Middle Eastern Studies/NELC Masters/PhD

[David_R]

Sorry to hear you did not get funding.

There are actually a couple posts in the results section from people who did receive half funding for the M.A. in MES at UChicago. Overall, Chicago is known for being fairly generous with funding compared to other schools. And it's even more amazing because UChicago is usually considered number one in the world for Middle Eastern Studies. I hope you receive some good offers elsewhere, Mojdeh. Good luck.

[ibnbattuta]

15 hours ago, Mojdeh said:

hey:-)

I did receive an offer after my application was sent to them (I had originally applied to the PhD), but they're not funded. The first year for the MA is almost always unfunded unfortunately. 

I should mention that if you maintain a 3.5 GPA during your first year in the CMES MA program at UChicago then your second year is free.  I should also mention that it is easy to get a 3.5 GPA and that no student from the past 6 years has failed to maintain a 3.5 for their first year.

But best of luck in your future endeavours.  If you have any questions about UChicago CMES feel free to PM me.

[Mojdeh]

8 hours ago, David_R said:

Sorry to hear you did not get funding.

There are actually a couple posts in the results section from people who did receive half funding for the M.A. in MES at UChicago. Overall, Chicago is known for being fairly generous with funding compared to other schools. And it's even more amazing because UChicago is usually considered number one in the world for Middle Eastern Studies. I hope you receive some good offers elsewhere, Mojdeh. Good luck.

Hi David:-)

Thank you for your kind wishes. The E-mail I received just as @ibnbattuta has kindly explained does mention the possibility of funding for the second year. It's still very nice to have heard back from them, but given the amount of student loans I currently have from my undergrad, I think it would be wiser to complete an MA and apply again for the PhD with a (hopefully!) stronger application. Are you currently studying at UChicago?

 

[ibnbattuta]

13 hours ago, Mojdeh said:

Hi David:-)

Thank you for your kind wishes. The E-mail I received just as @ibnbattuta has kindly explained does mention the possibility of funding for the second year. It's still very nice to have heard back from them, but given the amount of student loans I currently have from my undergrad, I think it would be wiser to complete an MA and apply again for the PhD with a (hopefully!) stronger application. Are you currently studying at UChicago?

 

I graduated from the Divinity School's MA program about two years ago, but still in the area and I am very familiar with the MA program in the CMES.

[Gutian]

On March 6, 2016 at 1:14 PM, ibnbattuta said:

I should mention that if you maintain a 3.5 GPA during your first year in the CMES MA program at UChicago then your second year is free.  I should also mention that it is easy to get a 3.5 GPA and that no student from the past 6 years has failed to maintain a 3.5 for their first year.

Is that simply tuition/expenses, or does it include a sufficient living stipend as well? There's quite a difference. 

[ibnbattuta]

5 hours ago, Gutian said:

Is that simply tuition/expenses, or does it include a sufficient living stipend as well? There's quite a difference. 

No living expenses or stipend.  It is rare to find MA programs that offer any funding so even though I can still be quite expensive at UChicago compared to other MA programs in middle eastern studies it is quite good.  Another alternative would be the UChicago divinity school where you can study Islam. Thy offer at the minimum 50% off tuition and thus you pay at the most 16,000 a year for tuition. 

 

That at being said there are a wide array of employment opportunities both at the school and in the surrounding neighborhood. 

[ibnbattuta]

Princeton NELC rejections are out today

[ibnbattuta]

Damn this thread died off real quick.  Any good news for people?

[Almaqah Thwn]

On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 1:40 PM, ibnbattuta said:

Damn this thread died off real quick.  Any good news for people?

It did! And almost all the news was pretty bad. I ended up getting into Cornell's archaeology MA with funding! 

[englishmuffin]

I got a half-tuition scholarship to the CMES program - shoot for the moon, land amongst the stars etc. - and I've accepted it. I can just about afford it but I'm going to hustle over the summer in any case.

[ibnbattuta]

On 4/25/2016 at 7:58 AM, englishmuffin said:

I got a half-tuition scholarship to the CMES program - shoot for the moon, land amongst the stars etc. - and I've accepted it. I can just about afford it but I'm going to hustle over the summer in any case.

Congrats, and I am sure you are aware that if you receive a 3.5 or higher your first year, your second year is free.  In addition, they offer FLAS fellowships (18k for full year, 4k for the summer) for which you can apply.

[AghaDehlawi]

This might seem like a foolish question, but what is the easiest NES PhD to get into and what is the most difficult?

Also, if the goal is to study Islamic History should one aim towards religion programs or NES programs? And again which is easier and which is....?

[ibnbattuta]

On 5/13/2016 at 1:16 AM, PersonaNonGrata said:

This might seem like a foolish question, but what is the easiest NES PhD to get into and what is the most difficult?

Also, if the goal is to study Islamic History should one aim towards religion programs or NES programs? And again which is easier and which is....?

To be honest, what you are asking is what are the worst NES PhD programs, because those are the easiest to get into and often offer the least amount of funding to admitted students.  Sure there are many factors and you can often find great scholars teaching at non-R1 institutions, but the fact of the matter is if you go to a shitty school then your job prospects are going to be shitty, regardless of how well you perform/how interesting your project is.  That being said, not all R1 institutions are created equal and not all R1's that have NES programs are considered "top tier".

[tt_]

Anyone else around this cycle? I was recently accepted to UChicago NELC for Ph.D. in Egyptology. Waiting to hear from Penn, JHU, and Brown. 

[_sawyer_]

Hi tt_! I was hoping that someone would resurrect this thread. Congrats on U Chicago! I've been creeping around for a few months and finally decided to make an account.

I'm applying to masters programs at GWU, UT - Austin, NYU, U Chicago, Georgetown, Columbia, and Harvard. Have not heard from any of them but I guess it is still early for masters.

Anyone else, sound off?

 

 

[BeeKayCee]

1 hour ago, _sawyer_ said:

Hi tt_! I was hoping that someone would resurrect this thread. Congrats on U Chicago! I've been creeping around for a few months and finally decided to make an account.

I'm applying to masters programs at GWU, UT - Austin, NYU, U Chicago, Georgetown, Columbia, and Harvard. Have not heard from any of them but I guess it is still early for masters.

Anyone else, sound off?

 

 

Also a long time creeper, new poster. Hello all!

I'm applying to Masters Programs from Chicago, Columbia, HDS, and Oxford. Also the Fulbright ETA in Morocco... I was accepted at SOAS so thats my backup if the other reaches fall through.

I figure I've lived in the Middle East so much at this point that If i dont get into a good masters program I'm not gonna waste the money on an MA program im not in love with, I'm just gonna go over there and work.

Good luck to everyone this year! 

 

Edited February 15, 2017 by BeeKayCee
forgot to say hi!! :)

[Almaqah Thwn]

On 2/12/2017 at 10:49 PM, tt_ said:

Anyone else around this cycle? I was recently accepted to UChicago NELC for Ph.D. in Egyptology. Waiting to hear from Penn, JHU, and Brown. 

I am around for this cycle, congrats on Chicago! 

I am applying for Hebrew Bible at Johns Hopkins, Princeton Theological Seminary, Cornell, and NYU. 

[nevermind]

On 2/15/2017 at 4:36 PM, Almaqah Thwn said:

I am around for this cycle, congrats on Chicago! 

I am applying for Hebrew Bible at Johns Hopkins, Princeton Theological Seminary, Cornell, and NYU. 

 

Cool. I worked in the NES program @ Cornell as a TA when I was there. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Frontline]

45 minutes ago, nevermind said:

Cool. I worked in the NES program @ Cornell as a TA when I was there. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hey @nevermind! Thank you for offering to tell us more about the NES program at Cornell. Any chance you know whether interviews are part of the application procedure -- I have not heard back from them and start to worry ? I would also be interested to know how you experienced the program and life at the Department. Thank you in advance!

[nevermind]

20 minutes ago, Frontline said:

Hey @nevermind! Thank you for offering to tell us more about the NES program at Cornell. Any chance you know whether interviews are part of the application procedure -- I have not heard back from them and start to worry ? I would also be interested to know how you experienced the program and life at the Department. Thank you in advance!

 

 

As far as I know, it varies by POI. I think they do some informal interviews (via phone), but nobody visits campus until an offer is made. It's a relatively small department and I think only 1-2 people accept the offers each year. When I was there, there was a total of 5 grad students in the department (I'm in a program now with 60+ students) total. I wasn't a student in the program (but I had friends who were), and everyone seemed to have a positive experience. The profs are very supportive, help with fellowships/etc. and try to be mentors/colleagues, rather than not getting to know you/pushing you out the door. It's very welcoming and more cooperative than competitive atmosphere (which definitely helps). 

Edited February 17, 2017 by nevermind

[_sawyer_]

Sounds like I am the only person applying to Masters programs so far but just to give an update: I was accepted to UT-Austin yesterday and rejected from Harvard today....two very predictable results! I am very relieved that I have some news to go on now

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by _sawyer_
typo

[Frontline]

16 minutes ago, _sawyer_ said:

Sounds like I am the only person applying to Masters programs so far but just to give an update: I was accepted to UT-Austin yesterday and rejected from Harvard today....two very predictable results! I am very relieved that I have some news to go on now

 

Hey @_sawyer_, congrats on your acceptance at UT-Austin! What program did you apply for at Harvard?

[Frontline]

2 hours ago, nevermind said:

As far as I know, it varies by POI. I think they do some informal interviews (via phone), but nobody visits campus until an offer is made. It's a relatively small department and I think only 1-2 people accept the offers each year. When I was there, there was a total of 5 grad students in the department (I'm in a program now with 60+ students) total. I wasn't a student in the program (but I had friends who were), and everyone seemed to have a positive experience. The profs are very supportive, help with fellowships/etc. and try to be mentors/colleagues, rather than not getting to know you/pushing you out the door. It's very welcoming and more cooperative than competitive atmosphere (which definitely helps). 

Thanks a lot - I appreciate it! I am also glad to hear that despite being located in rural New York, you would recommend it as a place for study. How would you explain the low student intake (1-2 people)? Do you think it's due to certain constrains (funding) or because few applicants accept offers at NES, or?

[_sawyer_]

8 minutes ago, Frontline said:

Hey @_sawyer_, congrats on your acceptance at UT-Austin! What program did you apply for at Harvard?

Thanks! I applied to the AM Master in Middle Eastern Studies program. 

[MadihaG]

i have applied to the NYUs masters in NES program. havent herard back anything yet