Fall 2015 applicants for theatre/performance PhD

[LadyeBird]

It's that time of year when us PhD applicants for TAPS programs start to hear back about interviews, visits, and rejections. Having a thread last year was so helpful with the waiting game.

 

Anyone else out there applying to TAPS PHD programs?

 

I've applied to Berkeley, UT Austin's Performance as Public Policy, and Northwestern's Performance Studies programs. 

[MintBrad]

Hello out there! Looks to be a bit quiet on the TAPS front, but I certainly would like to hear when people are getting interviews and offers. I actually had my first Skype interview yesterday with UCSD, and while it didn't go as well as I would have hoped, it at least geared me up if I hear from other schools.

I'm applying to UCSD, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, and U of Maryland.

Best of luck Ladyebird, let me know if you hear anything from Berkeley!

[LadyeBird]

Hi MintBrad! I'm so glad to have someone on here to commiserate with during the waiting process.

 

It looks like from past years on the results search that those accepted to Berkeley hear this week. Good luck to you and let me know if you hear anything too!

 

Last year I got invited out to interview at Stanford. They did two rounds of interviews last year, the first was a Skype interview which I was invited to via email on 1/27/14, so you possibly have to wait until the start of next week to hear from Stanford. 

 

Best of luck with all your apps.

[Mocha Earl]

Hello there! Finally the conversation has started! I had my first Skype interview with UCSD yesterday as well! Same here about the interview. It don't know whether it went well or not), but it really geared me up for possible future interviews as well!!! 

 

I applied to UCSD, UCSB, UCI, Northwestern, UT Austin and U of Maryland. 

 

Best of luck everyone!!

[DoctorTheatre2015]

Hi everyone! I'm here to join you! I'm more theatre for youth though.

 

University of Wisconsin-Madison-Theatre for youth

University of Texas-Austin-PPP

Texas Tech-Performance

Arizona State-Theatre for youth

NYU-Ed theatre

 

I also applied to CUNY-Urban Ed. and Suny Buffalo but i did it past the deadline and they switched it to MA.

 

Have not heard anything yet.

 

Break legs friends!

[Bacchanalia]

Hello, hello!

 

Greetings and commiserations to you all.

 

I have my interview scheduled with UCSD on Monday 1/26, and I'm feeling a bit nervous, not quite sure what to expect. Would anyone mind sharing what to expect? 

 

Heard back from Stanford with a no, but a nice email. Still waiting to hear from CUNY and UCI.

 

Best wishes to all of you! I hope you are enjoying your compulsive email checking as much as I am!

[LadyeBird]

Hard to tell which is more enjoyable: the compulsive email checking or GC results search. Looks like someone got an interview invite to Northwestern. Is that anyone in this thread? If so congrats to you!

[Bacchanalia]

UCSD said they are going to be in contact in the next two weeks, for those of you that are curious.... And the waiting game continues.

Anyone else replaying every moment of their interview in their mind?

[LadyeBird]

Got my interview invite for UT Austin today. Anyone else? 

 

How are the UCSD hopefuls holding up?

[Mocha Earl]

Got my interview invite for UT Austin on last Saturday as well! I applied to MA though.

Ladyebird, may I ask who contacted you? I was contact by Paul Bonin-Rodriguez(I applied for MA). 

[LadyeBird]

MochaEarl, I got contacted by Rebecca Rossen. I've been in touch with Professor Rossen since spring 2014 about the program and spoke with her on the phone in September before deciding to apply. During that phone call she said I'd likely interview with another faculty member since she's had a chance to get to know me. So I'm not sure if Professor Rossen will be the person who does my interview or if it will be another faculty member.

Best of luck to you. When are you doing your interview?

[Bacchanalia]

Congrats on the interviews LadyeBird and Mocha Earl! I live in Austin currently, so

If you have any questions about what it's like, I would be happy to help!

Break a leg to both of you!

[MintBrad]

My apologies for not responding- I just figured out how to set up notifications on this site. I'm especially sorry to Bacchanalia, as I could have given you some insight into the UCSD interview beforehand. I ended up feeling a bit ambushed by it, as it had seemed that I was going to meet with the professor that I had been corresponding with (and hoped to be a potential dissertation sponsor), but ended up meeting with 3 profs, and didn't feel adequately prepped. Add on some skype technical difficulties, and I don't think it went well. Guess I'm glad you commiserate Earl, though hope it works out better for you! We'll see still, fingers crossed.

 

Ladyebird. thanks for the timelines-- Stanford and Berkeley are where I'm putting most of my hopes, so hopefully will hear something positive in the next week! If I get an interview invite I may pick your brain.

 

Mocha Earl-- did you happen to go to the Maryland open house in November? I missed it as I live in NY, and was just wondering if there were any important aspects to it.

 

DocTheatre-- I actually just got my Masters from NYU Ed. theatre and Ed. Social Studies, and would be happy to answer any questions you may have on the program (at least from an MA's perspective).

 

Good luck all! 

[Mocha Earl]

Ladyebird, good luck on your interview as well! Mine is 30min phone interview with Professor Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, and it's happening on thursday 2pm central time. When's your interview? (Crossing my fingers for both of us!) 

 

​Bacchanalia, thank you very much! That's so nice of you! I'll ask you once I have some questions about Austin! Also thanks for letting me know when to expect the result from UCSD! Best of luck to us! Hahahaha I've been replaying every moment of the interview in my mind, and overtime I get to tell anyone about my interview process!

 

MintBrad & Bacchanalia: Same here. I was a bit surprised to meet three professors instead of one professor I'd been corresponding to. Also, I've visited UCSD, and it seems like their grad conference rooms and classrooms are all located in the basement of a building which might have affected the internet connection. I used FaceTime, because I worried about Skype being flaky(I use FaceTime everyday), but even FaceTime connection wasn't that great. That threw me off a little bit. But sill, my fingers are crossed for all of us(as I heard from their grad advisor that 6 of their PhD students just graduated). 

 

MintBrad: I didn't get to go there either.(I live in Chicago by the way!) I applied there mainly because one professor I wanted to study with recently got tenure there (she used to teach at UIUC). So I contacted her, instead of going to open house. Hope we didn't miss anything!

Also, I've decided to apply to NYU Ed theatre as well(MA program) ! I have a question for you! I'm interested in Arts programming in colleges(and that's the one I'm applying, for colleges and communities), are you generally satisfied with the education you got from the school? Is this program more tuned with pedagogy than theatre theories? Curriculum excites me, but I'm not quite sure about how the approach in drama in education different from just theatre education in higher educational institution. 

 

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[MintBrad]

Mocha Earl, thanks for the response-- the fact that UCSD's tech issues were universal and that they have a big graduating class are both making me feel a bit more optimistic! On the NYU front, I should preface what I'm about to say with the fact that I was on a slightly different track-- high school accreditation for theatre and social studies which may have influenced my views on the school. I definitely had some good classes and profs, and your potential track gives you a lot more flexibility and choice than mine did, but in the end I felt like it was almost exclusively hand-on teaching pedagogy with very little intellectual stimulation. That being said, C&C folks for sure had more options, and may have the right fit for your interests, though the majority of focus at the school is towards younger students (part of the reason I'm applying for PhD's!). One other factor is debt-- NYU is killer expensive, although I may just being saying that having lived on a teacher's starting salary the last two years. I'm happy to answer any other questions, but my overall advice is to maybe give it a pass if you end up with other options.

Kind of a random question for all-- what kind of questions are you guys asking in interviews? I asked about performance opportunities (as an actor or director), and options for taking classes outside of the department, but I'm just wondering what other kinds of things I should be asking at this initial stage. Maybe how many slots they have open, or graduate job placement? Just thought I would pick your brains, thanks!

[LadyeBird]

MochaEarl, Good luck with your interview tomorrow. Mine is today (I'm not available during the days they set aside for interviews so I get to do mine early, yey!?). Originally it was scheduled for 11:30 CST but has just been pushed back to 3:15 CST. Dr. Rossen didn't indicate how long the conversation would last. I'm most nervous about what questions I should ask. Since I have already had a long conversation with Dr. Rossen about the program I've had most every question answered. 

 

If anyone is on the thread today and can give some suggestions of questions to ask, it would be much appreciated! Questions I've asked already have been about performance opportunities, opportunities to take classes in other departments, teaching requirements/opportunities, and funding. I've also asked "Now that we've had a chance to talk more do you think the program is a good fit for my research and goals?", which is kind of like asking "do I get the job now?". Today I'm planning to ask specifically about how the Program of Study is created (UT Austin has you create your own mid-way through the first semester) and if there is any opportunity to organize a conference on my area of interest (performance and activism). But other ideas and questions are welcome! Hive mind!

 

MintBrad, I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about the Skype interview or Stanford's interview weekend. Fingers crossed you get an invite soon! Re: Berkeley I saw someone posted on the Results Search they got an acceptance to Berkeley last week. Is that you? Last year I got my rejection from Berkeley on the last Friday of January, so we've still got a few more days to see if we're wait listed perhaps?

 

Bacchanalia, Thanks for the well wishes. If I get accepted I will be asking you lots of questions. Don't want to get my hopes up too high about moving to warm, weird Austin!

[Bacchanalia]

So good to see all the exciting things that are happening! 

 

I likewise had some technical issues during my UCSD interview, but they stopped after they turned off their video screen, so I was just talking to a blank computer (very nerve-racking). Sorry to hear about the ambushed impressions! I spoke with a friend who is currently at Stanford and she said to expect the whole department to be there (for UCSD), so I was actually surprised to only see 3 professors and only 1 POI. 

 

I just got an email this morning from the school and the department saying I was admitted with "full support" so I will have to see what that means in practical terms! Very cautiously excited.

 

As far as questions I asked, I had a lot. I think maybe too many... but I asked:

1. How is the funding earned? Teaching? TA-ing? Mopping floors? 

2. What are the opportunities for Practice as research and are they student driven or institutionally driven?

3. How do you see me and my research project fitting in as a part of your department?

4. I also asked a question to show that I was familiar with the publications by the current faculty.

 

I am sending good vibes to all of the UT applicants for their interviews! Let us know how it goes!

[LadyeBird]

Now that my UT interview is over I'm starting the dreaded replaying of every moment of the interview in my mind, an also on the phone with my mom, via text with my boss, and in person with my partner. Dr. Rossen said those who interview will probably hear back around mid- to late-February. So another month of overanalyzing my interview?!

 

MochaEarl, Let me know what questions you have. I'm happy to help, although I'm not sure how much overlap there will be between MA and PhD interview expectations. I had to answer specific questions about the form my dissertation would take, i.e. how much would be performance/practice-based. This could have been specific to my experience using practice-based research during my MFA. I was also asked about if I'd read faculty bios, specifically those whose interested overlapped with mine. I hope this is helpful. Don't stress! I was so nervous and excited I rambled a bit when talking about my research goals. Good luck tomorrow, and I'll try to answer any question you've got.

 

Bacchanalia, Congrats!!! One acceptance down, (hopefully) a couple more to go (fingers crossed). When do you expect to hear from CUNY and UCI?

[Mocha Earl]

LadyeBird! Thank you very much for the kind offer! Hope you nailed the interview! It sounds like you did well. So congrats! And another month of waiting game!(Fingers crossed!) 

 

I have some questions: Did you talk to one person(Dr.Rossen)? Or was there other people waiting to jump in(like tele-conference) and talk to you? 

I got contacted by Prof. Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, so I'm assuming I'll be talking to him primarily. He told me it'll be about my research and goals + I get to ask questions as well. So I should expect something similar to your questions!(Thank you very much for sharing this info! Hope we'll ended up seeing each other in the same department!!!)

 

Also, how long was your interview? The email said it'll be 30mins, and I'm surprised MA interviews are as long(if not longer) than my PhD interview with UCSD! (UCSD were really sharp about their time. I ended up running short with time, and didn't get to ask many questions as I wanted. I asked 1. How long does the course works(taking classes) be -they said it'll be 2 yrs and half, and usually students gets their course work done within 3 yrs. 2. Any opportunities such as research assistant or teaching? 3. Is there any translation related courses available upon request-this is more related to my goal- When I asked #2, the director of the admission committee said I can only ask one more question. So I wasn't even able to ask any publication specific questions!) 

 

Again, thank you very very much for your kind offer LadyeBird! I'll let you know how mine went tomorrow! I'm kind of excited and nervous, since I've never had a phone interview! Another question simply because I'm curious(and you don't have to answer this question if you feel uncomfortable about it!) What did you major for your MFA? It's very interesting that you used practice-based research! It seems like UT Austin is a really good fit for you! Are you waiting to hear back from any other schools as well?

 

Bacchanalia!! Congrats!!!!!!!!! Ohhh!!!!! Congrats for full support!!!!! And very surprised to hear that you got to ask that many questions! My interview was sharply 25mins. How long was yours? Skype interview with the entire faculty sounds pretty hardcore(three was enough for me!), and Skype AUDIO interview with four people sounds horrifying. But you survived! Many congrats to you!!! I wonder when will they let me know about either I got waitlisted or rejected or what not! Just wanted to know and move on. 

 

MintBrad, thank you very much for the detailed answers! Funding is my big concern about NYU. So I can assume that I wouldn't be able to get any support package from the school?!(or maybe little?!) On top of living expenses in NY, I don't know whether I can afford it. Thank you very much for your opinion! Have you heard anything back from UCSD yet? I'll let you know when I hear back from them! 

 

Good luck and good vibe everyone in this thread!!!!! I know we need a lot of good energy and vibe to survive this brutal waiting game! 

[Bacchanalia]

Mocha Earl and LaydeBird, thank you so so much for your kind words! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. 

 

LaydeBird, glad to hear you feel good about your interview. The waiting is absolutely brutal, glad to hear you have a good support system! I have no idea on UCI or CUNY's timeline, but I would like to visit both UC campuses soon, so hopefully soon...

 

Mocha Earl, I talked to them for just about 30 min, but because of scheduling there was no way they could have had an interview after me, so that might be why. I currently teach High School, so I was unavailable at almost all of the times. Also, I went to NYU for my MA I know its a different dept, but I will back up the expensive part. And the part with VERY limited MA funding, only 2 were funded in my MA class of about 25.

 

I agree an the good vibes, this thread is definitely helping keep me sane! So I will continue sending sane, positive vibes to all of you. May we all find a program that loves us as much we love them. 

[LadyeBird]

MochaEarl, I only spoke to Dr. Rossen. The interview lasted just under 30 minutes.

 

My MFA is in Theatre Practice with a specialization in Staging Shakespeare. 

 

And, I agree with MochaEarl and Bacchanalia, this thread is helping! Thanks for all the good vibes all and right back atcha!

[Mocha Earl]

Thank you very much for all your help LadyeBird!!!! I think my interview went well. Professor Bonin-Rodriguez was very friendly and welcoming. My interview was quite informal, and he asked me about two questions - one specific question about my research interest stated in my SOP, and another, why UT Austin. 

 

He also said last year, the result came about the third week of the February(he said it took this long because the department has to decide how much funding they can pull for the incoming students!) He said they were pretty conservative about accepting incoming students last year, but this year, they are hoping to be more radical(I'm not sure if this is the very word he used) about it this year! So my fingers are crossed for both of us! 

 

One fun thing: My phone call got cut off in the middle due to UT Austin's phone system replacement! So there were 10 mins of dramatic break in between my phone interview! But eventually, it all went well! 

 

Now the long running waiting game has started. I'll occasionally bring up some fun silly things to fill the void! 

 

Today's silliness: http://windosill.com

Edited January 29, 2015 by Mocha Earl

[MintBrad]

Bacchanalia, congrats on SD!!! And sounds like the Austin contingent is doing well also! I just want to echo how appreciative I am of the good vibes here-, it's a nice change of pace from the week I've been having-- my high school is giving finals and semester grades out this week and it has been a little bit too much like the end of apocalypse now for my liking! To answer an earlier question I am not the berkeley acceptee (though they sound awesome with an MFA and an MA in folklore-- pretty cool stuff if you ask me!)

I have yet to hear anything, good or bad, so I'm choosing to go with the optomistic route of this meaning that I'm making it to further consideration, or at the least some wait lists. Bacchanalia, is SD high on your list? Alright, back to madly grading midterms-- happy Thursday all!

[LadyeBird]

MintBrad, I'm putting all my optimistic energy into us getting on the wait list for Berkeley!!

[Bacchanalia]

To be totally honest, I was trying not to think past the application process, so that I didn't get my hopes up. Now I'm not really sure what to think... I like SD more after hearing more about their program. I'm working on planning a visit now to help me decide.

Any pointers on what to look for/ask to make sure its the place to be?