another chances thread, phd geography

[papertiger31]

hey all,

i know we see lots of these "what are my chances" threads, but what can i say. here's another one!

my interests in geography are primarily at the urban-environment nexus, and i have always been drawn to critical theoretical approaches. i plan to apply to minnesota, clark, washington, ucla and perhaps to the new urban studies phd program at temple. also perhaps at georgia, as i am drawn to the work of nik heynen. i was also thinking of arizona (paul robbins) but i keep reading that their funding situation is a mess.

here are my stats: masters of urban studies at portland state university, 3.97 gpa (not the best institution, i know, but good for sustainability studies). gre: 800 v (booyah!), 720 q, 6.0 analytical. my recommendations should be pretty stellar.

do folks think i have a good shot at gaining admission AND FUNDING. in particular, are there any programs i shouldn't bother applying to because they don't really ever fund anybody? any that fund the heck out of folks? given my interests i know i should be applying to osu, but DAMN i do not want to live in columbus. no offense to anyone who loves it, but what can i say?

also my family lives in minnesota and i was thinking of stopping through the dept before i apply. but folks in this forum have suggested that this is a bad idea. it is the school that i REALLY want to go to and i don't want to mess it up. thoughts?

thanks pals.

Edited November 22, 2009 by papertiger31

[rising_star]

my interests in geography are primarily at the urban-environment nexus, and i have always been drawn to critical theoretical approaches. i plan to apply to minnesota, clark, washington, ucla and perhaps to the new urban studies phd program at temple. also perhaps at georgia, as i am drawn to the work of nik heynen. i was also thinking of arizona (paul robbins) but i keep reading that their funding situation is a mess.

You may want to take a look at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Maryland, ASU (School of Sustainability), Kentucky, and UNC (both Charlotte and Chapel Hill). Maybe even Rutgers, Wisconsin-Madison, and UBC.

Admits typically come with funding, though there are some exceptions. How much the funding is really varies, as do the number of years of guaranteed funding, the teaching requirements, and if the amount is really enough to live off of (I know that's been an issue at Washington in the past). The Arizona budget situation is as bad (and potentially soon to be worse) than that of the UC system not to mention that Robbins has a LOT of students at the moment. Nik Heynen is well known and well respected. UGA is a solid program with decent funding.

FWIW, I haven't heard good things about Minnesota in recent years, including from two current near-completion PhD students. Not sure what your beef with Columbus is but, keep in mind, it's only temporary, it's a top program, and has a great group of faculty.

[keylimekai]

One of the profs I emailed at Minnesota suggested that I hop on over for a chat/tour (granted I'm in St. Paul), and they set up a lunch session with current grad students too. Why did people suggest stopping by the department as bad?