App. Evaluation/which tier programs should I be applying to?

[jackofclubs]

Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong section. Just looking to get some perspective from the forums on where I stand with my current experience/grades, etc. and what kinds of Phd. programs I should be applying for. I currently have 2-3 semesters left until I graduate.

 

• Institution: Binghamton University
• Degree(s): B.S. Archaeology, B.A. History, minor in GIS
• GPA in major (arch): 3.8+ (around 3.83 or so)
• Field School(s): Bioarch/historical field school in Antigua, Maritime Arch. field school in Spain
• Other:
  • Published Historiography in Graduate journal (same topic as Arch. focus)
  • Honor's Thesis (archaeology), published through Binghamton University
  • Should have some good recommendations
  • Have yet to take GRE's 

Thanks for the help in advance

 

[museum_geek]

Looks like you have a pretty solid CV lined up, and writing an undergrad honor's thesis will certainly strengthen your profile.  With that being said, it's tough to say which programs you should be applying for without more information on your geographic and research interests, as your personal statement and "fit" with faculty at PhD programs will go a long way in determining whether or not you are accepted, even at the "top tier" schools (Chicago, Ivies, Berkeley, etc).  I'm not familiar with maritime archaeology, but off the top of my head I know Texas A&M has a good program in that area.  I don't do bioarch though, so perhaps some other folks could give better or more in-depth recommendations.

[jackofclubs]

42 minutes ago, museum_geek said:

without more information on your geographic and research interests

Thanks for the reply. If it helps others, I'm interested in English/Spanish colonization of the Caribbean and Latin America.

[bioarch_fan]

On 4/20/2016 at 8:10 AM, jackofclubs said:

Thanks for the reply. If it helps others, I'm interested in English/Spanish colonization of the Caribbean and Latin America.

I'm not too sure on too many PhD programs but I can tell you that University of West Florida has archaeologists that focus on maritime archaeology and Spanish colonization in Florida. However, I do know that it would be best to look at universities in Florida, Georgia, and Texas if you're wanting to look at the colonization of the Caribbean and Latin America. University of Florida has a PhD program and I know they have a professor that work on this topic/region (Moseley), University of South Florida has professors that work in the Caribbean, Tulane has professors that work on colonization, and some professors at University of Texas look at the colonization of Latin America and the Caribbean. Obviously this is just a small selection of schools and I would say that you can find more outside of these specific states if you search a little more but I would start with these schools and branch out from there. Look at papers they've written and see if they have any co-authored and see where their co-authors teach.

Honestly, what I did was I went through every single school in every single state that I could stand to live in and looked through their anthropology departments intently. I looked at every single professor and their interests and looked through their publications. That's probably the BEST way to do it so you're not missing any major school that you might have overlooked otherwise.

Hope this helps!!!

[knp]

I'm unsure of how much methodology you share with dry-land archaeology, or if maritime archaeology graduate students really do have to be supervised by maritime archaeologists? If you could work with a non-maritime archaeologist, Laura Wilkie (Berkeley) came to mind, and there are a few people at UNC and William and Mary you should perhaps also investigate. (I wonder if you'd find smaller groups of interesting people in schools throughout the south and mid-Atlantic, beyond bioarch_fan's suggestion for where the largest groups of relevant faculty are hiding?) For maritime archaeology more generally, although I have no idea about its Caribbean strengths, I second that TAMU has a reputation for being tops.

Your profile seems competitive enough that I advise you not to refuse to apply anywhere because it's too difficult to get accepted there. Nobody's likely to get into the most competitive "tier" of schools, so be sure to apply to a broad range of places, but I'd bet that you'd have about an average shot at "top" programs. 

PS Extra advice for somebody early in their admissions research. Spend lots of time on your SOP! In graduate admissions, having good vs. excellent grades is kind of a "who cares." (Although you're doing great, so keep it up.) Instead, the statement of purpose is where it's at. If you can, I also always advise undergraduate students to apply to the NSF GRFP, a fellowship program with a great stipend that lasts for three years, which is due in September of the year you apply to graduate school. My application got handed back with a "trololol" stamped on top (approximately), but it was still an excellent exercise for clarifying my mind and figuring out my research ideas before I wrote my admissions essays.

[jackofclubs]

thanks so much for the responses guys. Very helpful!

[Quickmick]

Looks like you have gotten great advice so far. Looking at your dual major I would point out that U MICH has an interesting combined program in Anthro/Hist that you might be well suited for if your research is so inclined... good luck, I would guess you will do well whichever way you go.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Quickmick

[Chong0318]

“Honestly, what I did was I went through every single school in every single state that I could stand to live in and looked through their anthropology departments intently. I looked at every single professor and their interests and looked through their publications. That's probably the BEST way to do it so you're not missing any major school that you might have overlooked otherwise.” 

choosing right program seems a tough work...

[RepatMan]

I haven't really read through the advice offered here, so I'm sorry if my comment is redundant, but here's what I've got:

Coming from someone that got a 3.3 GPA at a mid-tier private school (University of Evansville) that's now at an Ivy League PhD program, it really depends on who is advocating your application in the faculty meetings. Sometimes your application will be solid enough on its own to warrant a lot of advocation by several members of faculty, and sometimes (like my case) you really need to be recruiting faculty to your side before you even apply. If they like you and have faith in you as an academic, that's what ultimately matters. Moreover, you may need multiple faculty members that are excited to work with you--your primary potential adviser may not be tenured, they may not be in a good position to take students, etc., in which case you need other people on your team.

My advice is to apply wherever you really want to be, but don't assume your resume will get you in there. You need to find ways to connect with the faculty in as meaningful of ways as possible.