Applying to American PhD Programs (Medieval) from a British University

[JerryLandis]

Hi, I am in my final year at a British university and am applying to medieval history PhD programs at American unis, specifically University of Chicago, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Yale. Admissions information generally seems geared towards those within the American education system, so I'm having a hard time determining my chances. Bear with me, I have many questions!

As it stands my GPA is 3.8 overall and 3.9 for my major, but this is a loose calculation because my university does not use the GPA system - over here I would just say I have a predicted first class degree, a 17.1 out of 20 (18 is a 4.0). My GRE scores are (if I remember correctly) 590 verbal, 640 quantitative, and I have not yet been informed about the essay section although I imagine it's better than the other two sections. I speak one foreign language (Spanish) but am at a disadvantage for not knowing Latin. I plan to take an intensive Latin course this summer and am mentioning this fact in my SoP's. Other credentials include Deans List awards, being a student representative for my department, and receiving a grant from the university (kind of like a paid summer internship) to work on an independent research project, which turned out to be the equivalent of an undergraduate dissertation (14,000 words). This semester I am working on another such project as part of my coursework. As far as recommendations are concerned, I am guessing that I will have 3 very strong recommendations, coming from one quite well known tutor and 2 somewhat younger tutors. That will probably be the strongest part of my application. I am working on my SoP and I think that it is quite good. I have several potential writing samples, just have to choose which one to use.

GPA: the unis I am applying to do not release the average GPA of their admitted students. Obviously my GPA is strong but I am afraid everyone else applying will have equally strong ones. Any thoughts on this?

GRE: I am aware that my scores are both about 100 points below the average of those admitted to my desired programs. There is no way I am taking the test again though, because it is very inaccessible in this country (and more expensive - cost me over $400 to take it when travel and accommodation was factored in) and I think it's too late anyways. Has anyone here applied to PhD programs with similar scores? Do they seem to make much of a difference?

Recommendations: All programs seem to ask for 3 letters of recommendation, but they say that you can submit more. Would having 4 letters help me, or just make me seem self-absorbed? The 3 letters I have asked for are sure to be very good, but there is another professor who has taught me who is extremely well established within the field. While I am sure he would write me a good recommendation, I doubt it would be as good as the other ones. Should I ask him for a recommendation as well, and submit 4 letters?

Writing Sample: Exactly how related to my desired area of study should it be? My summer research thesis is very much in line with what I would like to study, but it is twice as long as the maximum page limit and is not the best thing I have ever written. It's still good, but I have written shorter essays that I believe are far higher in quality, and are about topics of medieval history, but are not specifically about my desired subject. Should I submit an extract from the long piece, or one of my other essays?

Thanks for reading my questions and considering my situation. These are scary times! If anyone here has applied to any of the unis I mentioned above and wouldn't mind sharing their results, statistics, and particulars of their application, I would very much appreciate it.

[virmundi]

Hi, I am in my final year at a British university and am applying to medieval history PhD programs at American unis, specifically University of Chicago, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Yale. Admissions information generally seems geared towards those within the American education system, so I'm having a hard time determining my chances. Bear with me, I have many questions!

As it stands my GPA is 3.8 overall and 3.9 for my major, but this is a loose calculation because my university does not use the GPA system - over here I would just say I have a predicted first class degree, a 17.1 out of 20 (18 is a 4.0). My GRE scores are (if I remember correctly) 590 verbal, 640 quantitative, and I have not yet been informed about the essay section although I imagine it's better than the other two sections. I speak one foreign language (Spanish) but am at a disadvantage for not knowing Latin. I plan to take an intensive Latin course this summer and am mentioning this fact in my SoP's. Other credentials include Deans List awards, being a student representative for my department, and receiving a grant from the university (kind of like a paid summer internship) to work on an independent research project, which turned out to be the equivalent of an undergraduate dissertation (14,000 words). This semester I am working on another such project as part of my coursework. As far as recommendations are concerned, I am guessing that I will have 3 very strong recommendations, coming from one quite well known tutor and 2 somewhat younger tutors. That will probably be the strongest part of my application. I am working on my SoP and I think that it is quite good. I have several potential writing samples, just have to choose which one to use.

GPA: the unis I am applying to do not release the average GPA of their admitted students. Obviously my GPA is strong but I am afraid everyone else applying will have equally strong ones. Any thoughts on this?

GRE: I am aware that my scores are both about 100 points below the average of those admitted to my desired programs. There is no way I am taking the test again though, because it is very inaccessible in this country (and more expensive - cost me over $400 to take it when travel and accommodation was factored in) and I think it's too late anyways. Has anyone here applied to PhD programs with similar scores? Do they seem to make much of a difference?

Recommendations: All programs seem to ask for 3 letters of recommendation, but they say that you can submit more. Would having 4 letters help me, or just make me seem self-absorbed? The 3 letters I have asked for are sure to be very good, but there is another professor who has taught me who is extremely well established within the field. While I am sure he would write me a good recommendation, I doubt it would be as good as the other ones. Should I ask him for a recommendation as well, and submit 4 letters?

Writing Sample: Exactly how related to my desired area of study should it be? My summer research thesis is very much in line with what I would like to study, but it is twice as long as the maximum page limit and is not the best thing I have ever written. It's still good, but I have written shorter essays that I believe are far higher in quality, and are about topics of medieval history, but are not specifically about my desired subject. Should I submit an extract from the long piece, or one of my other essays?

Thanks for reading my questions and considering my situation. These are scary times! If anyone here has applied to any of the unis I mentioned above and wouldn't mind sharing their results, statistics, and particulars of their application, I would very much appreciate it.

Hi Jerry! First of all -- if you have remembered your GRE scores properly, they are actually quite mediocre -- which isn't necessarily a big deal, as a lot of programs will be a lot more concerned with the quality of your writing sample, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation! If you absolutely can't retake it and get those verbal scores up a bit, then make sure that your written materials are bar-none excellent! As far as your writing sample is concerned, it is far better to submit an essay that is not directly related to your research interests, but is a fantastic and polished piece of writing, than to submit a longer piece that you have to pare down to get within the limits and isn't very good. Whatever piece you decide to submit, be sure to solicit as much feedback as possible from all intelligent people whom you can get hold so that you can make sure that your sample is as absolutely crystal clear and elegant as you can make it!

I wouldn't hesitate to submit more than 3 letters of recommendation. My program required three and allowed for more. I asked for -- and got -- five letters of recommendation from my alma mater. The five scholars who wrote letters for me all had sterling reputations in their fields of study and were able to comment on differing aspects of my abilities. If you can get 4 fantastic letters of recommendation, then absolutely go for it! Just be certain that the letter writers actually will be unequivocal in their support. A letter that is overly generic or mild in its praise of you can cause as much damage to your application as an awful letter.

To be entirely honest, I think that the biggest hurdle to your application might be languages. A lot of medieval PhD programs here in the U.S. require that you be capable of reading literately in Latin, French, and German by the end of your coursework in addition to whatever other research languages that you happen to require for your own work. You will absolutely want to be clear about what programs require from a language perspective, and if you can begin studying Latin before next summer, than I would absolutely emphasize the importance of doing so. There are several good texts that you can use for self-study, including Moreland & Fleischer's classic text, or Wheelock's (Moreland & Fleischer are a quicker avenue, however). Be aware, however, that advising committees have been known, at least in my program, to display extreme skepticism around claims of autodidactic language-learning.

I would also like to suggest that you consider applying to more programs, and that you apply to a broader range. Stanford, Notre-Dame, Yale, and University of Chicago are all fantastic programs with some of the finest scholars in Medieval history -- no doubt about it. However, there are many other fine medievalists in the U.S., and you'll likely want to hedge your bets by applying to other programs that might not be as prestigious, but perhaps are also fits for your research interests. Many times, the reputation of the school itself is not as important as the reputation of the scholars that you are working with.

In any event -- please take all of the above for what it is worth -- advice from a fellow student who has also been through the rigamarole of applying, but by no means an "expert"! Get advice from your professors and consider contacting programs and professors at the schools you are interested in.

Best of luck.

[JerryLandis]

Wow, thank you so much for your thoughtful response. It has been a little while since I posted this, and I have made some changes to my approach. I am now only applying to 3 PhD programs, with the full knowledge that I have almost no chance of being accepted, but I still consider it worth a shot. I am applying to 4 masters programs as well, one at my alma mater, two near where I went to high school, and one in a random location that seems like a really good program (Toronto). The reason I did not decide to apply to more PhD programs is that while there are medievalists at a fair number of universities, my subfield is not widely studied, and the 4 universities I listed are indeed the ONLY US institutions with relevant faculty. I am spoiled being in the UK, where medieval history is a much more popular subject and where my university has an entire department for medieval historians, not just 2 professors within the history department. I was really worried for a while, because I started looking for relevant American faculty well over a year ago, and I think I have permanently damaged my brain and eyes from all the website scrolling!

Anyways, I definitely agree that languages are my biggest problem. If I end up doing a masters program next year, which is likely, I want to focus on learning Latin and perhaps taking some French or German as well. The American programs I am applying to offer no information on their websites about language instruction. I've been meaning to give them a call about this. Anyways, does anyone here have any experience with working on language skills while earning a masters degree? How much success do you think I can expect to have in this regard? Also, will one year's worth of a language really make that big of a difference in my PhD applications the second time around?

I really wish someone had told me about some of this stuff a few years ago. My tutors have all tried to be helpful, but unfortunately they have even less of an idea than I do how the American admissions system works!

[TMP]

Oh sure!

Languages are highly individualized in MA programs. The trick is figuring out what courses will give you GRADUATE credit that will actually count for your GPA and tuition money. Undergraduate courses won't count and will just eat up more of your time. I had planned on studying German when I came to my MA program only to find out that my graduate school won't count undergraduate German, not even the special course for reading knowledge. So I had to take Yiddish, which counted. I did a summer course to further my Yiddish studies as well. Summers are up to you although it can be expected that you will take an intensive language course, or spend time in the archives doing research. Most MA students don't really do much because they're not really sure what they want to do with their thesis.

In my experience and opinion, it's difficult to learn a new language while doing MA work because both are time consuming. That's why summers are the best- you can totally focus on the language without worrying about sacrificing your coursework. It will make a difference but what will really catch their eye is if you can do some reading at advanced level.

[virmundi]

Oh sure!

Languages are highly individualized in MA programs. The trick is figuring out what courses will give you GRADUATE credit that will actually count for your GPA and tuition money. Undergraduate courses won't count and will just eat up more of your time. I had planned on studying German when I came to my MA program only to find out that my graduate school won't count undergraduate German, not even the special course for reading knowledge. So I had to take Yiddish, which counted. I did a summer course to further my Yiddish studies as well. Summers are up to you although it can be expected that you will take an intensive language course, or spend time in the archives doing research. Most MA students don't really do much because they're not really sure what they want to do with their thesis.

In my experience and opinion, it's difficult to learn a new language while doing MA work because both are time consuming. That's why summers are the best- you can totally focus on the language without worrying about sacrificing your coursework. It will make a difference but what will really catch their eye is if you can do some reading at advanced level.

This is good advice, but it may not be tenable for you, depending on the language requirements of your porgram and the offering of the program in which you are ultimately enrolled. For instance, my university has a graduate-level course enabling students to do roughly 2-3 undergraduate Latin semesters in a single semester, but it has no corresponding courses in the Romance or Germanic languages. They do, however, offer accelerated coursework at the freshman and sophomore level in German, and at the freshman level in French. Nonetheless Ticklemepink's advice is absolutely spot on -- DO use your summers to do intensive language work, combined with archival research (at the PHD level, obviously this will be critical, but at the MA level it will be important as well to show that you are "professionalizing" yourself). Additionally, and at an idealized level, you'll want to be marginally familiar with some of the sites around where your archival research will be centered. As ridiculous as it might seem, the benefit of being able to shoot the breeze with your advisor about "that little wine bistro around the corner from the BN" is going to serve you well and will help your advisor to see you not only as a student, but as a young colleague.

Returning to languages, Ticklemepink is entirely correct that learning a new language AND doing MA coursework is going to be difficult, but keeping in mind the attenuated length of an MA program, you may need to pick up at least some language coursework alongside your regular work load. It is extremely difficult - I had to do it - but my program allowed me to take these as pass/fail, and in fact, you may even go into a program where a kindly instructor will allow you to simply "sit in" and do the work without actually having to enroll and pay for the class (this was not the case for me, but friends in other programs have managed to get this supreme kindness). In any event, summer intensive work will benefit greatly if you can get at least the basic structures of grammar and some pronunciation and vocabulary. Ideally, you'll enter the summer able to focus on beginning to learn to really participate, however haltingly, in an academic discourse, certainly in reading, but also in speaking if at all possible.

All of the above is, of course, only intended as advice. You will want to weigh between ticklemepink's VERY good advice, and my advice, which I can only vouch for as having succeeded (thus far!) for me and a few of my friends. Getting into the elite programs is probably going to be extremely difficult, so the more drive you can show -- without killing yourself or burning out -- the better!

Meanwhile, be sure to look at opportunities to professionalize, such as the "Vagantes" conference (too late to present this year, but keep it in mind for next time 'round!), and when you are deciding which MA program to get into, try to figure out which MA programs serve as feeder schools for PHD programs, and which ones tend to be focused on the MA as a terminal, professional degree (for teachers, museum employees, etc.). The feeder programs will tend to have at least SOME funded MA students (you'll want to try and be one of them -- humanities PHD + significant debt = career suicide unless you are well off!), and at least SOME funding to help students defray the costs of travelling to conferences and doing archival research.

Once again, I wish you the best of luck, and wish to emphasize once more that while only you can determine in the end what will work for you, you should get as wide a range of advice as you possibly can!

Also -- heheheh, I promise this really is the last bit of advice -- look at Gregory Semenza's Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century. It is geared specifically toward the humanities, and is one of the best works out there right now.

Take care.

Edited November 6, 2009 by virmundi

[JerryLandis]

On this 'Vagantes' conference, where is it? I've noticed that a lot of people posting on this website seem to have presented at conferences, something undergraduates never do here, at least not to my knowledge. How common is it for history students in the US to present research conferences? Also, how common is it for people to publish articles? Again, I have only ever heard of one person in my department publishing as an undergraduate, and this was a few years ago. I have something published in an undergraduate history journal, but nothing truly professional (although I am indeed working on something, which unfortunately won't be ready by the time my applications go out). Again, how common is it for people to have publications in this field as undergraduates? Will my application be at a serious disadvantage as a result of this difference?

Thanks again for all your advice. I am indeed applying to some MA programs that are intended to prepare students for PhD work, however none of them are in the US. I haven't been able to find any such programs in the US that offer medieval instruction.

[TMP]

On this 'Vagantes' conference, where is it? I've noticed that a lot of people posting on this website seem to have presented at conferences, something undergraduates never do here, at least not to my knowledge. How common is it for history students in the US to present research conferences? Also, how common is it for people to publish articles? Again, I have only ever heard of one person in my department publishing as an undergraduate, and this was a few years ago. I have something published in an undergraduate history journal, but nothing truly professional (although I am indeed working on something, which unfortunately won't be ready by the time my applications go out). Again, how common is it for people to have publications in this field as undergraduates? Will my application be at a serious disadvantage as a result of this difference?

Thanks again for all your advice. I am indeed applying to some MA programs that are intended to prepare students for PhD work, however none of them are in the US. I haven't been able to find any such programs in the US that offer medieval instruction.

Why so set on the US? Isn't program fit more important than location of graduate school?

[JerryLandis]

I'm actually American, but since I've been doing my undergraduate degree here in the UK, I have no experience of American university life or admissions. I want to go to graduate school somewhere in the US so that I can be remotely near my family, and because I am starting to hate the UK! Also, it's nearly impossible to get funding over here as an overseas student.

[virmundi]

On this 'Vagantes' conference, where is it? I've noticed that a lot of people posting on this website seem to have presented at conferences, something undergraduates never do here, at least not to my knowledge. How common is it for history students in the US to present research conferences? Also, how common is it for people to publish articles? Again, I have only ever heard of one person in my department publishing as an undergraduate, and this was a few years ago. I have something published in an undergraduate history journal, but nothing truly professional (although I am indeed working on something, which unfortunately won't be ready by the time my applications go out). Again, how common is it for people to have publications in this field as undergraduates? Will my application be at a serious disadvantage as a result of this difference?

Thanks again for all your advice. I am indeed applying to some MA programs that are intended to prepare students for PhD work, however none of them are in the US. I haven't been able to find any such programs in the US that offer medieval instruction.

Hi, Jerry! "Vagantes" travels around each year (actually, "vagantes" means "roaming people"). Next year it is in Albuquerque and I believe Pittsburgh the year after that. Just google "Vagantes Conference" and you'll find their web page pretty quick. Presenting at conferences is a stretch for most undergraduates, although there are certainly undergrads who do so. It is probably not all that common -- it wasn't at my undergrad university at all. It is, however, not unexpected for an MA student to present at least once or twice during their program at graduate student conferences (such as "Vagantes"). This shows a degree of professionalization that is desirable. I think that publishing in an undergraduate history journal is just fine and deserves a line on your CV. As an undergraduate, I was able to get an article published by our university's graduate student journal -- it wasn't much of a paper, but it *was* a publication selected by an editorial board of graduate students, so it counts! Again, this sort of achievement shows, if nothing else, that you are making moves toward professionalization.

Also, Jerry, don't be so sure that there aren't any US M.A. programs that will help you to prepare for a PHD! Is the problem that your subfield speciality is so narrow that you haven't been able to find any scholars in the U.S. who are doing work that you are interested in? You *really* can't find ANY MA programs that do what you want to do? What about MA/PHD programs? Are you sure that you've exhausted the choices?

Will your research involve the UK? Or some other European country? There are, obviously, huge advantages to doing a program close to your research archives! Nevertheless, you are correct that funding is an absolute priority!

Cheers

[JerryLandis]

Thanks again for the response. I am applying both to MA/PhD programs, as well as MA ones. Since I am only applying to 3 MA/PhD ones now, I'm assuming I'll wind up having to go the MA route. The field is indeed pretty narrow in the United States, but Canada's looking pretty good, offering MA's on the subject that are more like the UK ones (i.e. designed for people who intend to pursue a PhD as well as those looking to leave it at an MA), I think just because their PhD programs don't involve getting an MA as part of the course.

[StrangeLight]

canada also funds their MA students. not always across the board, but it's a lot more common there than for terminal MA programs in the US.