Fall 2015 applicants for theatre/performance PhD

[Mocha Earl]

Ladyebird! Thank you for good wishes! I got accepted to UT Austin's MA in PPP program off of the waitlist, and I'm so happy about it! Have you accepted the offer? Did they give you full funding? I got in-state tuition + some scholarship(they say it'll be around $1000-3000). Maryland is figuring out the funding package for me at the moment(it seems like they can manage to give me full funding! I visited UMD two weeks ago), and UCSB should let me know the result by tomorrow! If I get into UCSB's MA program, it'll be a full funded one! I wonder whether I can make a deal with UT Austin about the funding package!

[DoctorTheatre2015]

Annnndddddddd I finally got an acceptance!!!!!

 

From...

 

Texas Tech

 

Now the wait to see aboout funding.

[Mocha Earl]

Just to sum up my experience; (maybe this information can be helpful to someone later!)

 

I'm an international student graduating this June with BFA in Theatre Arts (with directing concentration) from US institution. (So I don't have any MA degree. Also I'm older than other undergraduates; I'm 27yrs old and engaged!). 

 

I applied to UCSD (PhD in Theatre), UCSB (MA/PHD in Theatre), UCI (PhD in Theatre), Northwestern (PhD in IPTD), UT Austin (MA in PPP) and U of Maryland (MA in Theatre and Performance Studies)

 

I've done the interview with UCSD (Skype), Northwestern (in-persin applicant's week; and there were four other people for the final interview, and I heard there were two overseas applicants Skyping with the faculty the following week), UT Austin (Phone interview).

 

I was wait-listed to UT Austin, UCSD, Northwestern then rejected from UCSD, Northwestern (for Northwestern, it was related to my potential advisor's sabbatical year).

 

On March 10th, I got accepted to UMD without any funding package, but I visited the campus and full funding package came through on April 10th. 

 

On April 3rd, I got accepted to UT Austin off of the waitlist (Yay!) with a tiny funding package (in-state tuition and little scholarship), but April 16th, there were able to offer me a full-funding package. (Too bad it was too late! It was my first choice!) + (I visited the school and it might help the funding package to come through.)

 

I got accepted to UCSB on April 7th with a very good funding package. I thought I would get rejected, since I didn't do the interview and I didn't hear back from them until I've contacted them in mid March. So it was very surprising. I've visited the school before the application season started, and they said that visit counted as an unofficial interview. But after I made the initial contact in mid March, they were very very kind, nice, communicative with me. Between UMD, UT Austin and UCSB, I ended up choosing UCSB because my finance's planning on applying to grad school next year, and for his option, California was better. 

 

On April 16th, UCI contacted me that I got accepted to their PhD program. I haven't got any contact from them, didn't do the interview, and when I contacted them on mid-March, early-April, and first & second week of April, they said they haven't any decision yet (and they didn't seem very nice for some reason!). So it was a complete surprise. But my mind was already made by 15th, so I said goodbye to the offer. I hope someone from this thread got the offer! 

 

Grad Cafe forum has been very very helpful, especially in terms of getting some timeline set up after submitting the application! (No one told me what to expect other than just wait! But via great deal of search on the result section here at grad cafe, I was able to get some timeline, which was very very helpful in maintain my daily life!) So I'm here to share my experience, especially in terms of how the timeline played out for me this time around. I know there has been some discussion about paid MA program; surprisingly, there's many! But I didn't know until I applied. I also heard from my friend who applied to the same program that OSU, UCSC are also ended up to be fully funded. 

 

Another great thing I didn't really expect was that everything happened to me in late March. I remember I was devastated in February (I got waitlisted to UCSD, and my top choice UT Austin) and early March (rejected from UCSD, haven't heard from UCI, UCSB, and waitlisted to NW, and had a very rough time.) Then the second week of March I got accepted to UMD (with no funding! And UMD was a very expensive option for me). Still I had little hope, but this thread has been helping me keeping myself positive and optimistic. (Since I heard Ladyebird got accepted off of the waitlist! That was a very celebratory moment for me!) During my current school's spring break, with alomst-given-up kind of mind, I visited UMD with a very light hope of funding package. Fortunately, funding came through, and then the rest good news (accepted off of the waitlist from UT Austin, and UCSB positively reviewing my application) happened all of a sudden during very last week of March. So no one knows how this race's going to be until the very end! Keep your hope and positivity! 

 

I'm heading to UCSB next academic year, and feel good about it! Hope this information can be helpful to anyone, someone, who will be going through this hectic process in following years! Crossing my fingers for you! 

Edited April 30, 2015 by Mocha Earl

[Tippi Hart]

Wow, I so wish I had found this forum a few months ago. Appling for a PhD program has been awfully stressful and there is no one in my current program that applied. It would have been great to have other imput on the process. I did get into Arizona State in Theatre and Performance in the Americas and will be moving from Louisiana to Arizona in a few months. I was searching for some info on ASU and came across this page.                   

[Bacchanalia]

Hello everyone! 

 

Just wanted to vent for a second here.... I just went to my mail box yesterday and FINALLY heard back from UCI. Seriously? Over a month after April 15?! I think I had already figured out that you "couldn't act favorably on my application." 

 

I'm just trying to figure out if it was worse when they didn't send anything or when they sent it well past a reasonable date? I'm assuming it just took this long to confirm that all their spots were filled and that's why its so delayed. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, which will be interesting when I have to take classes there next year 

 

How is everyone doing with preparations? I am so ready for it to be Sept!