Department Cultures at Boston College and University of Maryland, College Park

[MastigosAtLarge]

Hi! This is actually my first post on this forum, so.  Sorry if I'm awkward or something.  But my name is Hayley.  I graduated from a DC school with a degree in history.  I'm an early North Americanist, and my thesis was on the commutation (or not) of execution sentences for pregnant women convicted of witchcraft.  My favorite thing in the entire world is Star Wars, and I'm a writer for Onyx Path Publishing.

I've been admitted to BC and UMD--College Park for an MA.  My undergraduate adviser, for whom I also TAd, got her PhD at BC, and I've emailed her for guidance, but I wondered if current students or other applicants had anything they could share for me to help make my decision.  Does anyone know how the departments operate at these schools?  Are there any lingering animosities or department battles I should be aware of or consider?

[TMP]

Have you visited BC?  While you did attend UMD for undergrad, it's worth going to the campus visit and meet the graduate students and talk to them.  There are so many other factors besides the culture that you should be considering such as financial aid, adviser fit, summer funding, availability of the faculty in your areas of interest, etc.

For many people, campus visits really helped them decide.

[MastigosAtLarge]

Oh, I'm sorry!  To clarify, I went to American University in DC for undergrad.  I've visited both UMD and BC. I only applied to schools with professors in my field who were accepting new students, and I've sent emails to those professors already, asking to speak with some of their current grad students.  I'm still waiting on financial aid and funding information, so that's not yet in the equation.  I know culture isn't and can't be the only factor in the decision, but I'm asking what the culture is like, because I'm already working on the other factors.  I thought it was worth seeing if there were grad students at either school here who had insight to share.

[MastigosAtLarge]

Now that I'm admitted, I do have plans to visit again.  

[TMP]

We have had someone go to Maryland and some folks going to BC but I don't think they've become back to the boards.  Both were quite excited about attending their new programs

[MastigosAtLarge]

Ahh, thanks!  Maybe someone will turn up =D.  I'm glad they're so happy.

[mvlchicago]

I think the admitted students visits will answer most of these questions for you in a qualitatively better way than a bunch of semi-anonymous posters talking about their individual experiences. Be sure to ask questions about how professors work together and whether or not the grad students feel supported, and more often than not you'll be able to read between the lines as to the quality of the experience.

Congrats on your admissions  .

[mvlchicago]

RE: Star Wars love, I spend part of my time these days building a syllabus to teach upper level undergrads historical methods through the Star Wars universe.

[MastigosAtLarge]

25 minutes ago, mvlchicago said:

RE: Star Wars love, I spend part of my time these days building a syllabus to teach upper level undergrads historical methods through the Star Wars universe.

Thanks for your advice!  I really appreciate your help.  I'm such an anxious person that even when I know something like a forum is an impractical way to get my answers, I'm like FEELERS EVERYWHERE.  

And literally, when I'm not finishing professional contracts, my baby is a Star Wars sociopolitical fanfiction about institutional failure where my main character is a cultural anthropologist.

That's the type of person I am.

[mvlchicago]

1 hour ago, HayleyM said:

Thanks for your advice!  I really appreciate your help.  I'm such an anxious person that even when I know something like a forum is an impractical way to get my answers, I'm like FEELERS EVERYWHERE.  

And literally, when I'm not finishing professional contracts, my baby is a Star Wars sociopolitical fanfiction about institutional failure where my main character is a cultural anthropologist.

That's the type of person I am.

 

We should aim to land jobs in the same city, then get the long-awaited "Star Wars and the Social Sciences" Conference up and running.

And it's certainly a data point to use! Like, if a school was particularly bad with harassment, I doubt you'd get that from the admitted students directly. I just wanted to assure you that many minor problems in the department (particularly rivalries, the DGS being a jerk and unaccessible, or the structure of exams being unmanageable) are things that will be detectable at the weekends. They will try to cover things up but they will never succeed perfectly  .

Edited March 15, 2016 by mvlchicago