Advice on SOP and applying in general

[aceslamdunk]

Hi,

I am applying this season to several PhD programs in the US, and I am a little (honestly, more like really) nervous about it. My undergrad was in sociology, but after graduating I took as many English linguistics classes as I could manage (English linguistics because my local university doesn't have a linguistics department) while working to support my family. I am now completing a MA program in Japanese linguistics, and while I am petitioning to continue my studies in my current program at the PhD level, I want to see if I can get into a program in general linguistics. I would like to study linguistics in wider range of languages, and I feel that there would likely be more job opportunities in the future than if I were to stay in a specific language concentration. However, with that, I am concerned as to how my narrower education might hurt me in the application process. Do you have any advice on to what degree I should address this jump from Japanese linguistics to general linguistics in the SOP?

I am also a little concerned by the fact that between my undergrad and my current program, I spent a semester in a sociology graduate program in Fall 2011 which I withdrew from for personal/family reasons. I am now on track to graduate in the Spring with my MA, so I think my current academic record shows that I am capable and motivated in pursuing my education, but I wonder whether I should address my withdrawal from a grad program in the SOP. Would it be unwise to bring up something from five years ago, or is it a red flag to admission committees that I need to discuss? Do I seem wishy-washy by my seeming inability to commit to a discipline by moving from sociology to Japanese linguistics to general linguistics?

A little about me: my research interests are sociolinguistics, more specifically language and identity, language ideology, and humor discourse. I am applying to seven general linguistics programs: UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, University of Washington, University of Oregon, Purdue, CUNY, and University of Florida. I have identified 2-3 faculty in each program that I would like to work with, and I would be ecstatic to study in any of the programs. My GPA in my current program is 4.0 (my undergrad is 3.6), and GRE scores are 167V, 158Q, 5.0W. Two of my LOR professors were enthusiastic about writing LORs for me, and the third professor was a little concerned because she couldn't speak to my research interests but more to my teaching ability as a GA teaching a lower level Japanese language course. I have worked with the third professor pretty closely though and maintained a good relationship with her, so I don't think it will be a negative LOR. 

In honesty, I am fairly realistic in that I know that I am applying to selective programs, and I am not the ideal candidate for admission. I like the program where I am now, and I would be content to stay here. But I want to explore more options now while I have the opportunity, because I think that in the long-term (and short-term financially, the city I live now is incredibly expensive, especially on a GA stipend), it would be more beneficial to me. If you have any advice, please let me know. I would really appreciate it. I am sorry for the long-winded post; thank you if you have read this far. 

[vonham]

I'm also applying to some of those schools, with a concentration of sociolinguistics/linguistic anthropology (language contact, multilingualism, code-switching, ethnic identity) :). 

So obviously I'm not as qualified as some people in this forum to answer your question, but this is what I think: In your SOP you can highlight certain linguistic classes that you took, even if they were specific to a language, and discuss how they inspired you to consider a wider linguistic problem. 

Anyway if you want to do an SOP critique exchange I'd be more than happy

[gughok]

I don't have the experience to answer your question on if and how to deal with your withdrawal, but I think I can assure you that your situation, particularly with regard to moving around in what you're studying and not having directly studied "general" linguistics, is actually not an uncommon one at all among successful linguists.

I'm an undergraduate at a university with a pretty strong linguistics program, and here are some examples I can give you: one of my professors did his BA and MA on the literature and linguistics of a specific language, but then got his PhD in linguistics at UConn. One of our grad students studied English linguistics at what was in his own words a university "one step above community college", and here he is now. My major advisor earnt her BA in linguistics and philosophy from a QS-unranked school and went on to study linguistics at Rutgers. In my conversations with both faculty and grad students in general, I've been told that the state of linguistics as a field is so interdisciplinary, small, and often unknown, that it's almost par for people to segue into it from other undergraduate fields of study and/or unremarkable undergraduate programs. It's the sort of subject one often stumbles upon in their undergraduate years and subsequently pursues with a passion (my brain hadn't touched linguistics until I took an intro class in my fourth semester).

So as far as you having studied sociology and currently doing your MA in Japanese linguistics goes, I wouldn't be concerned at all. It would probably be sufficient to address your jump as a newly discovered interest or a desire to study more broadly what you've so far gotten tantalizing hints of.

[aceslamdunk]

I'm also applying to some of those schools, with a concentration of sociolinguistics/linguistic anthropology (language contact, multilingualism, code-switching, ethnic identity) :). 

So obviously I'm not as qualified as some people in this forum to answer your question, but this is what I think: In your SOP you can highlight certain linguistic classes that you took, even if they were specific to a language, and discuss how they inspired you to consider a wider linguistic problem. 

Anyway if you want to do an SOP critique exchange I'd be more than happy

Hi, thank you for the reply. It's nice to meet someone who is also applying to some of the same programs; best of luck to you! 

And thanks for the advice! I'm tweaking my SOP today so that I can give a draft of it to my LoR writers tomorrow, so I will try to incorporate that into my draft. I've taken sociolinguistics courses (focused on Japanese, of course), and my interests in identity and humor discourse stems from those, so hopefully I can express that clearly. I might have to take you up on your offer for a critique exchange after I hear back from my professors. Thanks, I appreciate it! 

[aceslamdunk]

I don't have the experience to answer your question on if and how to deal with your withdrawal, but I think I can assure you that your situation, particularly with regard to moving around in what you're studying and not having directly studied "general" linguistics, is actually not an uncommon one at all among successful linguists.

I'm an undergraduate at a university with a pretty strong linguistics program, and here are some examples I can give you: one of my professors did his BA and MA on the literature and linguistics of a specific language, but then got his PhD in linguistics at UConn. One of our grad students studied English linguistics at what was in his own words a university "one step above community college", and here he is now. My major advisor earnt her BA in linguistics and philosophy from a QS-unranked school and went on to study linguistics at Rutgers. In my conversations with both faculty and grad students in general, I've been told that the state of linguistics as a field is so interdisciplinary, small, and often unknown, that it's almost par for people to segue into it from other undergraduate fields of study and/or unremarkable undergraduate programs. It's the sort of subject one often stumbles upon in their undergraduate years and subsequently pursues with a passion (my brain hadn't touched linguistics until I took an intro class in my fourth semester).

So as far as you having studied sociology and currently doing your MA in Japanese linguistics goes, I wouldn't be concerned at all. It would probably be sufficient to address your jump as a newly discovered interest or a desire to study more broadly what you've so far gotten tantalizing hints of.

Thanks for the reply! I'm really relieved to hear that my discipline-switching isn't an uncommon experience. I think that what I'm going to do is address my withdrawal with a line or two (focusing on how my year away from academia amplified my resolve and desire to pursue graduate work, leading to my current program and the work I'm doing there). Hopefully, my recent academic record shows that I am dedicated to my studies, and my degree in Japanese linguistics has piqued my interest in linguistic phenomena in a wider context. It's all about focusing on the positives, right?