Fall 2016 Applicants

[Pius Aeneas]

Other sections of the forum have taken the plunge and started their 2016 thread, so why not Classics?

Who's applying this cycle for which area of Classics and where? Or has the imminent (or not so imminent but perhaps inevitable) demise of Classics and the Humanities that everyone keeps talking about finally scared everyone off?

Personally, this is the last  hurrah for me; I've spent the past several years preparing to apply for PhD programs in Classical Archaeology, gaining field experience and an MA along the way. I intend to apply to programs which not only have good "fit" but which offer at least some chance of getting a decent academic job (haha) after all is said and done. Which of course means applying to a handful of Ivies and par-Ivies. If I don't get into one of these programs, I intend to call it quits and go into something else.

Anyone else care to chime in?

[ciistai]

Hi Pius Aeneas! I was thinking about starting this thread but I'm glad someone else got around to it!

I'll also be applying to doctoral programs focusing on Classical Archaeology, having just completed an MPhil. So far it looks like my definite apps will be Brown, UPenn, and Stanford - potentially also IPCAA at UMich. I'm still exploring my options, but so far Brown is my top choice. I worry a bit that I don't have enough field experience, though!

[zelliott]

I will be applying this cycle.

I've been doing research on programs and putting together materials to apply. I'm looking for PhD programs in Latin literature and historiography and Roman history. I've not completely solidified my list of programs yet, but I look forward to figuring all this out. I'm a senior history and classics major at not-bad public institution, so I'm a bit worried about competing with those who have had better undergrad institutions, post-bacs, and MAs. 

I'll probably be posting on here quite a bit throughout the process, so I'm excited to get to know everyone else working through the application cycle.

[Pius Aeneas]

Welcome zelliott! I'll be glad to share whatever wisdom I have collected about the process, having already done it for an MA, and I'm sure everyone else will as well.

 

Hi Pius Aeneas! I was thinking about starting this thread but I'm glad someone else got around to it!

I'll also be applying to doctoral programs focusing on Classical Archaeology, having just completed an MPhil. So far it looks like my definite apps will be Brown, UPenn, and Stanford - potentially also IPCAA at UMich. I'm still exploring my options, but so far Brown is my top choice. I worry a bit that I don't have enough field experience, though!

Field experience helps and is viewed as a plus, but a lack thereof doesn't necessarily ruin your chances. I've perused a lot of the "current students" pages for many different programs and it seems to vary for first-year PhD students...some have only done one dig and some have done several or several seasons at the same site.

As for my applications, the programs I'm looking at are Brown (Joukowsky), Berkeley (Classical Arch or potentially History of Art), UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan (IPCAA) Penn, UVA, and Cincinnati.

[ciistai]

Field experience helps and is viewed as a plus, but a lack thereof doesn't necessarily ruin your chances. I've perused a lot of the "current students" pages for many different programs and it seems to vary for first-year PhD students...some have only done one dig and some have done several or several seasons at the same site.

As for my applications, the programs I'm looking at are Brown (Joukowsky), Berkeley (Classical Arch or potentially History of Art), UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan (IPCAA) Penn, UVA, and Cincinnati.

Looks like we will have some apps in common then! I've heard fieldwork isn't the be all and end all, and I suppose my application will have other strong points (e.g. language prep), so I'm trying to stay optimistic! I'm going to be doing more work with Greek once the apps are in (can't have the distraction before then!).

 

Anyone planning on heading to San Fran for AIA in January to do the Big Application Year Networking Weekend?

[Pius Aeneas]

AIA is probably wishful thinking for me this year, mainly because my job gets all its brand new accounts right after the new year, so it's an "all hands on deck" mentality. I'm also saving up my vacation time in anticipation of (hopefully) having to go for PhD interviews in the Spring.

I hear you on the Greek. I managed to put together a rag-tag group of friends who also took Greek in undergrad and we meet once a week for a couple hours to read. It's actually turned out the be quite helpful, brushing up on things like root aorists and articular infinitives and whatnot .

[ciistai]

I actually just found out on Thursday evening that I've been offered a new job - really good, pays well, and I definitely need it... but our peak period is early January, so suddenly I'm not going to AIA! </3 I likewise need to save my sick days for potential interviews and the possibility of a supervisory role for some fieldwork next June - my two weeks of vacation won't cover it. 

I've not looked at any Greek in aeons - so I really need a brush-up, more so than with my Latin! My friend and I will be working through some Josephus to start off but we'll hopefully move onto something else after that.

I've set myself the task this weekend of at least drafting an email to my POI at Brown, having just finished reading the book that I believe had its origins in his PhD thesis. I have no idea what to say - I was going to ask if he will be at AIA but now that I won't be, it seems useless to ask!

[redleaves]

While it concerns an anthro-flavor American archaeology program, I thought this recent post by Cornell's Adam Smith was interesting and worth sharing (it also has a link to Sturt Manning's older post about Classical Archaeology): http://blogs.cornell.edu/adamtsmith/2015/06/10/applying-to-graduate-school-an-archaeological-perspective/

[Pius Aeneas]

I would say that's pretty sound advice for grad school in Classics in general and to a certain extent in the Humanities more broadly. Obviously if you're coming straight from undergrad you won't be expected to already have a dissertation topic but you should have at least a couple of well-defined topical areas within Classics which you'd potentially like to pursue. I also don't think it's the end of the world if you start out doing one thing and end up doing something else. Granted I only have experience from an M.A. program, but I started out intending to do Roman Archaeology and ended up writing a Greek Archaeology thesis.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Pius Aeneas

[pro Augustis]

As I'm applying this cycle, I figured it was finally time to de-lurk. I'm interested in Roman history, specifically the ideology of the emperors, and plan to apply to Austin (Classics), Berkeley (Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology), Chapel Hill (Classics), Columbia (Classical Studies), Harvard (Classics), Michigan (undecided whether Classical Studies or the Interdepartmental Program in Greek and Roman History), Princeton (Classics), and Toronto (Collaborative Program in Ancient History with York), and Yale (Classics). On top of that I should probably apply to some MA programs in case these don't pan out, but I haven't yet had the chance to put together a good list for those. Of course, some of those schools have pretty different emphases in their department. I feel like my interests are more focused on a problem/methodology (legitimacy and self-presentation) rather than a specific bit of Roman history, so I'm willing to move a bit forward or backward in chronology depending on where I am applying, even if targeting the applications like that feels a bit strange. 

 

What sort of Roman historiography are you interested in Zelliot? 

Edited October 12, 2015 by pro Augustis

[Iocheaira]

Hey y'all! Figured I'd chime in since I'm applying this cycle as well.

I'm currently enrolled in the Post-Bacc at UPenn after a late start to Classics in my undergrad career. By the end of this year I'll have pretty strong language prep (the equivalent of three/four years of Latin and three years of Greek), as well as a good deal of research and teaching experience under my belt. That said, I'll still be applying to both MAs and PhDs to play it safe.

My interests broadly include Homer, Latin imperial poetry, Roman historiography, and gender and sexuality studies, but I'm particularly interested in sexual violence, relationships of power, and the value of the female body in Latin love elegy and erotic poetry. That interest has played a large role in my choice of programs. I originally anticipated applying to (at least a few) Ivies, but it seems that almost none have faculty whose interests align with my own. Regardless, I'm quite happy with the list i've drawn up. I'm planning to apply to UNC Chapel Hill (PhD), UCLA (PhD), UT Austin (PhD), UWashington - Seattle (PhD), Notre Dame (MA), WashU - St Louis (MA), University of Kansas (MA), and University of British Columbia (MA, but not certain whether in Classics or ACRE).

I look forward to speaking with some of you and hearing about your interests!

[pro Augustis]

Good to see you, Locheaira. How are you finding the program at Penn? I was accepted there but ended up doing my post bac elsewhere. 

[anonnoname]

Salvete omnes! I'm Violet, and I'm hoping to become a secondary school Latin/Classics teacher. I'm applying for M.A.T programs at University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Rutgers, Tufts, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Aside from Latin pedagogy, my research interests include Roman epistolography, Roman epic literature, and the history of the Late republic/early empire. I'm also a big fan of spoken Latin and the incorporation of modern media into Classics/Classical Civ teaching. 

Currently stressing over how best to write my statement of purpose - anyone else in the same boat? I'd also love to know if anyone has any insights to share about the programs I'm applying to - every little bit helps ?

[Pius Aeneas]

I am currently putting the final touches on my Statement of Purpose and preparing to officially ask for my letters of recommendation. I've worked on the statement on and off for the past year which I have taken off between MA and PhD and I have accepted it will never be perfect from my perspective. But I suppose it just needs to be excellent, really.

As for Latin/M.A.T. programs, you're got some great ones on your list. WashU is one of the strongest terminal Classics MA programs focusing specifically on the languages so they're definitely a good choice. Not sure if they offer a certification component, however. Michigan and UMass Amherst are also very good. UIUC's glory days for graduate study in Classics at the PhD level are behind it, though to what extent this has affected the MAT program I am unsure. Since you mentioned several Midwest/Great Lakes area schools you might also look at Northwestern's MS in Education focusing on Latin. If you're interested in Living Latin you'll want to look at the University of Kentucky which has an M.A. program. As with WashU, not sure if they have a certification component. I'll also pimp my own MA program at the University of Arizona which offers a Latin Pedagogy option with certification, primarily because it's funded and I have no idea if other MA/T programs are.

[Iocheaira]

On 10/27/2015, 7:54:35, pro Augustis said:

Good to see you, Locheaira. How are you finding the program at Penn? I was accepted there but ended up doing my post bac elsewhere. 

I think it's really lovely! It was an easy choice for me because I did my undergrad in Philly as well, so I didn't need to move. I was also familiar with Penn because I went to some of the colloquia as an undergrad and had two professors with Penn PhDs. Needless to say, I've felt pretty at home here, but think I would have felt the same even if I'd come from far away. The program director and staff are extremely supportive and offer a lot of guidance. We have weekly lunchtime meetings where different people come in to give us advice on grad school applications, different courses of study, etc. and we've all been assigned a principal advisor to work with. The group is also pretty diverse as far as interests, which is nice! Surprising amount of Archaeology students haha...

Where did you end up doing your Post-Bacc?

Edited November 3, 2015 by Iocheaira

[pro Augustis]

I'm glad to hear that the program is going so well! What did you end up reading in the post bac Latin/Greek courses? I remember being unsure what was actually covered in them. As for me, I ended up at Columbia, where things are going really well. With the exception of one post bac seminar course, we have a lot of freedom with our schedules, which is nice. Next semester I will be attempting the Latin Survey course here (700-1000 lines a week), which I am simultaneously excited for and terrified about. And we have a ton of archaeologists too. 

[ciistai]

15 hours ago, darlingviolet said:

Salvete omnes! I'm Violet, and I'm hoping to become a secondary school Latin/Classics teacher. I'm applying for M.A.T programs at University of Michigan, Washington University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Rutgers, Tufts, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Aside from Latin pedagogy, my research interests include Roman epistolography, Roman epic literature, and the history of the Late republic/early empire. I'm also a big fan of spoken Latin and the incorporation of modern media into Classics/Classical Civ teaching. 

Currently stressing over how best to write my statement of purpose - anyone else in the same boat? I'd also love to know if anyone has any insights to share about the programs I'm applying to - every little bit helps ;P

I'm kind of in the awkward situation of not having properly started on my statements for the applications because I've just finished a big funding application (SSHRC) that's due on Thursday - so I have a statement/ research proposal for that from which I will have to start Frankensteining together my statements for six different programs. I agree with Pius Aeneas though - you need to accept you will never find it perfect!! (We are our own worst critics!)

I've found the link redleaves posted above to be quite helpful and insightful with how to go about writing these things, so you should certainly have a read through that if you haven't already.

[LordGodric]

Hi all! 

I'm a Master's student who is applying this cycle for a PhD in both Ancient History and Classics.  I'm currently trying to narrow down my list because I have far too many schools (when you think practically and in terms of how much money all of this would cost)  I'm thinking of applying to Brown, Cincinnati, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, Indiana University, Michigan, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Ohio State.  My interests are Roman Republican history, historiography, topography and archaeology so I'm currently just trying to decide who has the faculty that I'd really be most interested in working with.  It's hard to narrow down the list when there are so many great opportunities out there!  

I also don't have my Statement of Purpose even started yet (gasp! I know) but I haven't had much free time being immersed in a graduate program already.  I'm hoping to get that crafted soon, but starting is always the hardest part for me.  Wish me luck! 

[Pius Aeneas]

Welcome! The cost of applying to grad school is probably one of biggest downsides along with the stress of the application process. As you look at the different faculty and their work you will almost certainly find yourself giving some programs the axe from your list. I've currently got three that I am seriously thinking of dropping, which would allow me to focus more on the places where fit really is the best.

And I wouldn't worry too much if you're just starting your statement of purpose. Mine is essentially done except for some editing to eliminate any unnecessary repetition or wordiness, but I'm sure my MA advisor will have comments of their own. Remember, it's still a month plus or even more for most of the programs out there, so if you use your time wisely you should be fine.

I've also just officially asked for my first letter, so fingers crossed.

[hypsipyle]

Hi all!

My application cycle is thankfully behind me, but having gone through this stressful and often confusing/overly opaque process only this past year, just wanted to say hello and good luck to all of you! If you have any questions about applications/admissions, I hope I can be of some help!

[LandscapeArch]

Hey guys,

I'm an MA/MS student who is currently submitting applications to the major Classics and Classical Archaeology doctoral programs in the US. I just found this forum, and am thrilled to talk to other folks going through the same process!

[ciistai]

On 11/17/2015, 9:48:22, LandscapeArch said:

Hey guys,

I'm an MA/MS student who is currently submitting applications to the major Classics and Classical Archaeology doctoral programs in the US. I just found this forum, and am thrilled to talk to other folks going through the same process!

Welcome! We have some similar interests, judging from your username!

[ciistai]

Sorry for the double post - in need of some advice! I emailed two POIs a couple of weeks back. It's obviously a busy time of year. I've not heard back from either yet though and I'm starting to get a little worried about what the silence means. Am I worrying for no reason? The deadline for one of these programs is next week and I would have liked to have some sort of mutual interaction with a faculty member that might even yield some extra inspiration for my statement of purpose (which is basically finished anyway) but I don't know if I should actually take this as a bad sign... now I'm wondering whether I should apply at all!

I've met the other person before and I know they're frightfully busy basically all the time, so I'm really not worried about that one - the app's not due til later anyway...

[pro Augustis]

I don't think that you need to worry. Odds are overwhelmingly good that they are just busy folk and forgot about your email. or are just buried under a hundred other emails. Which is annoying, certainly, but doesn't mean that they won't accept you to the school or that it isn't a good school. From what I have heard, a positive communication with a poi is all well and good, but sometimes they don't respond and that doesn't mean anything save that they didn't respond. 

[clock]

I would also say not to worry about this at all. When I applied several years ago, I had no idea that contacting faculty was a thing, and I didn't email anyone- but was admitted into established programs for archaeology. And honestly, so many of the US programs tend to admit students without a pre-determined advisor or a very specific research plan, and so are looking for people who work well within the context of the department rather than within the research program of a particular faculty member. This differs from UK and even Canadian systems. 

Also, I know how long it can sometimes take (as an ABD student even) to get a response via email from professors in my own program, so I'm not at all surprised that they don't always write back to applicants. Don't let it stress you out.