Interview for Masters Program?

[Salome's Beef]

Hi all,

 

I just received an email from Syracuse University asking me to Skype with them this Monday. I was surprised by this email, because I only applied to Masters programs this year, and I was under the impression that you only interview for PhD admissions. Am I mistaken? Is this normal for Masters degrees? Should I expect to interview at other places? Also, what should I expect during this skype session, is there anything in particular I should be prepared for?

 

Thanks!

KW

[xypathos]

I was asked for an interview at Union but it was because of funding I was nominated for.

 

I just did a search through the Results postings and other students have marked that they've been asked for an interview. But, I didn't see an immediate postings/updates about the interview.

 

So, I think it's safe to presume two things: 1) Some kind of competitive funding, or 2) They're on the fence about you.

[colormelovely]

What's your subfield? I also applied to Syracuse.

[Kuriakos]

I'd guess funding.

[Salome's Beef]

Thanks for the responses! I just got another email today saying it's going to be 20 minute interviews and they're interviewing a "number of applicants". No idea what that means.

 

Colormelovely: I applied to the Communities and Identities concentration focusing on Indigenous Religions. 

[sacklunch]

Syracuse's MA is one of the 'elite' programs in that it 1) has (full) funding and 2) is relatively small, offering its students the advantage of more attention by faculty. I would compare it to something like ND's MTS, and is thus much more competitive than say (MTS/MAR) programs like HDS, YDS (MARg), and so on.

[Salome's Beef]

Just a follow up, I interviewed yesterday (Monday), and they asked me basic questions about what I was specifically interested in with regards to the program, about my background and about my purposed area of study. It was a 15-20 minute Skype convo with 5 professors and a grad student. I then got an email today from the Director of Graduate Studies with my acceptance into the program! 

[xypathos]

Grats!