiebrothers Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Columbia interview notifications are out!
TheCappadocian Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Columbia interview notifications are out! Phone call? generic e-mail? letter?
tsgriffey Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 There are plenty of people who are accepted to PhD programs without already having a Masters degree, and as you can see from this website, there are plenty of people with Masters degrees who don't get into PhD programs. I'm sure having a rec from a professor with a prestigious background helps, but it's more about what you can contribute to the university in terms of original research and your potential to succeed as a graduate student/beyond. Don't focus on the stats or the numbers, because they can be daunting, I know; just focus on creating the best application you can. Thanks for the insight! I'm pretty confident in my evidence of original research and am a perfect fit (well, I think so ). Can't wait to hear from them!! The waiting is tough.
doobiebrothers Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Phone call? generic e-mail? letter? non-generic email; POI emailed me for skype interview next week
LauraR Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Just invited to interview at Baylor. Hopefully this portends good things (and more interviews!) turktheman and Kuriakos 1 1
turktheman Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Just invited to interview at Baylor. Hopefully this portends good things (and more interviews!) What field did you apply for?
Kuriakos Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Just invited to interview at Baylor. Hopefully this portends good things (and more interviews!) See you in February Edit: Just to be clear, I'm already there not applying. Edited January 21, 2015 by Kuriakos
documentary? Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I heard from Baylor too! I'm OT/HB track though. turktheman and Kuriakos 2
turktheman Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 NT That is very exciting! Congrats! I am applying next year to the same program. In your SOP did you stress working with the NT department as a whole or did you single out a professor as your major person of interest? Kuriakos 1
scritch Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I'm new to the forum and trying to gauge whether anyone has received acceptance letters or interview requests from the school's I've applied to. This is my first year applying, so I have no idea what to expect as far as timeframe. I applied to: Notre Dame: PhD, Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity Vanderbilt: PhD, Hebrew Bible Johns Hopkins: PhD, Near Eastern Studies Brandeis: PhD, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies
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