French PhD - Fall 2015 Application Season

[merteuil]

Anyone else applying for a PhD in French or have tips you would like to share? 

 

I am applying to 8 schools, many of them very competitive. I hope I get accepted somewhere.

[xolo]

Hi merteuil, it's pretty dead around the forum right now, last year it got crazy between about December and April. Very active. I don't think there was a thread for French last cycle, however. (Not that I remember anyway). Languages are some of the smaller departments, except possibly English, at least in the US.

 

What is your strategy for applying? This time last year I was working on my SOP, which ended up taking 6 months and I still ran out of time!
 

[merteuil]

Yeah, I figured it would be pretty dead right about now. I used to lurk silently in another grad school forum, but there was nothing there regarding foreign languages. At least there's a section of the forum dedicated to them here. Hopefully it'll be more active in the fall!

 

In terms of strategy...hmm.

 

GRE/GPA: My GRE scores and undergrad GPA are pretty good. I don't have a perfect GRE score, but after the 95th percentile for the Verbal section, nobody really cares, right? And even then, I'm not sure how important the GRE is, from what I've seen on the results page (which seems to be down right now). Also, I graduated magna, so while my GPA wasn't a perfect 4.0, it shouldn't hold me back (hopefully). 

 

Writing sample: I'm doing a Masters degree, and I would like to use my MA thesis, or an excerpt from it, for my writing sample. I'm working on that right now. It'll be finished and submitted more than a month before my applications are due. I'll just need to work hard on it for the next few months. 

 

Letters of recommendation: I've asked one professor about a letter of rec so far. Another professor from my MA program told me I'd do very well in a PhD program, so I'm sure she would be happy to write a letter for me as well. There's another professor from my undergrad institution who I think would be able to write a good letter for me, so I'll probably ask her next month. I have been communicating with her from time to time, so hopefully it won't be too out of the blue. 

 

Statement of Purpose: I haven't started any of my SoPs, mostly because I'm waiting for the applications to open. Sometimes you can only see the exact SoP prompt on the application. But I have been jotting down all of the things that come to mind that would be useful to include in my SoP, and I've found a few articles about SoP writing that might be helpful. I'm hoping to have drafts of all of them by the end of September. 

 

Everything else: I don't know what else to do at this point, except maybe try to submit a paper for a conference. The main thing that will hurt my application is probably that I'm not from a Francophone country, but I can't change that. I also don't know if I should contact possible advisors -- it seems kind of fake, to me, but some people recommend it. I'll probably end up asking around about that one. 

Edited July 20, 2015 by merteuil

[xolo]

That sounds like a solid plan for applying. 

 

It sounds like you have all the fundamentals with no issue - excellent grades, good GRE, etc. 

 

Opinions vary on contacting people. I did contact some people but very sparingly and I tried not to bug anybody. Many people on Grad Cafe advocate being much more pro-active about contacting POIs. 

 

I know nothing about French, but for Spanish, your country of origin is not a black-and-white factor. The purpose of the PhD is to do original research, this does not require being a native speaker. I wouldn't let this worry you whatsoever.

 

For the writing sample just make sure of the obvious - that the grammar and spelling, etc are impeccable. And that it shows capability for original research. A MA thesis sounds pretty lengthy, at the schools where I applied the requirement for the length of the writing sample varied wildly, but around 20 pages was a common denominator. I tried very hard to follow directions.

 

In my opinion it is not too soon to draft the SOP, most schools expect 1-2 pages, and it really took me a long time to write my SOP. In my case I had about 750 words and then added about 150 words for each specific school, plus or minus. If you're anything like me, expect multiple major re-writes. 

[farouche]

I sent you a message Merteuil! 

[merteuil]

Thanks for all of the information, eyepod!

[sparksfly]

Just jumping in to say I'm applying for French PhDs this season!  I have 5 schools I want to apply to for sure and 2 or 3 besides that that I am considering!

[merteuil]

Yay! How are your applications going? Mine are a little behind schedule, as I am way too busy this semester (I'm preparing for my first conference...), but I'm sure I'll be done in time. 

[hcnerf16]

Hi! Reviving this with a couple of questions. The language forum seems to be pretty dead this year, but on the off chance anyone is checking - any tips on Skype interviews/requests to discuss research interests and give me the opportunity to ask questions re: the school? Do they tend to be more of a casual discussion on interests or a targeted discussion on specific texts, authors, theory? Also, mostly in French or in English? I've read all of the past threads which were helpful, but wanted to ask all the same! (Specifically, if anyone has any experience with Princeton skype interviews, I'd be super appreciative of any info that will calm my nerves!)

Hope everyone's apps went well!

[Frenchbookworm1]

Hi @hcnerf16  I haven't had any interviews yet, but I'm wondering the same things as you! I think we should prepare for our interviews to be mostly in French, because it's way easier to switch back to English than it is to expect English and be blindsinded by an all-French interview. Where did you apply to besides Princeton? Have you heard back from anyone yet?

[blerg30]

Don't suppose anyone here applied to UT Austin for French literature...? Recently (2 wks ago) had what I thought was a pretty great interview with them but haven't heard back yet. Currently assuming the worst...

Also, if it helps anyone, my interview was primarily in English but a faculty member transitioned into French for a few of the questions, so it's definitely best to be ready to switch to French on the fly. Interview was fairly general, mainly felt like slight embellishments of my SOP (which other authors am I interested in beyond the ones in my writing sample, etc). It definitely helped that I reread all of my materials beforehand because they were clearly using it as a road map for their questions.

Best to everyone!

[blerg30]

Never mind, just got in!!!

[hcnerf16]

^ That's so great! Congrats!!!

 

On 2/3/2016 at 10:29 AM, Frenchbookworm1 said:

Hi @hcnerf16  I haven't had any interviews yet, but I'm wondering the same things as you! I think we should prepare for our interviews to be mostly in French, because it's way easier to switch back to English than it is to expect English and be blindsinded by an all-French interview. Where did you apply to besides Princeton? Have you heard back from anyone yet?

Hey! Sorry for the late response. I thought the same! So I did just that, though two of the interviews I've had ended up only having one brief question in French. The third one was all in French, but the email said it would be and that it wouldn't be more than 10 minutes (and it wasn't, it was like five). So all the French Qs seemed like quick comprehension tests. The harder questions were all in English.

If it helps anyone/future people, the first I had was about an hour and was specific questions about work background, research interests, undergrad classes/school pedagogy, questions about close reading style, and he also had my file on hand and asked about direct parts of my sample, classes, etc.. Also some more interesting questions like 'I was reading about so-and-so event, what did you think about that in this context?' But in a pretty conversational way, not like a quiz or anything. The second interview I had was about 20 minutes and they asked broad research questions (more along the lines of 'so you're interested in this? How does it relate to previous coursework?' than 'tell us specifically what you want to study and why'). The third was the French one and was pretty general - Why do you want to pursue a doctorate? What do you want to study? Did you spend time abroad? They were stressful for obvious reasons and I totally messed up all my answers, but in retrospect, I think they were less intimidating than expected (no questions about authors, eras, theories, etc.). The professors were all very nice and pretty conversational.

I hope you've had good news!!! Best of luck to you!!

Edited February 10, 2016 by hcnerf16

[Constance07]

Hi everyone, I thought I would join in as an applicant in Romance Languages/French literature.

So far I got rejected from UCSD and UCLA.

Accepted to Boston University and waitlisted at CU-Boulder.

I'm still waiting on U Michigan and U Penn. Did anyone else apply to those programs ?

[blerg30]

On 2/17/2016 at 6:13 PM, Constance07 said:

On 2/17/2016 at 6:13 PM, Constance07 said:

Hi everyone, I thought I would join in as an applicant in Romance Languages/French literature.

So far I got rejected from UCSD and UCLA.

Accepted to Boston University and waitlisted at CU-Boulder.

I'm still waiting on U Michigan and U Penn. Did anyone else apply to those programs ?

I didn't apply to any of those, but congrats on BU!! A friend of mine goes there and she's in love with the place!

 

[Frenchbookworm1]

On 2/10/2016 at 4:22 PM, hcnerf16 said:

^ That's so great! Congrats!!!

 

Hey! Sorry for the late response. I thought the same! So I did just that, though two of the interviews I've had ended up only having one brief question in French. The third one was all in French, but the email said it would be and that it wouldn't be more than 10 minutes (and it wasn't, it was like five). So all the French Qs seemed like quick comprehension tests. The harder questions were all in English.

If it helps anyone/future people, the first I had was about an hour and was specific questions about work background, research interests, undergrad classes/school pedagogy, questions about close reading style, and he also had my file on hand and asked about direct parts of my sample, classes, etc.. Also some more interesting questions like 'I was reading about so-and-so event, what did you think about that in this context?' But in a pretty conversational way, not like a quiz or anything. The second interview I had was about 20 minutes and they asked broad research questions (more along the lines of 'so you're interested in this? How does it relate to previous coursework?' than 'tell us specifically what you want to study and why'). The third was the French one and was pretty general - Why do you want to pursue a doctorate? What do you want to study? Did you spend time abroad? They were stressful for obvious reasons and I totally messed up all my answers, but in retrospect, I think they were less intimidating than expected (no questions about authors, eras, theories, etc.). The professors were all very nice and pretty conversational.

I hope you've had good news!!! Best of luck to you!!

Thanks! I got accepted by The University of North Carolina, and I'm still waiting to hear back from 3 other schools! I still haven't had any interviews yet though!

[merteuil]

Since I started the thread, I feel a bit obligated to give an update:

I've all but made my final decision, since I got into one of my top schools and absolutely loved everything about the visit! I still have one more place to see, however, and I don't want to be rash, since it's also a place I'm highly considering. Please let me know if you have any (general) questions.

Constance07, I did not apply to UPenn but I met two people who got in rather early (either the end of January or the beginning of February -- I don't remember). Sorry about that.  At least it's not a rejection, so you may be on a waitlist. I did meet someone who loved BU, though!

I am super glad that this process is wrapping up. I would not want to do it again!  

[Constance07]

Hey Merteuil, thank you for letting me know, at this point I already assumed it was a rejection so it's all good.

If it is not too intrusive of me to ask, what is that "top schools" of yours ? Congratulations anyway it is nice to have the choice !

[merteuil]

I don't want to say for privacy's sake (I don't know why I'm paranoid, I just am). And thank you! Congrats on BU!

[mac12]

On 2/18/2016 at 6:13 PM, Constance07 said:

Hi everyone, I thought I would join in as an applicant in Romance Languages/French literature.

So far I got rejected from UCSD and UCLA.

Accepted to Boston University and waitlisted at CU-Boulder.

I'm still waiting on U Michigan and U Penn. Did anyone else apply to those programs ?

Congrats on BU! I went there for undergrad and absolutely loved it - fantastic French department!  

[l'arbre d'argent]

I'm really late to the party, but has anyone heard from Princeton? 

[Constance07]

On 2/29/2016 at 4:32 AM, mac12 said:

Congrats on BU! I went there for undergrad and absolutely loved it - fantastic French department!  

thank you, I'm excited about it! I hope you got where you wanted to

22 hours ago, l'arbre d'argent said:

I'm really late to the party, but has anyone heard from Princeton? 

I personally haven't applied to this School